New Zealand South Island Small Group Tour

A 7 day private group tour for 10-16 travellers

The ultimate way to see an untouched New Zealand is a 7 day New Zealand South Island tour. You cross plains, alpine basins and mountain passes. The landscapes are superb and the spaces are infinite.

Sample Itinerary:

Day 1: Christchurch - Mt Somers (L, D)
At 11.30am your driver/guide meets you in Christchurch. We have a specially arranged lunch before heading to the foothills of the Southern Alps and the small village of Mt Somers.

Day 2: Mt Somers - Queenstown (B)
At Lake Tekapo the picturesque church and sheepdog statue are favourite photo stops. At the head of Lake Pukaki is Mt Cook at 3754 metres New Zealand’s highest mountain, named in Maori Aorangi, “the cloud piercer”. The Lindis Pass leads to the rugged Kawarau Gorge and into Queenstown. Your boutique hotel is just a few minutes walk above the town with views to the lake and Remarkables Range. There’s a wide range of restaurants and cafes in this world famous tourist resort.

Day 3: Queenstown - Milford Sound - Nature Cruise - Queenstown (B)
This morning you are picked up from your hotel to fly to Milford Sound deep in the heart of Fiordland National Park. At Milford take a cruise down the sound, dominated by iconic Mitre Peak, out to the Tasman Sea. Return to Queenstown by plane.

Day 4: Queenstown - Cardrona Valley - Wanaka (B)
The morning is at leisure to explore Queenstown. In the afternoon you head into tussock country, the road climbs up the Crown Range then down into the Cardrona Valley. We stop at quaint Cardrona Hotel, its history stretches back to the goldmining era then continue on to Wanaka amid a panorama of mountain peaks.

Day 5: Wanaka - Haast Pass - Franz Josef (B)
Drive beside Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka before heading into superb mountain and river scenery of the Haast Pass in Mt Aspiring National Park. There are great short walks on well-maintained tracks through native beech forests to waterfalls and blue pools where trout lurk. At Franz Josef Glacier short walks take you to vantage points to view the advancing glacier.

Day 6: Franz Josef - Hokitika - Punakaiki (B, D)
Early this morning you may choose to take a flight over the glaciers and Mt Cook and enjoy the thrill of a glacier landing. Later we visit Okarito’s lovely lagoon, home of the rare kotuku, white heron. Travel on up the coast. At Hokitika there are a host of craft galleries. A beautiful coastal road following part of the ancient Greenstone Trails used by Maori for centuries in search of Pounamu leads to your hotel on the coast at Punakaiki. A little further up the road is the leading local attraction – the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks, sculpted sea stacks and towering cliffs. If the tide is right, blowholes spread clouds of spray.

Day 7: Punakaiki – Arthur’s Pass – Christchurch (B)
Enjoy the magnificent alpine scenery of rugged Otira Gorge and Arthur’s Pass National Park. Crossing the Canterbury Plains to reach Christchurch in the late afternoon, you are delivered to your accommodation in this English style city of stone buildings, large parks and stunning gardens.

Typical Inclusions:
• 6 nights accommodation in chalets, boutique hotels and lodges.
• Transport
• All breakfasts, 1 lunch and 2 dinners
• Lunch and country hospitality in a private homestead
• A scenic flight and 2.5 hour nature and wildlife cruise on Milford Sound
• A visit to Arrowtown Museum
• A range of optional activities from jet boat rising to kayaking ad scenic flights
• View the breathtaking Franz Josef Glacier

For more information please contact Concierge Traveller.

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