South Island Sightseeing Options

MONDAY 18th – WEDNESDAY 20 NOV – ARRIVE CHRISTCHURCH

Board your international flight from London Heathrow or your chosen UK airport.

Arrive Christchurch International Airport, where you will be met by your Not Out Travel Tour Manager and transferred to your hotel.

Enjoy an evening at leisure, getting to know your fellow tourists and Not Out Travel Tour Manager at our welcome drinks.

Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Christchurch
Standard Room – 1 night

THURSDAY 21 NOV – CHRISTCHURCH / FRANZ JOSEF

Early this morning depart Christchurch on the Tranz Alpine train for a scenic rail journey across the fertile Canterbury Plains and into the heart of the mighty Southern Alps.  Travel across towering viaducts, through spectacular gorges and river valleys and into the lush forest of Arthurs Pass National Park.  Disembark at the village of Arthurs Pass and board your coach for the scenic journey down the West Coast to Franz Josef. The West Coast of the South Island is a World Heritage area of magnificent snow-capped Southern Alps, high alpine snowfields, the glaciers of Fox and Franz Josef, blue walls of ice, towering rainforests, mirrored lakes, and wild windblown beaches.  On arrival in Franz Josef you may have time for an optional helicopter flight upon onto the snow and ice of Franz Josef Glacier (extra cost – not included).

Dinner this evening in the hotel restaurant is included in the tour.

Accommodation: Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier
Douglas Wing – 1 night

FRIDAY 22 NOV – FRANZ JOSEF / QUEENSTOWN

Today, continue by coach south through the dense South Westland forests, crossing fast running streams and pretty bush fringed lakes. At Haast turn inland and continue through the Haast Pass and cross the Southern Alps. The road skirts glacial Lake Wanaka then Lake Hawea to Wanaka township.  On a clear day there are splendid views across the lake to Mt Aspiring. Travel through Central Otago, a sheep, cattle and fruit growing area, and scene of a major gold rush last century.  Continue past stone fruit orchards and drive through the rock hewn Kawarau Gorge to Queenstown. Surrounded by majestic mountains and nestled on the shores of crystal-clear Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown offers world-class experiences and a cosmopolitan vibe. Whether you are exploring trails, indulging in food and wine, discovering stunning fairways or seeking adrenaline thrills, Queenstown sets the stage for adventure.

Accommodation: Millennium Queenstown
Superior Room – 3 nights

SATURDAY 23 NOV – QUEENSTOWN

This morning enjoy an orientation tour of Queenstown, ending your tour with a scenic aerial gondola ride to Bob’s Peak, rising 450m/1500ft high above Queenstown. From here, the panoramic views of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu and the surrounding mountain ranges, including The Remarkables, are breathtakingly spectacular. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

This evening, enjoy a taste of rural life in New Zealand.  Steeped in Queenstown’s pioneering history, the experience commences with a cruise across Lake Wakatipu aboard the 1912 vintage steamship, the TSS Earnslaw.  Disembark at Walter Peak High Country Farm, one of the first farms set up in the region and still a working farm.  In the ambience of the Colonel’s Homestead, enjoy a delicious gourmet BBQ dinner which the chef will prepare in front of you.  After dinner enjoy an entertaining brief farm experience including a sheep shearing demonstration.  On the magical night-time cruise home, enjoy the camaraderie of a sing-a-long with the ship’s pianist or breathe in the fresh night air on the moonlit decks as you watch the lights of Queenstown draw nearer.

SUNDAY 24 NOV – QUEENSTOWN

Day at leisure.

Throughout its history, Queenstown has drawn many adventurers. From the early Māori and gold miners to outdoors people who seek thrills in the backcountry and tourism pioneers who have turned their passions into enterprise. Queenstown has fuelled imaginations and inspired many to explore, enjoy your day at leisure to explore this world-renowned city of adventure.

MONDAY 25 NOV – QUEENSTOWN / MILFORD SOUND / TE ANAU

Travel south along the shores of Lake Wakatipu with magnificent views of the south arm of the lake and the mountains. Leaving the lake, continue south through the glacial formed valley that is now farmland.  Pass through small farming towns before reaching Lake Te Anau the largest freshwater lake in the South Island and the gateway to Fiordland National Park.  Travel into Fiordland National Park and enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Eglinton Valley formed by an ancient glacier. View rivers, lakes, tussock flats, beech forests and everywhere precipitous mountains surround the traveller.  Pass by the Hollyford Valley then the road climbs to the Homer Tunnel, hewn out of a solid rock wall. Drive through the tunnel and out into the Cleddau Valley that descends to majestic Milford Sound. There are magnificent snow capped peaks to be viewed en route to Milford Sound.  Depart on a cruise down Milford Sound past towering Mitre Peak to the Tasman Sea.  Seals and dolphins are often seen in the clear waters of the fiord.  Picnic lunch included. At the conclusion of the cruise board your coach for the return journey to Te Anau.

Accommodation: Distinction Luxmore Hotel Lake Te Anau
Deluxe Room – 1 night

TUESDAY 26 NOV –  TE ANAU / OMARAMA

Depart Te Anau and travel past a large number of deer farms that are a feature of this area, then cross the rolling farmland of Southland. Continue north, past Queenstown then through the Central Otago farmland which is renowned for its stone fruit industry. Travel over the Lindis Pass, through tussock covered mountains, to Omarama in the MacKenzie Country.

Dinner at the hotel this evening is incuded.

Accommodation: Heritage Gateway Hotel
Superior Room – 1 night

WEDNESDAY 27 NOV – OMARAMA / MT COOK / CHRISTCHURCH

Travel along the shores of Lake Pukaki into Mt Cook National Park. Aoraki – Mt Cook is New Zealand’s tallest of many spectacular mountains in Mt Cook National Park, deep in the heart of the Southern Alps. On every side, the Southern Alps scrape the sky. You will have some time at leisure to enjoy the area before reboarding your coach.

Travel back alongside Lake Pukaki to Tekapo, perhaps stopping at the quaint Church of the Good Shepherd which has stunning views from the altar window across the lake to the mountains.  Continue through the rural communities of Fairlie and Geraldine, then across the patchwork farmlands of the Canterbury Plains back to Christchurch.

THURSDAY 21st – SATURDAY 23 NOV – ARRIVE CHRISTCHURCH

Board your international flight from London Heathrow or your chosen UK airport.

Arrive Christchurch International Airport, where you will be met by your Not Out Travel Tour Manager and transferred to your hotel.

Enjoy an evening at leisure, getting to know your fellow tourists and Not Out Travel Tour Manager at our welcome drinks.

Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Christchurch
Standard Rooms – 1 night

SUNDAY 24 NOV – CHRISTCHURCH / PUNAKAIKI

Early this morning depart Christchurch on the Tranz Alpine train for a scenic rail journey across the fertile Canterbury Plains and into the heart of the mighty Southern Alps.  Travel across towering viaducts, through spectacular gorges and river valleys and into the lush forest of Arthurs Pass National Park.  Disembark at the village of Arthurs Pass and board your coach for the scenic journey up the West Coast to Punakaiki, located in the Paparoa National Park. Created in 1987 its boundaries were carefully chosen not just to protect the area’s forests and minerals but also a full range of ecosystems from the mountaintops to the coast. It is a relatively small park (30,000 hectares) but is packed with variety and stunning landscapes. It is perhaps most famous for its ‘Pancake Rocks’ on Dolomite Point.

Dinner this evening at the hotel restaurant is included.

Accommodation: Scenic Hotel Punakaiki
Superior Rooms – 1 night

MONDAY 25 NOV – PUNAKAIKI / BLENHEIM

Today travel north, through the spectacular Buller Gorge following the Buller River before travelling through the small towns of Murchison and St Arnaud and then north to Blenheim. Located at the top of the South Island, Marlborough is New Zealand’s largest wine producing region and internationally renowned for its distinctive, herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc. With a temperate climate and high sunshine hours, the region is diverse – from the flat plains, home to many vineyards, to the sunken valleys and bush-clad mountain sides of the spectacular Marlborough Sounds.

Accommodation: Chateau Marlborough
Superior Studio Rooms – 2 nights

TUESDAY 26 NOV – BLENHEIM

Fifty years ago there was hardly a commercial grape grown in the Blenheim area.  Now with over 50 vineyards, the Marlborough district is the top wine producing area in New Zealand with its wines winning awards around the world.

The morning will be at leisure, before visiting a local Marlborough winery to sample their wines and enjoy a delicious lunch.

The remainder of the day will be at leisure.

WEDNESDAY 27 NOV – BLENHEIM / CHRISTCHURCH

Depart Blenheim and travel along a thin ledge of land pinned between the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and the rugged ranges to Kaikoura, where the mountains meet the sea. Continue across the farmlands of the North Canterbury Plains to Christchurch.