Scenic Southern (Start Wellington)

Southern New Zealand, including Wellington, Christchurch, Franz Joseph, Queenstown and Lake Ohau

Map & Sightseeing List

12 days

Total Price From* $80 per day: $965 per person

*Based on twin share.

Meals: 8 4
Transportation: n/a
Accommodation: Hotel, Lodge, Overnight Cruise

Daily Itinerary Scenic Southern (Start Wellington)

Depart for New Zealand Days 1 and 2

Fly over the international date line on your way to New Zealand.
Arrive Wellington Day 3
Check into the Abel Tasman Hotel, spend the rest of the day at leisure to explore Wellington.
- Hotel
Wellington to Christchurch Day 4
Board the Inter-Island ferry and do the north to south island hop through Marlborough Sound and Cook Strait to Picton. Then make sure your camera has film for the spectacular views along the Kaikoura Coastline. If we’re lucky, we’ll spot one of the many seal colonies in this area. Then, via the Canterbury Plains, we’ll head towards the city of Christchurch.
- Hotel
Christchurch to Franz Josef Glacier Day 5
We’ll cross the spectacular Southern Alps via majestic Arthur’s Pass and take in the jade greenstone carving at Hokitika. Then we’ll journey along the South Island’s rugged coast to the awesome Westland National Park, home to Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.
- Hotel
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Franz Josef Glacier to Queenstown Day 6
Today there’s the chance to explore the incredible Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers with professional guides that will be on hand to show you the beauty of this natural wonder. We’ll then journey through Haast Pass to Queenstown and our lodge high above Lake Wakatipu. Hold onto your hat - Queenstown beckons!
- Lodge
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Queenstown Days 7 and 8
Leisure is probably the wrong word as Queenstown is known as the ‘Adventure-Adrenaline capital of the world’, one of those places that you can literally do as much or as little as you like. A number of options to astound you await! Ever tried Bungy jumping, Sky diving, Jet boating, River boarding, White water rafting, Helicopter riding, Luging, Canyon Swinging, Four wheeldriving, Hiking???? Be extreme! Action by day, action by night - that’s Queenstown. Yes, when you’ve dried off and caught your breath, it’ll be time to experience Queenstown’s legendary nightlife, and there’s no shortage of venues for dining and socialising - why not try an optional meal at the world famous Skyline gondola complex.
- Lodge
- Day 7
- Breakfast
- Day 8
- Breakfast
Queenstown to Milford Sound Day 9
Need an adrenalin boost? We’ll take you to a bridge to jump off! The bungee jumping bridge provides a hair-raising, gob-stopping adrenalin rush. It is one of the options on this tour that separates the tourists from the purists. Pure fun. Pure rush. Why don’t you try it? After this we travel to Fiordland National Park, where we head through the Homer Tunnel (D’OH!) for our first view of Mitre Peak and Milford Sound. Then it’s all aboard the Milford Wanderer, for an overnight cruise taking in all the beauty of the fjord. There’s the chance to kayak and see whales, dolphins and penguins along with towering mountains and breathtaking waterfalls. It’ll be an evening to treasure!
- Overnight Cruise
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Milford Sound to Lake Ohau Day 10
In the morning we’ll breakfast on board before heading back to the mainland. We travel past Lake Te Anau and the Clutha River to Arrowtown for the chance to find gold. Then we head to the Southern Alps to our lodge at Lake Ohau which affords views over Australasia’s tallest peak, Mt Cook.
- Lodge
- Breakfast
- Dinner
Lake Ohau to Christchurch Day 11
If heights don’t scare you (we saw you bungee jump two days ago), then why not take the option of a spectacular glacier flight over Mt Cook? Later, we’ll head through the MacKenzie country, home to the sheep industry. to Christchurch where you may join us for an end-of-tour, we-must-keep-in-touch-what-tour-are-you-taking-next, dinner.
- Breakfast
Finish Christchurch Day 12
Say a final farewell to your new friends as your trip ends this morning after breakfast.
- Breakfast