• 9 Breakfast (B)
• 7 Dinner (D)
• 1 Lunch (L)

• Medium level of fitness required.

• Day 1 – flights to arrive by 4.00pm into Christchurch AirportDay 10 – flights to depart anytime from Christchurch Airport Return Airport to Hotel transfers are available to purchase on request. Flights to and from your tour are not included in the tour price.

• Comfortable walking shoes Warm layers Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat Water bottle Camera

AAT Kings

Meet your fellow travellers over welcome drinks in Christchurch. Share a glass of wine and get to know the people joining you for the journey through New Zealand’s South Island.

It is a relaxed introduction in a city known for its creative rebuilding and garden setting. The hosted gathering gives everyone a chance to connect before exploring the landscapes and communities beyond Christchurch.

Explore Christchurch on a city tour that takes in the distinctive Cardboard Cathedral and the city’s striking modern library. See how inventive architecture sits alongside the established streets and green spaces of New Zealand’s Garden City.

The cathedral was designed as a transitional place of worship following the 2011 earthquake. Together, these buildings offer a vivid perspective on Christchurch’s recovery and reinvention, rather than simply a tour of its best-known sights.

Join retired farmers Angie and Stan Taylor for afternoon tea at their home near Lake Tekapo. Enjoy home-style hospitality and hear their stories of life on the land, with the Mackenzie Country’s open landscapes and mountains as the backdrop.

This Be My Guest experience offers a personal introduction to a region shaped by farming communities. It is an opportunity to meet local hosts and experience the warmth behind the South Island’s wide-open scenery.

Explore Oamaru’s Victorian streetscape, browsing shops, galleries and traditional crafts among imposing 19th-century buildings. The town’s limestone facades provide a distinctive setting for discovering the work of local makers.

Oamaru prospered as a port and agricultural centre, leaving a remarkably cohesive collection of historic architecture. Its pale local stone, often called Oamaru stone, gives the precinct a character quite different from the South Island’s mountain and lake towns.

Ride a jet boat down the Waiau River towards Lake Manapouri, travelling through the waterways at the edge of Fiordland. Fast-moving water and broad mountain views make this a close-up encounter with the region’s rugged landscape.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience supports a local conservation project connected with Pomona Island. A charitable trust and volunteers work to restore the island’s native flora and fauna, adding a tangible conservation purpose to the ride.

Cruise Lake Wakatipu aboard the historic TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm. Enjoy a gourmet barbecue dinner and farm show in a lakeside setting framed by Queenstown’s mountains.

Launched in 1912, the coal-fired steamship once carried passengers and supplies to remote settlements around the lake. At Walter Peak, the farm experience brings the region’s pastoral traditions into focus, pairing a working-farm atmosphere with views across the water.

See Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere from a panoramic viewpoint near the West Coast township of Waiau. Take in the scale of the ice and its steep mountain setting without needing to venture onto the glacier itself.

Fed by snowfall high in the Southern Alps, the glacier descends towards temperate rainforest—an unusual meeting of landscapes. Its changing ice and surrounding terrain make the viewpoint a place to appreciate both the power and fragility of this environment.

Visit Punakaiki’s Pancake Rocks and Blowholes on the West Coast. View the layered limestone formations and watch for seawater surging through narrow openings when conditions are right, with the sound of the Tasman Sea close at hand.

Over millions of years, erosion sculpted the rock into the stacked shapes that give the site its name. The blowholes are most dramatic around high tide and in rough seas, making every visit a little different.

Explore Pounamu Pathway on a self-guided storytelling journey created in collaboration with Weta Workshop. Discover the history of local Maori, including Poutini Ngai Tahu, and learn about the Mawhera Pa settlement.

The experience centres on pounamu, New Zealand greenstone, and its cultural and spiritual significance. Rather than treating it simply as a precious material, the stories reveal its connections to people, place and traditions on the West Coast.

Visit a sustainable gin distillery in Dunedin on an optional experience focused on locally made spirits. Learn about the distillery’s approach to production and discover the botanical flavours that give gin its character.

Dunedin’s independent food and drink scene provides a fitting setting for a closer look at contemporary New Zealand distilling. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; the precise distillery programme may vary.

Tour Larnach Castle on the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin, exploring the elaborate home and its dramatic hilltop setting. The building offers a glimpse of the ambitions and tastes of a wealthy 19th-century New Zealand family.

Built for politician and businessman William Larnach, it is commonly known as New Zealand’s only castle. Its architecture and family history add another dimension to Dunedin’s Scottish-influenced heritage. This optional tour is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Feel the rush of a Queenstown jet boat ride on an optional high-speed excursion. Experience the quick turns and close-to-the-water perspective that have made jet boating a signature activity in this adventure-focused region.

Jet boats were developed in New Zealand to navigate shallow rivers, where a conventional propeller would struggle. The ride offers an energetic way to experience Queenstown’s waterways and mountain setting. This activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Fly above Franz Josef Glacier/Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere on an optional scenic helicopter experience. See the glacier’s icefall, surrounding peaks and West Coast landscape from the air; a landing on the ice may be possible, depending on the flight offered and conditions.

The aerial perspective reveals the glacier’s scale and its steep descent from the Southern Alps towards rainforest. Flights are weather-dependent and are at additional cost and bookable on tour.

View the Church of the Good Shepherd on the shore of Lake Tekapo, where a small stone church stands against turquoise water and the Southern Alps. Take in one of the Mackenzie Country’s most recognisable scenes.

Opened in 1935, the church was built as a memorial to the region’s pioneers using local stone. The lake’s distinctive colour comes from fine glacial sediment suspended in the water, giving this quiet lakeside setting its remarkable clarity and hue.

Discover Fiordland’s mountain scenery, including reflective Mirror Lakes, native forests and alpine river valleys, before cruising Milford Sound/Piopiotahi with a naturalist. Look for fur seals resting on rocks beneath sheer cliffs and waterfalls.

Piopiotahi lies within the World Heritage-listed Te Wahipounamu area. Glaciers carved its steep-sided fiord, while heavy rainfall feeds waterfalls that spill down the rock faces. The naturalist’s insights help reveal wildlife and plant life that can be easy to miss.

Discover Arrowtown’s tree-lined historic streets and 19th-century buildings, reminders of the prospectors drawn to the area during the Otago gold rush. Nearby, sample seasonal produce at Mrs Jones’s fruit stall, a well-known local stop.

The contrast captures two sides of Central Otago: its gold-mining heritage and its fertile orchards. Stone fruit grows particularly well in the region’s warm summers, bringing a taste of the surrounding countryside to this historic village visit.

Journey aboard the TranzAlpine from Arthur’s Pass towards Christchurch, crossing the Southern Alps by rail. Look out over snow-capped peaks, beech forest, river valleys and gorges as the train passes through tunnels and across viaducts.

This celebrated railway links the West Coast with Canterbury through terrain that is difficult to experience from a road vehicle. Its panoramic views make the crossing as much a scenic experience as a means of travel.

Cruise across Lake Te Anau to the Glowworm Caves on an optional excursion into a limestone cave system. Inside, look for the delicate points of light produced by glowworms in the darkness.

The caves’ flowing water and sculpted passages create a striking contrast with Fiordland’s vast open landscapes. Seeing the glowworms requires low light and a quiet pace, making this an experience very different from the region’s outdoor adventures. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore Central Otago wines at a cellar door on an optional tour from Queenstown. Discover the region’s cool-climate styles, particularly Pinot Noir, while learning how local growing conditions shape the wines.

Vineyards occupy valleys and terraces surrounded by mountains, where warm summer days and cooler nights help grapes develop flavour while retaining freshness. It is a rewarding introduction to one of New Zealand’s distinctive wine regions. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.