• 8 Breakfast (B)
• 4 Dinner (D)

• Medium level of fitness required.

• Day 1: Flights to arrive prior to 4.00pm into Christchurch AirportDay 9: Flights to depart anytime from Christchurch Airport 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 Travel Director and fellow travellers over welcome drinks in Christchurch. This hosted gathering offers a relaxed opportunity to get acquainted and hear more about the South Island journey ahead.

Christchurch makes a distinctive starting point: its centre combines established gardens and heritage streets with creative spaces shaped by the city’s rebuilding. Share first impressions of the city and settle into the company of your travelling companions.

View Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Franz Josef Glacier) from a panoramic viewpoint near the West Coast township of Franz Josef/Waiau. Take in the contrast between the glacier’s ice, the surrounding mountains and the temperate rainforest below.

The glacier lies within a dynamic alpine environment where weather and ice conditions continually reshape the view. Its Maori name recalls the tears of Hine Hukatere, connecting this striking landscape with a story rooted in the region.

Cruise Lake Wakatipu aboard the historic TSS Earnslaw to Walter Peak High Country Farm. Across the water, Queenstown’s lakeshore gives way to mountain scenery, with The Remarkables forming a striking backdrop.

At Walter Peak, enjoy a gourmet barbecue dinner and farm show that brings the region’s high-country farming life into focus. The working steamship and lakeside farm give this evening a character quite different from a conventional restaurant meal.

Stop in Oamaru to see the Victorian-era buildings for which this North Otago town is known. Their pale stone facades give the historic streets a remarkably cohesive appearance.

Much of the town’s architectural character reflects the prosperity of nineteenth-century trade. Look out for the detailed masonry that makes Oamaru’s heritage buildings distinctive; many were built from locally quarried limestone, often called Oamaru stone. This is a sightseeing stop rather than a guided building visit.

Explore the universe at Tekapo’s Dark Sky Project during a hosted indoor astronomy experience. Local specialists bring the night sky into focus through astronomical insights and engaging explanations.

Tekapo sits within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, an area recognised for protecting its exceptional night skies. This indoor experience connects the region’s reputation for stargazing with the science behind what we see overhead; it should not be confused with an outdoor telescope session.

See Christchurch through your Travel Director’s local insights on an orientation through the South Island’s largest city. Notice how new buildings and public spaces sit alongside the city’s established streets and green spaces.

Christchurch’s transformation following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes has reshaped its centre over the past decade. Your Travel Director’s commentary helps place what you see in context, revealing the creativity and local determination behind the changing cityscape.

Raise a glass with your travelling companions at a hosted drinks gathering in Christchurch. It is a chance to share favourite moments from the South Island, from alpine scenery to fiords and lakeside towns.

The gathering centres on conversation rather than a formal dinner or performance. Enjoy the easy company built over the tour and reflect on the different landscapes and local experiences that give this compact journey its variety.

Fly over Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Franz Josef Glacier) on an optional scenic flight from the Franz Josef area. An aerial view reveals the glacier’s crevasses and the scale of the mountains surrounding it.

The West Coast’s glaciers descend towards temperate rainforest, creating an unusual meeting of ice and lush forest. Flight routes and views depend on weather and the option available locally. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore the dramatic terrain of Skippers Canyon on an optional Queenstown-area experience. Steep slopes and the Shotover River give this rugged landscape a very different feel from the town’s busy lakefront.

The canyon is closely tied to Central Otago’s nineteenth-century gold-rush history, when prospectors worked the river and its remote surroundings. The exact route and format depend on the locally available experience. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Discover landscapes associated with The Lord of the Rings on an optional experience around Queenstown. Mountains, river valleys and open country show why filmmakers found this corner of the South Island so compelling.

The experience connects recognisable screen scenery with the real landscapes of the Queenstown region. Specific locations depend on the excursion offered locally, rather than a guaranteed visit to a particular film set. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Discover Speight’s Brewery in Dunedin on an optional experience centred on one of New Zealand’s longstanding beer names. Depending on the visit available locally, learn about its brewing heritage and enjoy the chance to sample its beers.

Founded in Dunedin in the nineteenth century, Speight’s is closely identified with the city. A brewery visit offers a flavour of local industrial history as well as contemporary beer culture. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Visit Larnach Castle on an optional excursion from Dunedin. Set on the Otago Peninsula, the nineteenth-century mansion is known for its ornate interiors, gardens and elevated setting.

Built for businessman and politician William Larnach, the house reflects the ambitions and fortunes of colonial-era New Zealand. Explore its distinctive architecture and the stories associated with the property; the exact areas accessible depend on the visit offered. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Ride the TranzAlpine train from the Canterbury Plains into the Southern Alps. Watch braided rivers, steep gorges and beech forest unfold through the windows as the railway climbs towards Arthur’s Pass.

Tunnels and viaducts carry the line through terrain that once presented a formidable barrier between New Zealand’s east and west coasts. The journey offers a close view of the changing landscape, from open farmland to rugged alpine country.

Take in the Southern Lakes landscapes around Wanaka, Hawea and Dunstan, where blue water sits against mountain slopes and tree-lined shores. A pause near Lake Dunstan offers the chance to enjoy the area’s flavour-packed stone fruit.

Central Otago’s sunny summers and cool winters help shape its fruit-growing tradition. The lakes reveal a different side of the South Island from the rainforest coast: wide valleys, crisp colours and orchards set beneath dry, dramatic hills.

Cruise Milford Sound/Piopiotahi beneath sheer cliffs and past waterfalls that spill into the fiord. Watch for New Zealand fur seals along the shoreline as the vessel moves through one of Fiordland’s most imposing landscapes.

Rainfall feeds countless temporary cascades, while the fiord’s deep water and glacier-carved walls reveal the forces that shaped it. Part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area, Piopiotahi offers an unusually close perspective on this protected wilderness.

View the Church of the Good Shepherd beside Lake Tekapo, with the lake’s turquoise water and the Southern Alps forming its setting. The small stone church is one of the Mackenzie Basin’s best-known sights.

Built in the 1930s, it reflects the area’s pastoral heritage through its simple materials and prominent lakeside position. The colour of Tekapo’s water comes from fine glacial sediment suspended in the lake, creating a vivid contrast with the surrounding mountains.

Explore the vineyards around Queenstown on an optional wine experience. Sample the character of Central Otago wines while taking in a growing region framed by mountains and broad valleys.

Central Otago is particularly associated with Pinot Noir, shaped by its continental climate and marked seasonal contrasts. The vineyards and wines visited depend on the locally offered excursion. This tasting-focused experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Seek out wildlife around Dunedin on an optional excursion beyond the city. The nearby Otago Peninsula and coast provide habitat for seabirds and marine mammals, making this a rewarding choice for travellers drawn to nature.

The species seen and places visited depend on the locally available excursion, and wild-animal sightings cannot be guaranteed. The experience offers a closer look at the coastal habitats that distinguish this part of the South Island. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.