12 Day Southern Soul ‘Premium’ Tour 

Welcome to Christchurch, New Zealand! Upon arrival you will be picked up for your private transfer from the airport to your hotel.

CHRISTCHURCH/OTAUTAHI – Located on a level plain, Christchurch is defined by its historic past and vibrant future. The willow and oak-lined River Avon meanders through its heart, where you can enjoy a punt ride or explore the sprawling Botanic Gardens. Much of the city’s unique charm comes from its blend of old and new; elegant stone buildings sit alongside striking contemporary architecture. Following a series of earthquakes, the city has been thoughtfully and creatively rebuilt, resulting in innovative new spaces like the Transitional Cathedral and Margaret Mahy Playground. This spirit of renewal makes Christchurch an exciting hub for arts, culture, and dining, while its proximity to both the stunning Canterbury Plains and the volcanic Port Hills offers easy access to outdoor adventures.

Today you will pick up your Intermediate SUV Budget Rental Car and head out on your scenic trip from the plains to the heart of the Southern Alps. You’ll travel west from Christchurch across the flat Canterbury Plains. As you get closer to the mountains, the scenery becomes more dramatic. The route climbs into Arthur’s Pass National Park, a rugged and beautiful alpine wilderness. It’s a great first leg of a trip across the South Island.

ARTHURS PASS – Arthurs Pass National Park offers year-round outdoor recreation. Arthur’s Pass is easily accessible by car, or on the world-famous TranzAlpine Express train journey.
Picturesque valleys and ravines, roaring waterfalls and snow capped peaks will catch your eye as you travel through stunning Arthur’s Pass. Activities are varied and include hiking and fishing in the summer, to skiing and ice skating in the winter.

Experience nature and farming adventures when you stay at Wilderness Lodge Arthur’s Pass. Choose from list of complimentary and paid optional tours at the lodge from exploring a working merino sheep farm, kayak mountain lakes and hiking the heart of the Southern Alps.

This is a fantastic trip that takes you from the alpine scenery of Arthur’s Pass and onto the West Coast. You’ll travel through lush rainforest and past waterfalls, which is an amazing sight, before you arrive in the heart of glacier country.

FRANZ JOSEF GLACIER/WAIAU – originally named Victoria, after Queen Victoria of England, geologist Julius Von Haast, renamed it, Franz Josef, after the current Emperor of his homeland, Austria. The Glacier is pale blue/green ice that has retreated and advanced many times over the years. A walk from the carpark to the Glacier terminal will give you some impressive views and an idea of the immense size of the Glacier itself. The township of Franz Josef is a small town based around the tourist and supply trade.

This afternoon you will join Franz Josef Glacier Guides on their popular Heli-Hike Tour. This tour is consistently rated as a highlight of any New Zealand trip. After a thrilling helicopter flight over the glacier, you’ll land high on the ice fall. Equipped with boots and crampons provided by the company, your expert guide will lead you on a two-and-a-half-hour hike through an ever-changing landscape of ice caves, crevasses, and towering ice formations.

This is a trip you’ll never forget. You’ll leave the unique rainforest environment of Franz Josef, passing through the Haast Pass, with waterfalls and lush native bush, before the landscape completely changes into the rugged high-country of Central Otago. It’s an epic journey that ends in the bustling town of Wānaka.

WANAKA – faces north across Lake Wanaka, to views of the surrounding mountains, which are often reflected on the Lake’s surface on calm days. Poplars and willows grow around the Lake’s edge, affording a colourful show during autumn. Wanaka is best known for boating, fishing and skiing at the Cardrona and Treble Cone ski-fields

Today you will head out with Eco Adventures Wanaka on their spectacular Lake Cruise and Island Nature Walk. This tour is a perfect blend of cruising and exploring. You’ll take a boat cruise on Lake Wānaka to the remote Mou Waho Island, which is a Department of Conservation wildlife sanctuary. Your guide will lead you on a short, scenic walk to a lookout, where you’ll find a lake on an island, in a lake, on an island, and have a chance to see the rare flightless buff weka.

Leave Wānaka and travel through Cromwell in Central Otago. The route continues southeast through Alexandra and Clyde, following the Clutha River valley. You’ll then pass through South Otago farmland and small towns before arriving in Dunedin, a city set on the Otago Harbour.

DUNEDIN/OTEPOTI – often called the “Edinburgh of the South”, Dunedin was settled by the Scottish settlers that came to New Zealand. It is a city of spires, of towers, gables and roofs with turrets, and gracious, generally stone, buildings. Dunedin is also home to the Albatross and Penguin colonies plus many species of New Zealand wildlife.

A fantastic day is in store for you today as you join Classic Jaguar Limousines on their Otago Peninsula Experience. Enjoy a full day exploring the heritage and wildlife of the Otago Peninsula. Take a personal guided tour of Larnach Castle, build in 1872 for local merchant banker William Larnach. Then view the only mainland royal albatross breeding colony in the world, either with a land based tour or on a harbour cruise aboard the MV Monarch. View the world’s rarest penguin on the Yellow Eyed Penguin Tour at the Penguin Place. Further highlights include fur seal viewing, birdlife, the Otakau Marae, and craft shop options. Warm jackets, Pentax binoculars and chilled bottled water provided.

This journey takes you southwest from Dunedin, passing through some lovely rural areas and smaller towns. The landscape is a mix of farmlands and high country, and as you get closer to Te Anau, you’ll start to feel the grandeur of the mountains and lakes that make up Fiordland. Te Anau is a great place to stay overnight before heading into Milford Sound.

TE ANAU – the focal point of the Fiordland National Park, the country’s most rugged and remote. Lake Te Anau sprawls at the feet of high rugged mountains with its South, Middle and North fiords probing into the ranges. The Lake, New Zealand’s second largest, is 417 metres deep.

Today will blow you away when you join RealNZ on their Doubtful Sound – Wilderness Cruise. Depart from Te Anau to Pearl Harbour, Manapouri, and cruise across picturesque Lake Manapouri to West Arm. Travel by coach over Wilmot Pass, through dense rainforest. Once at Doubtful Sound, board the Patea Explorer, for a 2.5 hour cruise of beautiful Doubtful Sound, to the Tasman Sea. There is excellent viewing of waterfalls, rainforest, and mountains. Of particular interest, if sighted, are fur seals basking on the rocks, or a resident pod of bottlenose dolphins. The rare Fiordland crested penguins are sometimes encountered, depending on the season. Return to Manapouri at the end of your journey.

Leave Te Anau and follow the highway east across open farmland. You will pass through Mossburn and Lumsden before entering the Wakatipu Basin with its spectacular mountain views. Your journey concludes as you arrive in Queenstown on the shores of Lake Wakatipu.

QUEENSTOWN/TAHUNA – is the South Island’s most popular resort, set alongside the shores of Lake Wakatipu, under the gaze of the Remarkables Ranges. See the contrast of smooth glacier rounded hills, and jagged mountain summits that reach high above the ancient ice floor. The town is renowned for its jet boating, bungy-jumping, skiing and awe-inspiring scenery. Local story has it, that the gold prospectors of the 19th century pronounced the town as “fit for any Queen”, and so she was called Queenstown.

Today you’ll return your rental car today and leave New Zealand ready to share your extraordinary memories and plan your next trip down to see us.