This package includes:
- 14 Nights deluxe accommodation with ensuite bathrooms
- Rental car South Islands
- Swim with Dolphins Akaroa
- Air Safaris Mount Cook
- Dart River Jetboating
- Fly-Cruise-Fly Milford Sound
- Heli-hiking Fox Glacier
- Caving tour near Westport
- Kayaking Abel Taman National Park
- Whalewatch Kaikoura
- Cost per person see below
Cost:
NZD$4310 per person
Using a Suggested Itinerary
Suggested Itineraries are prepared by GINZ.com to make planning your trip easier.
You can use the itineraries without any changes, edit them, add or remove dates and products.
Costs are based on two people travelling and staying in a twin/double room.
Day 1.
Arrive Christchurch (you may have arranged for your wedding service to take place here or you may be arriving following your service in your home country). Stay in Christchurch and experience an evening in the 'Garden City'.
Day 2.
Take a day trip to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula. A cruise on the harbour and swim with the dolphins is included in your itinerary. Explore the pretty seaside town of Akaroa with its French history and take a walk through the bush which is full of native birdlife. Stop off at the Little River Gallery on the way home for quality New Zealand art and great food and coffee.
Day 3.
Drive to Lake Tekapo (190 km, 3 hours) Take a Grand Traverse Scenic Flight over Mt Cook and the glaciers.Take a walk around some of the tracks around Lake Tekapo, the South Islands highest town and enjoy the high country views and tussock lands.
Day 4.
Visit Mt. Cook National Park today and do some day walks in the Hooker and Tasman Valleys.Take a glacier explorer boat tour to view the melting ice face of the Tasman Glacier and icebergs carved off into the lake.Stay in Lake Tekapo.
Day 5.
Drive to Queenstown (270km, 161 miles, 3.5 hours) and spend the day exploring the town - take a boat trip on the lake, horse trekking, jetboating, bungy jumping, shopping, walking, visiting wineries (all optional) - Queenstown has something for everyone.At night there are plenty of excellent restaurants and an evening trip up the gondola is recommended.
Day 6.
Take a day trip to Milford with Real Journeys- the Fly-Cruise-Fly option is included in your itinerary and you can see the beauty of Fiordland from the air and on the water. You will have plenty of time in Queenstown after the flight returns to explore or go rafting, horse trekking or simply have a relaxing afternoon.
Day 7.
Take a drive to Arrowtown, a pretty historical mining town. Have lunch at one of the wineries and return to Queenstown.A Jet Boat trip with Dart River safaris is included in your itinerary.
Day 8.
Drive Queenstown to Fox Glacier (380 km, 236 miles, 5 hours) via the Haast Pass and the Westland National Park. A scenic flight by helicopter or helihike (both optional) is definitely recommended for the best views of the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers and Mt Cook. Stay in Fox Glacier.
Day 9.
Stay a second night in Fox and visit Gillespie Beach, take one of the many rainforest walks and visit Lake Mathieson. Stay in Fox Glacier.
Day 10.
Drive to Punakaiki (250 km, 155 miles, 3 hours)with a stop off in Hokitika, where you can see Jade carvers at work. Stay in Punakaiki.Take a walk down Trumans Track just north of Punakaiki at low tide and try to see the Pancake Rocks and blowholes at Dolomite Point at high tide. There are lots of good bush walks around the Paparoa National Park and the Fox River.
Day 11.
Driving North from Punakaiki towards Motueka today, take a Cave tour at Charleston up the beautiful Nile River(included in your itineray).Just South of Westport, take a short detour out to Cape Foulwind and the award winning Bayhouse Cafe for stunning views and fantastic food.From here you drive on up the Buller River to Motueka where you stay in a beautiful vineyard cottage. Total driving time today is around 5 hours so plan to get away early in the morning for the caving trip.
Day 12.
Use today to visit the beautiful Abel Tasman National Park. Drive to Marahau via Kaiteriteri to the Southern entrance to the park and the base for sea kayaking, boat trips and walks.Sea Kayaking is included in your itinerary (NB. the Park is the most visited in New Zealand and bookings are recommended for the summer months in particular).If time allows, the Pupu Walkway and Te Waikoropupu Springs, the clearest freshwater springs in the Southern Hemisphere, are well worth a detour.
Day 13.
Spend the day around Motueka, visiting the artisans and wineries in the area.
Day 14.
Drive to Kaikoura (329 km, 224 miles, 4.5 hours). Stop off in Nelson for lunch - this area is known for the quality of its arts and crafts so you may want to allow time to visit galleries and workshops of artisans.Between Nelson and Blenheim stop at Pelorus Bridge, where there is a short unguided bush walk through native forest. From Pelorus Bridge head to the small township of Havelock, the home of New Zealand's mussel farming industry. Blenheim, one of the top wine growing areas in the country offers a range of excellent wineries. Stop at 'The Store' in Kekerengu for coffee with great views of the Pacific Ocean. Stay in Kaikoura.
Day 15.
Join Whalewatch this morning for an early morning trip. You may also like to Swim with the dolphins here and view other marine life. Return to Christchurch (180 km, 100 miles, 1.5 hours) - GINZ can arrange accommodation in Christchurch or flights onto the North Island or Australia.
