SOUNDS EXPLORER - EIGHT DAYS OF MAGIC
Leaving from Christchurch, this leisurely tour has short but spectacular driving days with plenty of time for enjoying the hot springs of Hanmer, whale watching at Kaikoura and visiting the vinyards of Marlborough You can enjoying great food and wine, and the seafood harvest of the area, with two nights in the Golden Bay area. There will be plenty of time to take the driving challenge over the fantastic Takaka Hill or just to relax on some of the most iconic beaches in New Zealand. Turning south we visit the spectacular blowholes and pancake rocks at Punakaiki before traversing the Lewis Pass and our final night in Christchurch.
THIS TOUR FINISHES AS THE NEXT TWO TOURS BEGIN - AS WE RUN THESE TOURS ALTERNATIVELY, YOU CAN COMBINE IT WITH EITHER OF THE TOURS BELOW.
EXPLORE CHRISTCHURCH AND THE BANKS PENINSULA WITH OUR EXTENDER TWO DAY STOPOVER PACKAGE AVAILABLE EITHER PRIOR TO THE EIGHT DAY TOUR, OR AFTER THE NINE AND ELEVEN DAY TOURS - SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY - DETAILS ON REQUEST .
GRAND CIRCLE SOUTHERN HIGHLIGHTS - ELEVEN DAY TOUR
This is the ultimate tour, taking in all of the very best highlights of the South Island - from the magnicant Buller Gorge - to the most southern point of the South Island.
From Christchurch we travel to Mt Cook through the wide open plains of the McKenzie country with the soaring Southern Alps to our west. The next day we travel south to Dunedin with some excellent coastal drives en route. Two nights in Dunedin allows us to explore the Otago Peninsula with some great roads, magnificent views and a chance to visit some of the unique marine wildlife that live there.
From Dunedin we continue south to the Catlins area visiting the most southerly point of the South Island. After an overnight stay we follow the southerly coast eventually striking North for our next stay at Te Anau. This is the highlight of our tour - we travel the amazing Milford highway to Milford Sound - we cruise the Milford Sound and continue our spectacular drive back to Te Anau and onwards to a two night stay in Queenstown, New Zealand's favourate playground. From Queenstown we head north past Lakes Hawea and Wanaka to the Haast Pass crossing the main divide and plunging down the Haast Gorge to the West Coast. After an overnight stay in Glacier country - you can get up close to a glacier or take a memorable helicopter ride right up onto the glacier neve - we continue north with the soaring mass of the alpine chain to the east. Our final day takes us up the rugged west coast to the blowholes and pancake rocks at Punaikai and over the Lewis Pass, our last alpine pass on to our final night in Christchurch.
BEST OF THE SOUTH - NINE DAY TOUR
This tour is a visual spectacular - best enjoyed driving top down through some of the best scenery ever!
Three mountain passes, fantastic winding roads combined with the absolute delight of being in your own MX-5. Starting in Christchurch we follow the braided Waimakareri river over Porters Pass to it's source at Arthurs Pass. Once over the pass we traverse an 80 meter high viaduct down into the spectacular canyon like Otira River. Skirting Lake Brunner we travel north to the amazing blowholes and pancake rocks at Punakaiki. We journey through the wild West coast with sweeping vistas of the alps, and on to Fox Glacier. The Haast Pass (our second alpine pass) takes us to the lakeside gem of Wanaka. On day three we traverse the Crown Range to the Wakatipu Basin before travelling onwards to Te Anau in preparation for our highlight drive to Milford Sound. The drive into Milford Sound is a real highlight - capped with a cruise of Milford Sound before travelling on to Queenstown for a two night stopover. A full day in Queenstown gives you countless options to enjoy NZ's favourite playground. To complete our grand circle we turn north following the western side of our alpine chain over the Lindis Pass to Mt Cook and our last night on the road at Tekapo. Reluctantly we start our last day with our final run back to Christchurch.
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