Tour Type: Premium Self Drive Tour
Duration: 9 Days
Tour Starts In: Christchurch
Tour Finishes In: Christchurch
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from NZ $2952 pp
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9 Day Alpine Explorer Touring Route:
Tour Inclusions:
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Day
1 |
Arrive Christchurch
"Haere Mai" Welcome to Christchurch - the Garden City. You will be personally met by our representative at the airport & transferred in an executive sedan to your accommodation. The remainder of the day is at leisure to explore what Christchurch has to offer. Why not sit back and relax as you pass the trailing willows and leafy banks of the stunning Christchurch Botanic Gardens while punting down the river Avon?
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Day
2 |
Hanmer Springs, Kaikoura
Your rental car will be delivered to your hotel this morning. Leaving Christchurch, travel inland to the naturally picturesque and tranquil alpine village of Hanmer Springs, nestled in a valley surrounded by a superb expanse of mountains and forest clad hills. Relax in the hot thermal pools of the Hanmer Springs Thermal Reserve before continuing on to Kaikoura, located in a narrow strip of stunning coastline that lies between mountain peaks and the Pacific Ocean. (B)
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Day
3 |
Whale Watch Kaikoura, Marlborough Sounds
This morning, board your boat & enjoy the awesome experience of a 3-hour whale-watch excursion. This is a unique experience & sightings may vary from day to day. Giant sperm whales are the star of the show and are year-round residents. A typical Whale Watch tour may encounter fur seals, pods of Dusky dolphins & the endangered Wandering Albatross. Depending on the season, you may also see migrating Hump Back whales, Pilot whales, Blue whales & Southern Right whales. Kaikoura also attracts the largest concentration and variety of seabirds on mainland New Zealand including 13 species of Albatross, 14 varieties of Petrel & 7 types of Shearwater. Later today, drive north to the Picturesque village of Picton where you leave your vehicle & travel by water taxi to your resort located in the stunning Kenepuru Sound. (B)
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Day
4 |
Stunning Kenepuru Sound
A day to relax & marvel at the magic that is the Marlborough Sounds. Resort staff will share their love of the Sounds with you through the range of water and nature based experiences they put at your fingertips. The wide beach access is great for fishing, boating, sailing, swimming & sea-kayaking and there is a wealth of walks and meanderings in the immediate vicinity. There is also the opportunity to visit the vineyards & wineries that are located in the famous Marlborough wine region. (B) |
Day
5 |
Picton & Nelson
Return to Picton by water taxi & drive on to Nelson, a city of charm based on a harbour that is home to the busiest fishing port in New Zealand. The region also enjoys the greatest number of sunshine hours in New Zealand & boasts many award-winning wineries & arts and crafts centres. (B)
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Day
6 |
Abel Tasman Seals and Beach Excursion
A short drive around Tasman Bay brings you to Kaiteriteri. Cruise to the golden expanse of Onetahuti beach via the Seal Colony at Tonga Island. Walk 1.5 hours over a forested saddle to the picturesque estuary and calm waters of Bark Bay. If you are feeling energetic and have the time, continue walking a further 2 hours to Torrent Bay, the most varied section of the track with vegetation ranging from dappled sunny regenerating Kanuka forest to dense temperate rainforest, including the Swing Bridge over Falls River. Join the Vigour Water Taxi from Torrent Bay back to Kaiteriteri and then take a leisurely drive back to Nelson. (B) |
Day
7 |
Nelson Lakes, Punakaiki Rocks
Travel south through the Nelson Lakes region before arriving on the West Coast. Marvel at the bizarre limestone landscapes that is the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks & Blowhole. (B)
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Day
8 |
Greymouth, Christchurch
The West Coast is home to towering rainforests, mountains and glaciers, tranquil lakes and rushing rivers. It is steeped in history dating back to the gold rush era of the 1860's. On arrival in Greymouth return your rental car to the Greymouth depot before checking in for your train journey to Christchurch. The TranzAlpine Train is described as "The Great New Zealand Rail Adventure" and is rated as one of the top six scenic train journeys in the world. Ascend through lush beech forests past the beautiful Lake Brunner via the alpine village of Arthur’s Pass situated 737 metres above sea level, before crossing the spectacular Southern Alps. The TranzAlpine then winds its way over massive viaducts, through spectacular river gorges and the stunning Waimakariri River valley & across the Canterbury Plains before arriving in Christchurch. (B)
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Day
9 |
Depart Christchurch
Sadly, your holiday is at an end and you will be transferred to Christchurch airport today for your onward flight. Here, we bid you a fond farewell and hope you leave with many happy memories of your stay in Aotearoa, New Zealand. (B) |
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Note: This self drive tour can be completed in reverse order, the tour cost remains the same. To view tour prices or to make an enquiry, please click on the Tabs at the top of this itinerary. Top |
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from NZ $2,952
9 Day Alpine Explorer
5
4.4
5
9 Day Alpine Explorer Reviews
Tour reviews from past clients of Relaxing Journeys for the 9 Day Alpine Explorer. |
We had an absolutely fantastic time in New Zealand. The tour was very well organized. NZ has so many things to see and do, we couldn't do it all. Every one of the places that we stayed in was fantastic. All of us loved Hapuku Tree Lodge. The George, Cambria House and Punakaiki resort were all great. The only problem was with the Thrifty car rental. The guy who dropped off the car seemed to be in a hurry. The car did not come clean on the outside & the GPS was broken. As far as the itinerary goes, the kids and I got seasick on both the whale watching and swimming with the dolphins. That tired us out completely and we couldn't do Hanmer Springs on Tuesday. We went there instead on Wednesday and drove to Nelson via Murchison instead of the Blenheim route. Nelson was rainy and we were all pretty wiped out from Hanmer Springs (did bungee jumping and jet boating) and the drive to Nelson. Before leaving Nelson, we made a quick 20 minute trip to something called Skywire (Flying fox) ride. It was a very fun thing to do and we all highly recommend it. The drive to Punakaiki was very nice and scenic but we missed the high tide so couldn't see the blowholes. Wish we had known about that. Greymouth, train journey back and the evening in Christchurch was all great. Overall, we had a really good time in NZ, very relaxing and fun. We are now looking forward to our next trip when we can explore the Northern Island and the southern half of South Island. Thanks.
Kalpana Subbarao & Vidish Rao (Malaysia)
Tour Date 02/01/2011 |
It was our best holiday of our married lives. The tour was perfect, with a great selection of sights, accomodation and transport. We experienced a vast range of what New Zealand had to offer and were stunned with the way the package was put together, despite having booked it over the internet and email from the other side of the world. Our organiser Jarrod did a great job, coordinating our varied and often conflicting requests and managed to make sense of the vast range of requests for our tour, Relaxing Journeys did an awesome job, I would not hesitate recommending them to anyone thinking of touring New Zealand.
Michael & Clare Ward (United Kingdom)
Tour Date 22/03/2010 |
We had an amazing amazing time! We found the route guidance and info pack really useful and were delighted with how well our tour had been planned. We had worried that there would be too much driving but in fact the driving was really good as the scenery was fantastic and there were always lots of places to stop at on route. Cheltenham House - We really like this place the hosts had everyone in for drinks in the evening and breakfast in your room was a nice touch. 4/5. Hanmer Springs - we loved the Springs and found a great Indian place to eat. Kincaid - This was our favourite Jessica and Greig have made a really nice home from home with lots of little touches such as home made cookies and port in your room. They booked dinner for us making sure we had a table with a view, told us where to go for cheap cray fish, sorted out a helicopter ride to see the whales when the weather was too bad for our boat trip and even let us borrow their mobile phone. One hint though can you put their address as Parson's road as the route guidance couldn't find the road that was listed. 5/5 Our whalewatch boat ride was cancelled due to bad weather but a helicopter ride was a great alternative. The swim with Dolphins was pure genius - we swam with a group of 700 to 1000 and had loads of interaction. Bay of Many Coves - Wow what an amazing location and really beautiful facilities. I think the one thing it lacked was some atmosphere in the evenings it needed a cracking cocktail bar and perhaps alternative bar food then it would have been perfect. 4/5 Warwick - we didn't like this one any near as much. The hosts weren't really interested in operating a B&B and were more interested in telling us about the history of a house that to European's was actually quite new. We weren't allowed to check in before 4 pm and couldn't even leave our luggage there securely. We needed to get up early for our trip to Abel Tasman and they wouldn't give us a cooked breakfast before 8.30 so we had to make do with some muesli and cold stuff left on a tray outside our room the night before. 2/5 We did however love our hike through Abel Tasmin. Not to be missed! Punacatti - The hotel was quite basic but had a good view. It also lacked any night time action but we were glad we stopped here as the rocks and blow holes were fantastic to see. 3/5 Holly Homestead - great hosts and good breakfasts but being as we had terrible weather we didn't enjoy this section of the trip as much as we had hoped. 3/5. The train ride was slightly marred by rain but we did get to see some amazing rainbows. Airport hotel - we were surprised that this was actually very good 4/5.
Lynsey & Atholl Blair (Luxembourg)
Tour Date 01/01/2010 |
This was our first visit to New Zealand and it was perfect! Every detail had been considered during the planning of our tour. We only had 6 nights in which to taste the South Island, and from the word go Jarrod was so helpful. The pack we received was full of useful information and left no need for guess work. Our whale watching boat trip was cancelled due to bad weather, but we took the helicopter trip later in the day, so didn't miss out. Everything, from the hotels Jarrod chose for us to the car hire, were top class. Everyone we met was so friendly and helpful. New Zealand is a beautiful country, and there is no doubt we will visit again. When we do return, we will have no hesitation in asking Relaxing Journeys to arrange our holiday again.
Susan & Simon Scanlon (United Kingdom)
Tour Date 10/12/2009 |
Dave and I have returned from our self drive holiday in your beautiful country! We had a wonderful time and thanks to relaxing journeys, all went smoothly. The itinerary worked very well, with enough variety to keep us looking forward to the next little part of our journey. The accommodation was excellent and the timing of each part of the journey was well thought out. The finale of the trip- the trans alpine train crossing was a great way to sit back and enjoy some more spectacular scenery! People often commented about why we were visiting NZ in winter? It was very cold, but we had warm clothing, and we found getting around very easy, because of reduced numbers of people. Thank you for your input and I would recommend this holiday to anyone. We are contemplating doing the North Island at some stage and will certainly 'look you up' again.
Melinda & Dave McLennan (United Kingdom)
Tour Date 20/03/2008 |
Tour Prices
All tour prices are per person, twin share. |
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| Intermediate Car |
NZ $2,952 |
NZ $2,961 |
NZ $3,795 |
| Full Size Car |
NZ $2,984 |
NZ $2,993 |
NZ $3,827 |
| Mid Size 4WD |
NZ $3,075 |
NZ $3,084 |
NZ $3,917 |
| Full Size 4WD |
NZ $3,127 |
NZ $3,136 |
NZ $3,969 |
| People Mover (MPV) |
NZ $3,152 |
NZ $3,163 |
NZ $3,996 |
| Premium Full Size 4WD |
NZ $3,193 |
NZ $3,204 |
NZ $4,037 |
EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL OFFER
2012 Season Sale! Save 5% off the prices shown on our website, for all 2012 departures. Deposit this month to qualify!
Valid for bookings made with Relaxing Journeys between 1 February 2012 and 29 February 2012
. Subject to availability at time of booking. |
*Terms & Conditions apply to any discounts and/or specials above. Your designated tour consultant will apply the appropriate discounts automatically to your quote and detail any currently applicable 'Exclusive Specials'. |
Self Drive Tour Notes
Prices above are per person & valid till September 2012. |
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- Frequently Asked Questions.
- International flights to & from New Zealand are not included.
- Single, Triple & Quad prices are available on request.
- If you would prefer a mix of the accommodation listed we can arrange this.
- For families we can also price our premium self drive tours using self catering apartments.
- Our premium B&B's do not cater for children.
- If a property listed on our itinerary is unavailable at the time of booking we will replace it with a equivalent accommodation, and let you know, to ensure it is to your satisfaction.
- Please note this itinerary was updated 5 July 2011.
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