Tour Type: Premium Self Drive Tour
Duration: 10 Days
Tour Starts In: Christchurch
Tour Finishes In: Christchurch
|
from NZ $2635 pp
|
10 Day Pure South Island Touring Route:
Tour Inclusions:
Back to top |
Day
1 |
Arrive Christchurch
"Haere Mai" Welcome to Christchurch - the Garden City. Upon arrival at Christchurch airport, you will be personally met by our representative & transferred in an executive sedan to your accommodation. The remainder of the day is at leisure to explore what Christchurch has to offer. The city has had 2 earthquakes in the last year, and as a result the central CBD district has been damaged. However many of the activites in and around Christchurch are still operating as normal, and there is plenty to experience and see.
|
Day
2 |
Christchurch – Dunedin
Your rental car will be delivered to your accommodation this morning. Travel south across the Canterbury Plains through seaside Timaru, and historic Oamaru to reach Moeraki, famous for the fascinating Moeraki Boulders (Maori legend describes them as the food baskets of the gods). Continue south to reach the Scottish influenced city of Dunedin, “the Edinburgh of the South”. (B)
|
Day
3 |
Dunedin – Te Anau
Drive through the rolling hill country of South Otago and Southland. After the farming centre of Gore, cross the Waimea plains towards Fiordland. Visit Lake Manapouri with its rugged bushclad mountains before arriving at the shores of Lake Te Anau. (B)
|
Day
4 |
Te Anau – Milford Sound – Queenstown
Drive through pristine beech forests and the Homer Tunnel to Milford Sound. We have included a cruise to enable you to appreciate the majesty of Mitre Peak and Bowen Falls. Return to Te Anau, then turn north, following the dramatic southern shores of Lake Wakatipu to reach Queenstown, a beautiful alpine resort and regarded as one of New Zealand’s premier holiday destinations. (B/L)
|
Day
5
&
6 |
Explore Queenstown
Enjoy two full days to experience this magnificent resort town. Surrounded by majestic mountains, Queenstown boasts adventure and leisure activities in all forms, from extreme to relaxed exploration. Here you can take a thrilling jet boat ride, pan for gold, raft the white water rapids, take a wine trail, fish for trout, play golf or 4WD sheer canyons. (B) |
Day
7 |
Queenstown – Franz Josef Glacier
Depart Queenstown this morning, travel along the shores of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea to the Haast Pass, gateway to World Heritage Westland National Park. Then continue up the West Coast past spectacular mountain ranges, native forests and lakes to Franz Josef Glacier. (B)
|
Day
8 |
Franz Josef Glacier
Endless opportunities exist to allow you to take in the beauty of this special part of the South Island’s West Coast. Take a guided walk or heli-hike to explore the spectacular ice formations; experience the thrill of a scenic flight and place your footprints onto a high alpine snowfield; visit New Zealand’s only White Heron (Kotuku) nesting colony; take in the scenery as you kayak the stunning Okarito lagoon or visit Lake Matheson, renowned for its mirror images of Aoraki (Mt Cook) and Mt Tasman, New Zealand’s highest peaks. (B) |
Day
9 |
Glaciers – Christchurch
Travel north along the narrow, bush clad, coastal plain through Hokitika to Greymouth. Turn inland towards the Southern Alps, over Arthur’s Pass and across the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. You also have the option (additional cost) of returning over the Alps on the TranzAlpine Train. We’ll arrange transfers from the station and to the airport tomorrow. Please request on our enquiry form. (B)
|
Day
10 |
Depart Christchurch
Sadly your holiday is at an end and you will return your rental car 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) |
| |
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 |
 |
from NZ $2,635
10 Day Pure South Island
4
4.0
5
10 Day Pure South Island Reviews
Tour reviews from past clients of Relaxing Journeys for the 10 Day Pure South Island. |
Everything was very well-arranged, including all transportation and accomodation selection. Rental cars provided were new and very comfortable. Our itinerary contained a very comprehensive ceverage of the South Island although the weather was not too accomodating the first two days. We all enjoyed the fantastic scenery throughout. The only drawback was the amount of extended driving in order to cover the rather long distances. In general it was a very enjoyable trip and one I would recommend to anyone who wishes to have a quiet and yet wonderous two-week break.
Ahmad Kadis (Malaysia)
Tour Date 16/12/2011 |
Wow, we had a wonderful time! Probably would have liked more time. Christchurch to Dunedin did not leave us any time to look around Dunedin during daylight hours, as we stopped along the way at the boulders, Whitestone Cheese Factory and also a Berry Farm coffee shop. The trip to Te Anua did not allow time to dawdle in the morning, as we wanted to see the Glow Worms. Unfortunately we missed the boat by one minute (very unbending girls on the desk) - they were only running limited tours. The team at Fiordland Lodge were wonderful, they bent over backwards to ensure that our trip was not spoilt by this experience, and secured a refund for us. We went to Milford Sound, as arranged, and as our trip finished at 3pm, we arrived quite late in Queenstown, even though we did not waste any time in our travelling. It seemed to us that it would have been better to travel from Milford back to Te Anua and have another night there, then travel to Queenstown in the morning, which would have allowed us to look at things along the way. Franz Josef was lovely accommodation, but lacked the ambience of the B&B's and the smaller hotels. The breakfasts at Te Wanui were very average. Unfortunately the weather did not allow us to take a Helihike tour, but we found plenty to do around the area. The drive to Christchurch from Franz Joseph was long but manageable. Greymouth was disappointing, and really just added to our travelling time. All in all, a wonderful holiday and fantastic accommodations. You have converted us to B&B's, we had wonderful hosts and great experiences. We will be back! Thank you Jarrod for your assistance and input while we were planning our trip.
Robert & Janine Curtis (Australia)
Tour Date 23/08/2011 |
This was the most amazing experience. Unbelievable beautiful country. Thank you for organizing our trip and for all the practical info and bookings. Everything was special and exiting, but the 3 highlights was The heli-hike. Just amazing. Then the Glacier Explorer cruise at Mt cook. The guides were excellent - and for the first time I understand how the glaciers form our world. And to get so close to the massive icebergs - without going to ant-artica. Just amazing. And then the overnight cruise on the Fordland Expedition. Being a small boat, with fantastic meals and personal touch - with the fishing and canoeing, without lots of tourist (which is the only negative for me - the lots and lots of tour busses). So it was nice to get away from it all! The accommodation was always located in a good spot to be able to explore the town or city. Thank you to Toni for personalizing to tour to fit our family needs and sending lots and lots of emails and giving us all the info we needed. And the big thing is being practical on what is realistic to do in one day, or how far to travel in one day. Thank you to Relaxing Journeys and Toni! We will be back soon!
Rene Greyling (Australia)
Tour Date 15/12/2010 |
Thank you so much for planning our wonderful trip. Everything was very smooth and worked out perfectly. We really enjoyed all the hotels you selected. Additionally, your country is just absolutely beautiful. All three of us had an amazing time. Some thoughts for improvement - make a stop in Te Anau after Milford Sound. The return drive straight to Queenstown is too long in our opinion.
Vid Upasani (United States)
Tour Date 03/10/2010 |
Tour Prices
All tour prices are per person, twin share. |
|
| |
| Intermediate Car |
NZ $2,635 |
NZ $2,781 |
NZ $3,960 |
| Full Size Car |
NZ $2,676 |
NZ $2,821 |
NZ $4,001 |
| Mid Size 4WD |
NZ $2,793 |
NZ $2,939 |
NZ $4,117 |
| Full Size 4WD |
NZ $2,860 |
NZ $3,005 |
NZ $4,184 |
| People Mover (MPV) |
NZ $2,893 |
NZ $3,039 |
NZ $4,217 |
| Premium Full Size 4WD |
NZ $2,947 |
NZ $3,092 |
NZ $4,272 |
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. |
| |
- 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.
|
|
    |
