Tour Type: Small Group Tour
Duration: 11 Days
Tour Starts In: Christchurch
Tour Finishes In: Christchurch
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from NZ $5699 pp
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11 Day Southern Discovery Touring Route:
Highlights & Inclusions:
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Day
1 |
Independent Touring Days 1 - 3
Arrive Christchurch
'Haere Mai'… welcome to New Zealand.
On arrival you will be met by our representative & transferred by limousine to your city hotel. Christchurch is the nation’s second largest city and because of its extensive gardens and the Avon River meandering though it, is regarded as the most English of New Zealand cities. Stay: Heritage Christchurch Hotel (3 nights) |
Day
2 |
Akaroa Day Tour
This morning, travel the Banks Peninsula to the quaint village of Akaroa, a beautiful, unspoilt French whaling depot home to the early French settlers of the 1840’s. The French heritage is still reflected in the street names & the architecture of its buildings. Visit the cheese factory at Barrys Bay & sample some fine New Zealand cheese. After lunch, enjoy a wildlife cruise exploring the delights of the harbour and sighting dolphins, penguins & seals. (B/L) |
Day
3 |
Kaikoura Whale-Watch Adventure
Spend your day getting close to nature. Travel by train through the rolling hill country of North Canterbury to Kaikoura, where mountains meet the sea. This area is renowned for the variety of marine mammals that can be seen, not least of all giant Sperm Whales & the acrobatic Dusky Dolphin. On your whale-watch tour you’ll often see other whale species, seals & the Royal Albatross. Return to Christchurch by coach. (B) |
Day
4 |
Spectacular TranzAlpine Train, Franz Josef & Fox Glacier
The TranzAlpine is described as "The Great New Zealand Rail Adventure" and is rated as one of the top six scenic train journeys in the world. After crossing the huge and fertile patchwork farmlands of the Canterbury Plains, the TranzAlpine winds its way over massive viaducts, through spectacular river gorges and the stunning Waimakariri River valley. It tracks its way up and across the spectacular Southern Alps via the alpine village of Arthur’s Pass situated 737 metres above sea level. Here you reboard your coach and then travel along the dramatic West Coast, steeped in history dating back to the gold rush era of the 1800's, to the township of Fox Glacier for our overnight stay. Stay: Te Weheka Inn (B) |
Day
5 |
Haast, Lake Wanaka, Queenstown
There is the opportunity to experience an optional scenic flight over this remarkable region (subject to weather conditions) before our departure this morning. Today, view incredible scenery as you travel past the untouched native forests and pristine lakes of the World Heritage Westland National Park and Haast Pass. We then travel over the magnificent Southern Alps to the Southern Lakes District. Time to wander around the popular lakeside townships of Hawea and Wanaka before travelling on to Queenstown, a beautiful alpine resort regarded as New Zealand's premier holiday destination. Stay: Heritage Queenstown Hotel (4 nights) (B) |
Day
6
&
7 |
Explore Queenstown & Surrounds
Enjoy two full days to experience this magnificent resort. Surrounded by majestic mountains, Queenstown boasts adventure 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. There are numerous activities from which to choose and your Tour Host will be pleased to offer advice and help you in your selection. (B) |
Day
8 |
Milford Sound Nature Cruise & Fly
Today, journey by coach along the shores of Lake Wakatipu and through rolling countryside to Te Anau. Then continue along the Milford Road through the Eglinton Valley & the famous, hand-strewn Homer Tunnel to the Sound itself. Here you board a purpose-built vessel, designed along the lines of a traditional trading scow, for an extended 2 ½ hour nature cruise the full length Milford Sound to the Tasman Sea. This magnificent glacier-carved fjord is home to the famous, mile-high Mitre Peak and you will view spectacular waterfalls, rainforests, mountains and wildlife whilst enjoying an extensive commentary from the on-board nature guide. After disembarking from the cruise, board your light aircraft for a spectacular scenic flight back to Queenstown (weather permitting). You’ll marvel at the awesome alpine scenery, flying over waterfalls, mountains & rainforests on this never-to-be-forgotten experience. (B) |
Day
9 |
Arrowtown, Mt Cook National Park
Set beneath the rugged Crown Range is Arrowtown, a fascinating collection of mining cottages with an atmosphere straight out of last century. Enjoy some time to stroll through this historic village located beside the Arrow River, once a haven for the gold prospectors of the 1860’s. Later, we travel through the towns of Omarama & Twizel before driving up the western side of Lake Pukaki to the Mt Cook National Park, a World Heritage listed site. Mt Cook is Australasia's highest mountain at 3764 metres. The park covers over 70,000 hectares of breathtaking alpine scenery and is also home to the Tasman Glacier, the longest in the Southern hemisphere (optional Ski-plane & helicopter flights are available subject to weather conditions). Stay: The Hermitage, Mt Cook – Aoraki Wing (B/D) |
Day
10 |
Tasman Glacier, Lake Tekapo, Christchurch
Experience the Tasman Glacier, New Zealand’s largest, in the most unique way possible. An experienced guide will whisk you away in a stable MAC Boat to explore the melting ice-face of the Tasman Glacier where you will also get to touch & taste 400-year old icebergs that have been carved into the murky waters of the lake. Later we visit beautiful Lake Tekapo and view the tiny Church of the Good Shepherd, built of local stone and oak in 1935. Leaving the High Country, cross the vast Canterbury Plains to the 'Garden City' of Christchurch. Stay: Heritage Christchurch Hotel (B) |
Day
11 |
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 ‘Haere Ra’, a fond farewell to your homeland and hope you leave with many happy memories of your stay in Aotearoa, New Zealand. (B) |
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Click on the icon to download the 11 Day Southern Discovery tour in pdf format. |
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from NZ $5,699
11 Day Southern Discovery
7
3.9
5
11 Day Southern Discovery Reviews
Tour reviews from past clients of Relaxing Journeys for the 11 Day Southern Discovery. |
The tour was fun and educational. Everyone enjoyed it tremendously. Our tour host, William Taylor, is a wonderful and friendly person. He took care of our needs and made us feel truly at home! The highlights of the tour were.........all of them were highlights! The only regrets we had were probably the dolphin watch and the scenic flight from Milford Sound to Queenstown. They were cancelled due to bad weather. We especially loved this exclusive small group tour. It was relaxing and refreshing. The scenery of South Island is awesome. We would love to visit New Zealand again in the future when possible. Thank you very much Relaxing Journeys and our tour consultant, Jarrod, not to forget as well, Mr. William Taylor. My children enjoyed the tour very much. All the best to everyone and a BIG THANK YOU from all of us in Malaysia.
Bee Koon (Daphne) Low (Malaysia)
Tour Date 20/11/2011 |
We both enjoyed this trip immensely. Everthing was very well organised and went to plan. There was a good balance between group time and free time and not too much driving between destinations. All our guides were knowledgeable, helpful and passionate about NZ- especially Steve Burgess. Our accomodation was of a very good standard throughout. Two standouts were the Heritage at Mt. Cook - great food and a breathtaking view and the Copthorne in Christchurch with excellent service, food and decor. Akoroa was one of my favourites with it's beautiful harbour, pretty village, many art galleries, appartment with a fabulous view and fantastic fish and chips! The train trip along the coast to Kaikora was another highlight and to top it off we saw three whales up close and another two in the distance. We loved your expanse of snow capped mountains and cruising Milford Sound without a sandfly in sight. The flight back to Queenstown was amazing too. I would have liked more time to explore Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier. The first was impossible due to the late arrival and the second was made difficult by the need to catch the train at Greymouth. Great country and we will visit again. Thank you for your important part in organising the trip.
Robbie & Irena Costmeyer (Australia)
Tour Date 13/11/2011 |
In general it was a wonderful tour. Ian Wooster, our tour guide was great. The agenda got revised several times and I would have preferred not to do the TransAlpine train twice. All the other days/locations were great. A beautiful country. On many days, we did not get back to our hotel untill 6:00 PM or so. It would have been nice to arrive earlier to explore the area, especially where we had one night stays. Perhaps Ian could have shortened up the frequent bathroom and cafe breaks we had. The accomodations (hotels) were generally very nice. In retrospect, I would skip the whale watch. While we did see whales, you don't see much of them. All the other venues were excellent.
Hale & Karen Cochran (United States)
Tour Date 05/11/2011 |
We had a wonderful trip. Everything was planned and arranged well. Our accomodations were great. The two guides we had were very knowledgeable and interesting. It was very nice to be able to have someone else drive while you got to watch all the scenery go by. I would recommend this trip to anyone who wants to get a good view of all the South Island has to offer.
Jo Ann, Jean & Wayne Hardy (United States)
Tour Date 09/01/2011 |
We enjoyed pretty much every aspect of our trip to New Zealand. The weather cancelled two of our planned excursions, but that can happen anywhere. Our hotel accommodations were excellent, our two guides were excellent, and all the excursions were great. Our only negative comment is that we would have preferred to stay in Arrowtown rather than Queenstown. We much preferred the local flavor of Arrowtown over the touristy Queenstown. We would recommend your company to any friends who asked for one.
Mark & Cathy Greene (United States)
Tour Date 08/11/2009 |
We are just back in the UK, still on NZ time, having had a super holiday and a spectacular tour of South Island thanks to your impeccable organisation! Everything went according to plan including the extra arrangements that you made for us to take the train up to Auckland. Many thanks from both of us for helping to make our holiday so very memorable.
Peter & Gill Powell (United Kingdom)
Tour Date 04/02/2008 |
We have recently returned home from a memorable world tour. Our visit to many countries around the world, will forever hold wonderful memories of the sights we seen and the people we met. Our visit to New Zealand was made very special by the professionalism of our coach driver Alan and Tessa our tour guide to Rotorua. Nothing was to much trouble for Alan and the knowledge of Tessa during our excursion to the Maori land was fascinating. Craig on behalf of my party I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for making our stay in New Zealand so special. One day we hope to visit your country again and if so I will certainly look you up for further assistance. Best of luck in the Tri-Nations.
Allan Evans (United Kingdom)
Tour Date 27/12/2005 |
Tour Prices
All tour prices are per person, twin share. |
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EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL OFFER*
2012 Season Sale! Save $300 per person. Guaranteed 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. |
Tour
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Tour
Finishes |
Tour
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Price |
OUR
SPECIAL |
OUR
PRICE |
| 05 Feb 2012 |
15 Feb 2012 |
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NZ $5999 |
Save $300 |
NZ $5699 |
| 08 Feb 2012 |
18 Feb 2012 |
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NZ $5999 |
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NZ $5699 |
| 12 Feb 2012 |
22 Feb 2012 |
G |
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NZ $5699 |
| 15 Feb 2012 |
25 Feb 2012 |
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| 19 Feb 2012 |
29 Feb 2012 |
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| 22 Feb 2012 |
03 Mar 2012 |
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| 26 Feb 2012 |
07 Mar 2012 |
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| 29 Feb 2012 |
10 Mar 2012 |
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| 04 Mar 2012 |
14 Mar 2012 |
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| 11 Mar 2012 |
21 Mar 2012 |
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28 Mar 2012 |
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31 Mar 2012 |
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| 25 Mar 2012 |
04 Apr 2012 |
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| 01 Apr 2012 |
11 Apr 2012 |
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| 08 Apr 2012 |
18 Apr 2012 |
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| 15 Apr 2012 |
25 Apr 2012 |
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| 22 Apr 2012 |
02 May 2012 |
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| 29 Apr 2012 |
09 May 2012 |
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NZ $5999 |
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NZ $5699 |
*Tour Status: 'G' Tours are guaranteed to depart.
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Single Travellers:
Solo travellers are required to pay the single supplement. |
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| Single Supplement: |
Add |
NZ $1,550 |
*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'. |
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