Day 1: Arrive Christchurch
On arrival in Christchurch you’ll be transferred to your hotel. There will be a welcome drink with your Tour Director and fellow travellers in the evening.
Hotel: Heartland Hotel Cotswold, Christchurch.
Day 2: Mt. Cook
Enjoy time at leisure this morning. Later, travelling over the patchwork countryside of the Canterbury Plains, the spectacular sightseeing begins. Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki are first up. Next you’ll visit the Church of the Good Shepherd before soaking up the sensational alpine landscape of Mt. Cook National Park – a scenic highlight! You may choose to take an optional scenic flight over Mt. Cook (weather permitting).
Hotel: Heritage Gateway Hotel, Omarama. B D
Day 3: Dunedin
Our day starts along the Waitaki River with the Waitaki Hydro Power Scheme and Benmore Dam. Travel through Oamaru with its famous white limestone buildings to Dunedin, where you’ll tour the city. Then you’ve got the afternoon to yourself – take a Wildlife Cruise, visit the Cadbury Chocolate Factory or ride the historic Taieri Gorge Railway.
Hotel: Kingsgate Hotel, Dunedin. B D
Day 4: Dunedin – Te Anau
After a morning of time to yourself, during which you might like to tour New Zealand’s Larnach Castle and its stunning gardens, you’ll head off across South Otago’s fertile, sheep-filled farming land en route to Te Anau, on the shores of Lake Te Anau, the largest lake on the South Island. Tonight you may choose to travel by boat to the Te Anau Glow Worm Caves.
Hotel: Kingsgate Hotel, Te Anau. B D
Day 5: Milford Sound
Today is a feast for the senses. You’ll be awestruck by the great sights including New Zealand’s largest national park, Fiordland, and Milford Sound, where you’ll take a cruise on this natural wonder. Amazing photo opportunities await you as you see rainforests, ancient glaciers, mountain ranges and the hand-hewn Homer Tunnel. Along the way you’ll see the Mirror Lake, Pop’s Lookout, Cleddau Valley, the Chasm, Mitre Peak, Bowen Falls, travel along the Devil’s Staircase and the shores of Lake Wakatipu. At Queenstown you’ll have an orientation tour on arrival and enjoy dinner with views over Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables.
Hotel: Mercure Queenstown Resort, Queenstown, 2 nights. B D
Day 6: Queenstown ‘Free Time’
Explore exciting Queenstown your way, all day. From wine and garden tours to jet boat rides and white water rafting, Queenstown will surprise and exhilarate. An option to dine at the Skyline Restaurant on Bob’s Peak ends the day. Access is via the steepest Gondola in the Southern Hemisphere. 
Experience a Kiwi Haka Maori Show as well! B
Day 7: Fox Glacier
First stop is the historic gold mining village of Arrowtown on the Arrow River, previously one of the world’s richest rivers. Second stop, Cromwell and its sensational stone fruit. Then it’s a trio of lakes – Lake Dunstan, Lake Hawea, Lake Wanaka. Through the Haast Pass, you view Thunder Creek Falls and enjoy a rainforest walk. Final stop, majestic Fox Glacier – a rare, still advancing glacier. Take the opportunity for an optional scenic flight over the glacier.
Hotel: Heartland Hotel Fox Glacier, Fox Glacier. B D
Day 8: Christchurch
You’ll visit Hokitika, home of the native greenstone (jade), for a factory visit and jewellery demonstration first up. Travel through Greymouth, the largest town on the West Coast, before heading back to Christchurch for your farewell dinner with your Tour Director and new-found friends.
Hotel: Heartland Hotel Cotswold, Christchurch. B D
Day 8: Depart Christchurch
Your tour concludes this morning after breakfast. You will be transferred to Christchurch Airport for your onward flight. B
