Southern Explorer 7 Days, Christchurch to Christchurch

Roll across the pastoral patchwork quilt that forms the Canterbury Plains and watch green melt into snow-topped peaks. Hang out in Hokitika for whitebait fritters and Pounamu (Jade) shopping, then take your best photography shot of NZ’s two tallest mountain peaks reflected in Lake Matheson for the #picoftheday. Excited? You should be.

Included today:
-Lake Matheson walk

Meals:
-Breakfast
-Dinner

Today’s your chance to walk on water. Well, frozen glacial water to be precise. Scale a mountain in minutes to get amongst ethereal ice caves and formations. With barely enough time to let your heart rate slow, we journey back through the mountains past Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea. Feel your pulse start to quicken as we roll into Queenstown.

Meals:
-Breakfast

Optional activities:
-Fox Glacier hikes
-Helicopter scenic glacier flights
-Glacier transfers

Here’s some basic math: Queenstown has over 220 activities-you have two days. No rush. This lakeside city has adrenaline on tap and will match any adventure you had in mind and then throw a Fergburger (amazing Queenstown burger place) in there for good measure. Get your fix with bungy, a narrow canyon swing, Shotover Jet, or paragliding, hiking, horse riding and the skyline gondola. If you’re bored here, there’s something wrong. Need some time out? Head to the Kiwi Birdlife Park, or kick back with a local pinot.

Meals:
-Breakfast
-Dinner

Optional activities:
-Jet boating
-Bungy jumping
-Canyon swinging
-Horse riding
-Skydiving
-Skiing in winter
-Wine tours
-Hang-gliding
-Zip lining
-Birdlife park
-Whitewater rafting

Free day, take two. Jump off more stuff or chill out and let your pulse drop. Your call.

Meals:
-Breakfast

Optional activities:
-Jet boating
-Bungy jumping
-Canyon swinging
-Horse riding
-Skydiving
-Skiing in winter
-Wine tours
-Hang-gliding
-Zip lining
-Birdlife park
-Whitewater rafting

By now you might be becoming a little desensitised to the otherworldly beauty of NZ but when you see the Fjords for the first time, it’s okay to enter a total Instagram meltdown! Carved by glaciers during the ice age, the Milford Sound comes complete with seals, dolphins and thundering waterfalls. Steeped in Maori myth, this is a history and geology lesson rolled into one, minus the homework.

Included today:
-Milford Sound Nature Cruise
-Fiordland National Park walks

Meals:
-Breakfast

Back in the heyday of Arrowtown, everyone was here for the gold. Recharge your batteries with venison burgers and a central Otago pinot noir in Arrowtown then zigzag across the five bridges that span the ever-changing Arrow River. Test your nerves on the suspension bridge then chill out by the crystal clear river waters while you catch your breath. Cue relaxation and a chance to practice your stone-skimming skills in Lake Ohau.

Included today:
-Mountain bike ride (13km/2hrs) along Arrow River

Meals:
-Breakfast
-Dinner

Lap up Lake Pukaki under the shadow of Mt Cook. It’s about as Kiwi as ‘fush and chups’ (fish and chips with a local accent). Then shift into sheep country, where these furry things outnumber humans 12:1. It makes sense that today includes the Church of the Good Shepherd, a monument to the faithful sheep dog and a chance to watch them in action on a Kiwi farm. Then back to into the city of Churches as our trip winds to a close.

Included today:
-Mt Cook Village (weather dependant)
-Scenic walks

Meals:
-Breakfast
-Afternoon tea