9 Day tour Christchurch-Queenstown-Dunedin return tour.

Day one

Go through Christchurch CBD to view the city rebuild after the 2011 earthquake then head up to the port hills for a view over the city and Canterbury plains.

We then head inland and south down to the Rakaia Gorge for sightseeing and the option to take a ride on the jet boat up the river (jet boat rides at customers expense).

After a stop at Rakaia Gorge we will then head south down to Stavley Store for a real rural lunch break surrounded by farmland and clean air.

After our lunch we will drive south through the town of Geraldine for a small break and the chance to look through the large selection of local art, bakery, jam and souvenir shops, then drive another 40mins to the beautiful town of Fairlie where you can stay at you own selection of farm stays, air B&B’s or motels in the area.

Day two

In the morning there is a few options for you to choose from –

Alpaca farm

Sheep farm tour

River walks

Fairlie Heritage Museum

Fairlie Bake house (world famous in NZ)

Bike ride around the town

Look through the selection or local shops just to name a few.

At approximately 11am we will leave Fairlie and drive 40 mins through the first of many mountain passes Burkes pass to reach Lake Tekapo where your jaw will drop at the beauty of the part of New Zealand We will spend our lunch there (the option is there also to have light lunch up on Mt John, with 360-degree views of the Mackenzie country).

After our lunch we will drive approximately 1 hour south through the Mackenzie plans to the bottom of Lake Pukaki where will stop for a time for photos and time to take in this awesome part of the Mackenzie.

A 50 min drive up the lake side of Pukakai will have us at the village of Mt Cook. You can either stay at Mt Cook or Twizel the night. If you chose to stay at Mt cook the night in the morning you may choose to walk one of many walking tracks in the area or just wonder around the village or have breakfast at the Hermitage Restaurant.

Day three

On day three we will stop at a few different locations such as

High Country salmon Farm (Twizel)

Oamarama Clay Cliff

Photos at the top of Lindis pass (the highest point on the South Island’s highway network at 971m).

After passing through Lindis Pass we will then stop at Tarrace for lunch.

We will conclude our day in the lakeside town of Wanaka.

Day Four

Breakfast in one of many restaurants overlooking Lake Wanaka.

There is much to see on the drive from Lake Wanaka to Queenstown

Maize world Wanaka

Cardrona pub

Cardrona Adventure park (monster trucks, quad bikes rides etc)

Wineries

Canyon swing

Bungee jumping or jet boating just to name a few.

Queenstown has a huge selection of hotels, motels, backpackers and air B&B accommodation for you to choose from

Day five

Day five would be a day spent in Queenstown doing things that interest you, perhaps

A boat ride on the lake

Sky diving

Jet boating

Eat local food

Visiting wineries

Sheep shearing demonstration

Ride the gondola up the mountain

Day six

On this day we will head south along the side of Lake Wakatipu to Te Anau where we will stop for lunch.

After lunch we will head North through some beautiful mountains to Milford Sound and stay a night if accommodation allows, if it does not, we will drive back to Te Anau.

Day seven

Leaving either Te Anau or Milford Sound we will travel slightly south east down through the lush farmland of Southland to the township of Gore, a real country town for lunch. From there we will

head north through the rolling hills of Southland and Otago to reach Otago’s largest city of Dunedin where we would finish the day.

Day eight

Spend some time in the beautiful southern city taking in the sights

Rail museum

The steepest street in the world

Visit one of many breweries

Visit Larnach castle & gardens

After lunch in Dunedin we will then head north up state highway 1 up the east coast to Moraki to view the world famous Moeraki Boulders, then onwards to the town of Oamaru where you will have time to look around the town, have a coffee or tea at “the gallery” café on the seaside or wander around and experience the arts of Oamaru’s Victorian Precinct.

After our time there we head 1-hour North to Timaru we will spend a night. Timaru has a large selection of hotels, motels and B&B’s to choose from.

Day nine

Day eight will have us heading north up state highway one stopping along the way to visit a few different places, for example

The Tin Shed Rangitata – a large selection of New Zealand wool products, gifts and souvenirs

Cookie Time Templeton – founded in 1983 this cookie making factory makes large and small cookies for people around the world.

An There will be plenty of time to stop, rest and take photos wherever you would like.

anything else that spikes your interest along the we can stop at.

Christchurch city is the last stop on this tour.