4-Day Great Southern Island Circle Tour from Christchurch
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4 days (approx.)
Hotel pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English
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Overview
View Franz Josef Glacier and experience a Milford Sound cruise on this 4-day semi-independent tour of New Zealand's South Island. You’ll travel by coach from Christchurch to Queenstown via the Canterbury Plains, Aoraki/Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo, then motor up the west coast to Greymouth before riding the TranzAlpine train on the return to Christchurch. Listen to narration on board as the driver highlights this scenic region from picturesque mountain peaks to deep fiords. Overnight accommodation and round-trip hotel transport are included.
- Four-day coach tour of New Zealand's great Southern Island
- Cruise on Milford Sound
- View the Franz Josef Glacier
- Fully guided tour and commentary
- Plenty of photo opportunities
- Pickup and drop off from centrally located Christchurch hotels
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See the highlights of the South Island in four days on a circular route, traveling round-trip from Christchurch. This semi-independent tour includes coach and rail transport with three nights’ accommodation in Queenstown and the township of Franz Josef Glacier. A Milford Sound cruise and informative commentary by your driver-guide are included; otherwise, you have free time at each destination to spend however you wish.
Itinerary
Day 1: Christchurch – Mt Cook – Queenstown
Travel through the Canterbury Plains to the Southern Alps. Cross Burkes Pass to Lake Tekapo and visit the Church of the Good Shepherd. Travel up Lake Pukaki to Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain. Stop for lunch (own expense) before crossing Lindis Pass and continuing along Kawerau Gorge to Queenstown.
Overnight: Heartland Hotel Queenstown or similar in Queenstown
Day 2: Queenstown – Milford Sound – Queenstown
Travel along Lake Wakatipu beneath the Remarkables Range to Te Anau. See the Mirror Lakes and continue past Christie Falls. Enter the Homer Tunnel, drilled through the solid rock of a mountain. Take a cruise on Milford Sound where you'll see Mitre Peak and rock walls rising vertically from the sea. Re-board your coach for a Queenstown return. Optional lunch on the cruise is available.
Overnight: Heartland Hotel Queenstown or similar in Queenstown
Day 3: Queenstown – Franz Josef Glacier
Travel along Lake Wanaka to Haast Pass. Pass through Central Otago and the majestic peaks of the Southern Alps with its rivers and rainforests. Continue up the West Coast past mountain ranges, native forests and lakes to Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. Franz Josef Glacier is considered a living river of ice that is over 7,000 years old.
Overnight: Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier or similar in Franz Josef
Day 4: Franz Josef – Greymouth – Arthur's Pass – Christchurch
Travel along the West Coast to Shantytown, a reconstructed Gold Rush town, and then to Greymouth, where thousands of diggers lived during the gold strikes of the 1860s. Travel through Arthur's Pass to Christchurch via the TranzAlpine Express.
Travel through the Canterbury Plains to the Southern Alps. Cross Burkes Pass to Lake Tekapo and visit the Church of the Good Shepherd. Travel up Lake Pukaki to Mt Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain. Stop for lunch (own expense) before crossing Lindis Pass and continuing along Kawerau Gorge to Queenstown.
Overnight: Heartland Hotel Queenstown or similar in Queenstown
Day 2: Queenstown – Milford Sound – Queenstown
Travel along Lake Wakatipu beneath the Remarkables Range to Te Anau. See the Mirror Lakes and continue past Christie Falls. Enter the Homer Tunnel, drilled through the solid rock of a mountain. Take a cruise on Milford Sound where you'll see Mitre Peak and rock walls rising vertically from the sea. Re-board your coach for a Queenstown return. Optional lunch on the cruise is available.
Overnight: Heartland Hotel Queenstown or similar in Queenstown
Day 3: Queenstown – Franz Josef Glacier
Travel along Lake Wanaka to Haast Pass. Pass through Central Otago and the majestic peaks of the Southern Alps with its rivers and rainforests. Continue up the West Coast past mountain ranges, native forests and lakes to Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. Franz Josef Glacier is considered a living river of ice that is over 7,000 years old.
Overnight: Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier or similar in Franz Josef
Day 4: Franz Josef – Greymouth – Arthur's Pass – Christchurch
Travel along the West Coast to Shantytown, a reconstructed Gold Rush town, and then to Greymouth, where thousands of diggers lived during the gold strikes of the 1860s. Travel through Arthur's Pass to Christchurch via the TranzAlpine Express.
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4-Day Great Southern Island Circle Tour from Christchurch
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