Spirit Of The South 7 Day Tour
South Island (Reversible)
Taking in the South Island’s high country, lakes district and Fiordland this is our most popular South Island itinerary. This tour is perfect for guests with want to see New Zealand’s South Island in their one week vacation. Contact us today about the different travel styles, accommodation and activities available to create your perfect 7 day New Zealand South Island vacation.
Travel Style: Private driver I Self-drive
Accommodation Style: Motel I Hotel I Boutique Lodges
Talk to us today about planning all the details.
Day 1: Christchurch
Day 1: Arrive Christchuch
Suggested activities for Christchurch
Explore: Christchurch
New Zealand's garden city is steadily being transformed into a vibrant urban destination. Encompassing a large green belt, it is known for its wide tree-lined avenues and lush gardens. A great way to explore is to take the double-decker hop on/hop off bus for an easy way to see the sights – or ride a historic tram across town to the renowned botanic gardens and the unique cardboard Transitional Cathedral.
Day 2: Christchurch to Aoraki Mount Cook
Today you'll drive through the heart of the South Island, crossing the vast Canterbury plains. Catch your breath in Geraldine before continuing through Fairlie. Ascending Burkes Pass, you'll come to the picturesque lakeside town of Tekapo. Follow the road and take in the view of Aoraki Mount Cook (New Zealand's tallest mountain) from the shores of Lake Pukaki, known for its glacier-fed turquoise blue color. Continue along the lake to your final destination, Mount Cook Village.
Suggested Activity
Explore: Short Walk at Aoraki Mount Cook
As the highest mountain in New Zealand, Aoraki Mt Cook provides the epic backdrop to our favourite short hikes. We know everyone has a different level of fitness and have chosen four of the most popular walks that aren’t steep or long in duration. Each walk has its own highlights but they all include a stunning view of Aoraki Mt Cook.
Day 3: Aoraki Mount Cook
Suggested Activity for Mount Cook
Adventure: Mt Cook Helicopter Experience
Landing amidst the crevasses of the Tasman Glacier, you will put on snowshoes or crampons to explore the glacier’s seracs, icefalls, and astonishing caves of ancient blue ice.
Big Sky Stargazing
Mount Cook is far from the city lights and therefore has some of the darkest skies in New Zealand - perfect for viewing the night sky. Fully trained guides will be delighted to show you the beautiful southern night sky using the naked eye, state-of-the-art astronomy telescopes, and binoculars at the outdoor viewing platform. If the weather is unfavourable then there is an indoor alternative featuring New Zealand's first full-dome digital Planetarium – high definition video images on a suspended 9m wide x 4.5m high full dome.
Glacier Explorers Mt. Cook
Experience 500-year-old icebergs up-close on the Mt Cook terminal lake. The Glacier Explorers tour is the only one of its kind in New Zealand - and one of only three in the world! Very few glaciers terminate into lakes and even fewer of them are accessible. See towering ice cliffs and floating icebergs from the safety of a specially designed boat. These boats provide a safe way to view unseen and inaccessible areas of New Zealand's largest glacier - The Tasman.
Day 4: Aoraki Mount Cook to Queenstown
Suggested Activity
Food: High Country Salmon
Caught from the crystal clear water of Lake Pukaki, high country salmon is a popular delicacy on the way to Queenstown.
Day 5: Queenstown
Suggested activities
Explore: Queenstown and surrounds
Celebrated as New Zealand's adventure capital, Queenstown offers far more than a fast-paced action-packed holiday. Settled on the shores of Lake Wakatipu beneath a soaring panorama of the Remarkables Mountain Range, this alpine town is surrounded by a plethora of historic, gastronomic, and scenic wonders.
Nature and Scenery: Arrowtown and Wanaka Tour
Taking in the best bits of the region: historic Arrowtown, scenically stunning Wanaka, and the world-famous Cardrona Hotel. Join our friendly guides on this relaxed trip, for local highlights, rich and amusing stories about gold history and geology, and a peek into the lifestyle of the region.
World Famous: TSS Earnslaw cruise to Walter Peak including gourmet BBQ dinner and a farm tour
Enjoy a quintessential Kiwi experience – a delicious gourmet BBQ buffet meal and a farm demonstration in a stunning lakeside setting.
Take in the stunning views of Lake Wakatipu and its surroundings as you cruise across the lake to the historic Walter Peak high country farm aboard the TSS Earnslaw Steamship.
After dinner, watch the farm dogs in action with a sheep-herding demonstration and say hello to the other farm animals.
Day 6: Queenstown to Milford Sound
Suggested Activity
Nature: Overnight Cruise
Onboard you will cruise the full length of this spectacular fiord to the Tasman Sea, leisurely exploring on the way many points of interest.
You can go exploring in the tender craft and kayaks or simply relax on deck. After the day's activities, you enjoy a delicious evening meal in the spacious saloon before retiring to your private cabin. There is plenty of time to view the waterfalls, rainforest, mountains and wildlife and the experienced the nature.
Day 7: Milford Sound to Queenstown Airport
Enjoy the wonderful drive along the Milford Road as you head back towards Te Anau. Crossing the rolling tussock lands, pass through Mossburn, the deer capital of New Zealand. Following the lake north, the Remarkable mountain range towers over you as you approach the adventure capital of Queenstown. Once you arrive in Queenstown transfer to the airport for your departure flight.
Option to fly back
You can choose to fly back instead of the return four-hour drive.
Glenorchy Air in a seven-seat plane: Take a 45-minute flight across the Southern Alps above mountains and glaciers before touching down. You will have a window seat with unimpaired views as you fly to Milford Sound through a landscape of unbelievable grandeur and beauty.
Heliworks helicopter flight: See Milford Sound from above with this scenic helicopter tour through Fiordland, which includes a glacier landing