Queenstown Highlights Tour (3 hours)
Travel to the foothills of New Zealand's highest mountain, Aoraki / Mount Cook, on a full-day sightseeing tour from Queenstown to Christchurch.
Setting off from Queenstown, travel by luxury air-conditioned coach through ruggedly beautiful landscape and over the Lindis Pass into the Mackenzie Country. We enter the amazing Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park, home to New Zealand's highest mountain, where there is time to stop for lunch and a chance to enjoy the amazing alpine scenery. According to Māori legend, the boy Aoraki and his brothers once hit a reef in their canoe. When they climbed to the higher side of the tilting vessel, the cold south wind froze them, turning them into stone. Aoraki and family now form the Southern Alps, which you will see in all their glory on this tour.
During your stop at Mount Cook Village, choose to enjoy a delicious lunch (optional extra) at the famous Hermitage Hotel. Also on offer is the chance to take a scenic flight over this spectacular region (additional cost, weather permitting – this flight can be arranged with your driver guide on the day).
In the afternoon, travel past Lake Pukaki to Lake Tekapo, where you can view the solitary Church of the Good Shepherd against the backdrop of this vivid blue glacier-fed lake. We then continue through the diverse farmland of the Canterbury Plains
[gallery]
