Easybook Tours

beneath the surface - booking code BS5

Round trip from Christchurch to Greymouth, glaciers, Queenstown, Te Anau, Doubtful Sound, Dunedin and Mt Cook – 10 days

Inclusions: Tranz Alpine train, Pancake Rocks, guided tour to Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, Lake Matheson, glowworm caves, Doubtful Sound cruise, underground power station, Otago peninsula wildlife tour

01.06.2010-30.09.2011	Single	Twin	Triple
per person price (NZ$)	$3682	$2695	$2491

Day 1
Depart Christchurch at 8.15 am. The Tranz Alpine is known as one of the world's most scenic rail journeys and crosses from tussocky plains to rocky gorges to West Coast rainforest. From Greymouth take a guided tour to the sculpted stacks, limestone gorges and blowholes at the Pancake Rocks. A scenic bush walk leads through rainforest to a pebble beach.

Day 2
A local guide will show you the hidden highlights of the West Coast, including the greenstone (jade) carvers and glassblowers of Hokitika, views of the glaciers, a walk to a glacier terminal face and a stroll along the forest edge of beautiful Lake Matheson.

Day 3
From the glacier region you travel through the lush green scenery of the Haast Pass to the year-round alpine resort of Queenstown.

Day 4
Full day at leisure. Queenstown offers a wide range of activities, from the more sedentary to the action-packed. We can recommend exploring the remote Dart River valley by jetboat or a 4WD excursion through the Arrow Valley to the ghost mining town of Macetown.

Day 5
Travel on to Te Anau on the edge of the Fiordland National Park. Cruise across the lake to the glowworm caves. After viewing the displays in Cavern House, you walk and boat through the limestone caverns, beneath a beautiful canopy of incandescent light.

Day 6
Discover one of Fiordland's best-kept secrets - Doubtful Sound. Cross Lake Manapouri and then coach across the Wilmot Pass to reach this stunning fiord. As you enjoy your cruise you may be accompanied by the resident pod of dolphins, or catch sight of a fur seal basking on a rock. Before you return to Te Anau, go underground to visit New Zealand's largest electric power station. Your coach will take you 2km down the spiral tunnel, hewn from solid granite, to the immense machine hall.

Day 7
Leaving Te Anau you journey on to Dunedin, which still retains a strong Scottish influence from colonial times. Free time this afternoon allows you to visit the Otago Settler's Museum or Olveston House, or take a ride on the historic Taieri Gorge railway (admission fees not included).

Day 8
This morning there is further time at leisure, perhaps to visit the Speights Brewery or Cadbury chocolate factory. In the afternoon you will visit the grounds of Larnach Castle for a photo opportunity of this imposing 19th century grand home. Visit the exhibits at the albatross centre and possibly see an albatross flying overhead. Then board an all-terrain vehicle for an exhilarating ride taking you through farmland to beach colonies of rare yellow-eyed penguins, little blue penguins, NZ fur seals and shags (cormorants).

Day 9
You will travel through the Victorian historic precinct of Oamaru and alongside the hydro-electric dams of the Waitaki valley, where fossil remains of prehistoric dolphins have been discovered, to Mt Cook. There is free time for optional 4WD tours, bush walks, kayaking or glacier lake excursions (admission fees own expense). Dinner is included at your hotel.

Day 10
Stop at the Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo before arriving back in Christchurch at 6.45 pm.

Note: Monteith's Heritage Tour may be substituted for the Pancake Rocks tour. Includes brewery visit, old mine trail, West Coast pub, meet the locals. Minimum numbers apply.

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