Optional Extras
Duration
7 Days / 6 Nights – Departing Christchurch finishing in Christchurch
Departure
Please click on the Price & Date Tab for departure dates.
Seat rotation plan
When you travel on a Kirra Coach Tour your Coach Captain maintains a daily seat rotation plan to ensure you get to know
all your travelling companions and enjoy the scenery from a different vantage point each day.
Smoking policy
All our coach tours are smoke free and are restricted to smoking during the frequent sightseeing, photographic and comfort stops. We request non-smoking hotel rooms for the comfort of our entire tour group. Travellers who prefer accommodation without such limitations are asked to make their preference known when making reservations and again at the beginning of their tour.
Arrive Christchurch - Christchurch / Lake Tekapo / Mt Cook - Mt Cook / Queenstown - Queenstown - Queenstown / Doubtful Sound - Doubtful Sound / Dunedin - Dunedin / Christchurch
Welcome to New Zealand. On your arrival into Christchurch, please make your own way to the hotel, where you will enjoy hosted courtesy welcome canapés & a drink prior to dinner, which will give you the perfect opportunity to meet and get acquainted with your fellow travellers. (D)
Travel across the Canterbury Plains this morning before climbing the foothills of the Southern Alps and venturing into the MacKenzie Basin. View the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd as well as the Collie Dog memorial, both located overlooking the powder-blue waters of stunning Lake Tekapo. Here you will have free time to purchase your own lunch as well as the opportunity (weather permitting) for a highly recommended (optional) flight with Air Safaris. Continue on to Mt Cook Village deep in the National Park where you will visit New Zealand’s Tasman Glacier terminal lake for a fascinating glacier encounter using custom built boats to cruise the rapidly growing terminal lake and taking in spectacular mountain views and icebergs of every shape and size. (B, D)
Follow the State Highway and travel across the winding Lindis Pass today, and then it’s onwards to the roaring Kawarau Gorge, stopping at Cromwell and Arrowtown where you can see gold mining relics of the boom many years ago. Later this afternoon you arrive into the ever-popular resort of Queenstown, located in a spectacular position surrounded by the lake and mountains and will enjoy a brief tour. This evening you will take an exciting gondola ride to the Queenstown Skyline at Bobs Peak where you will enjoy a unique live Kiwi Haka show performed by Queenstown’s leading Kapa Haka Maori cultural group followed by a mouth-watering Taste of New Zealand buffet dinner of legendary proportions whilst you enjoy panoramic views of Queenstown and its majestic surrounds. (B, D)
A full day free today so you can explore the many delights of this alpine resort. You can choose to try the world famous Shotover Jet, or alternatively take an excursion to Skippers Canyon where you can witness some truly incredible scenery. There are a multitude of optional activities available to you in Queenstown and your Coach Captain will be pleased to advise you and help with any questions or queries. (All optionals at own expense). Alternatively, you can spend the day exploring Queenstown’s many international boutiques and galleries or just relaxing. (B)
Depart Queenstown and travel south along the shores of Lake Wakatipu and continue across fertile farmlands into Fiordland. Cruise across picturesque Lake Manapouri on ‘The Titiroa’ vessel to the West Arm where a coach will transport you over the Wilmot Pass to Doubtful Sound. Here you will board the Fiordland Navigator at Deep Cove. There is plenty of time on your overnight cruise to soak up the stunning surrounds and to discover the hidden arms of Doubtful Sound – Hall, Crooked and First. Bottlenose dolphins often ride on the bow waves, fur seals bask on the rocks and, at times, rare penguins make an appearance. Once moored up for the evening you will have the opportunity to kayak around the shoreline, go exploring in the tender craft with a nature guide or simply relax on deck. A sumptuous three-course buffet is served featuring some of the region’s finest produce. (B, D)
Wake to the sounds of silence in a pristine world, before you disembark your vessel and rejoin your coach to continue on your New Zealand journey. Rugged and remote mountains change to lush green countryside, which in turn gives way to rolling hills as you approach Dunedin, the “Edinburgh of the South”. On arrival you will be taken on a short city tour of Dunedin where you will see classic Victorian and Edwardian architecture, the University of Otago – New Zealand’s oldest university, as well as a chance to marvel at Baldwin Street – the world’s steepest street. This evening take a step back in time to the cobblestone streets and become a part of Speight’s Brewery history which dates back to 1876. Enjoy a one-hour tour which will introduce you to the antiquity of beer from Babylonian times, the development of beer in New Zealand and, of course, the story of the origins of the Speight’s Brewery. Enjoy dinner tonight at the Speight’s Ale House next door to the brewery. (B, D)
This morning head to the beautiful Otago Peninsula to visit Larnach Castle, built in 1871 by politician and merchant baron William Larnach, for his wife Eliza. It is now the residence of the Barker Family who have lovingly restored the castle to its former glory. Enjoy stunning views of the peninsula from the Castle grounds. Leave Dunedin and travel north to the historical town of Oamaru where you will have plenty of time to walk around and explore the Victorian Precincts or perhaps even visit the weird and wonderful Steampunk gallery (own expense). Continue along the coast passing Timaru and across the braided Rakaia River and through the mixed cropping and sheep grazing holdings of the vast Canterbury Plain. Arrive into Christchurch late afternoon where you will embark on a brief city tour before your tour concludes at the airport at approximately 5.45pm. (B)
Tour Starts | Tour Ends | Tour Status | Normal Rate | Acrossnz Discount Rate |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sat 21 Mar 2015 | Fri 27 Mar 2015 | GUARANTEED | NZ $3,185.00 | NZ $3,026.00 |
Fri 15 Jan 2016 | Thu 21 Jan 2016 | GUARANTEED | NZ $3,185.00 | NZ $3,026.00 |
Fri 12 Feb 2016 | Thu 18 Feb 2016 | GUARANTEED | NZ $3,185.00 | NZ $3,026.00 |
Fri 11 Mar 2016 | Thu 17 Mar 2016 | GUARANTEED | NZ $3,185.00 | NZ $3,026.00 |