Highlights of New Zealand’s South Island Nature Tour

Touching down in Queenstown is a bucolic experience that will have you soaring over the fjords and gliding above a lake on the edge of the world. Your accommodation will be nestled on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, and a local guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to your accommodation. Queenstown and the South Island may promise adventure, but nature also provides a tranquil atmosphere that is perfect for escaping your everyday schedule. Today will be at your leisure, and you can have as much time as you need to settle in to your New Zealand experience.

Today, you will venture into the wilderness. The South Island’s sublime landscapes will set the scene for your nine days in New Zealand. Today, you will be twisting along a rugged road to an icy river that cuts between sharp cliffs. A jetboat will lead you further on an exhilarating ride that features 360-degree turns and hair-raising moments beneath the cliffs. After lunch, you will travel deeper into this untrammeled land to locations that were used for filming Lord of the Rings. It is a 4WD tour that will have you bumping over rivers to Middle-earth and telling chapters from the trilogy.

Milford is the most famous fjord of Fiordland, but Doubtful Sound is prettier and more adventurous. You will need to travel by road and boat to an island, cross the island by 4WD vehicle, and then board a cruise vessel to reach Doubtful Sound. This journey will be an immersion of Fiordland’s towering mountains and rolling waterfalls. The best way to experience any of the fjords is to spend the night. First, you will cruise around the fjord to admire dolphins and seals. A small boat will further your impression of the fjord’s size. After the day-trippers leave, it will be just a single boat on an enormous fjord, and you can really bask in the wonders of this mostly undiscovered region.

Perhaps the ultimate highlight of spending the night in Doubtful Sound is waking up. Mist consumes Fiordland on most mornings, and you may not be able to see more than 30 feet. Slowly, it will clear, mystically unveiling Doubtful Sound in its most pristine form. This morning, you can enjoy a kayak or boat excursion on the fjord with a focus on getting up-close to the different animals. Rather than drive back to Queenstown, you will return by helicopter, which will offer you a scenic flight above glaciers and fjords. Halfway back to Queenstown, the pilot will bring you down on a large alpine glacier, where you can disembark and feel the crunch of ice beneath your feet.

Te Wahipounamu is a massive natural UNESCO World Heritage Site that covers most of the western half of New Zealand’s South Island. Spanning six national parks, it is an unbroken wilderness with very few people or settlements. The entire journey to Abel Tasman National Park will take about half a day. You can travel at your pace and stop where you want. Your guide can also offer suggestions for great places to get out and walk. By connecting national parks and rolling across the landscape, you can explore the best of the South Island landscapes in a single day before arriving in the town of Franz Josef Glacier.

Ice sculptures glisten a soft blue as they curl across the glacier. Entire tunnels have been carved by nature, and you can travel through them. Just reaching the glacier will require a helicopter flight. Once you reach the locale, you will need crampons and ice axes to fully explore. Walking on a glacier is one thing, but wait until you see where the glacier goes. From alpine origins, the ice cascades through a lush rainforest before surging all the way to a beach. The heli-hike will consume half a day, leaving the afternoon free to visit a small wildlife sanctuary.

Today, you will continue your overland journey and gradually leave the mountains behind. You will travel along the coast and encounter strange rocks and hidden beaches where it is rare to see footprints. Abel Tasman National Park will be your final destination, and it is completely different from where you started. From Fiordland’s snow and ice, you will be presented with the tropical colors of a landscape that looks more like Hawaii than New Zealand. Hiking trails snake along the cliffs and your lodge will be tucked away from everything, commanding a majestic view over the national park.

This is a lovely part of New Zealand, and the contrast from the fjords makes it unmissable for nature lovers. Today, you will be guided through the best of the national park by a local guide. First, you will travel on foot across the cliffs and into the forest. Then, in kayaks, you will paddle to islets and follow the tide into tiny bays. Your adventure will continue in the afternoon when you will travel the length of the national park’s coastline on a private boat tour. You can enter small caves and find hidden swathes of nature, where turquoise water is overlooked by jagged fern-lined cliffs.

It is an hour private transfer out of the park to Nelson, where you will board a flight to Christchurch or Auckland for your international flight home.