Australian Natural Adventuresnature travel, wildlife tours, adventure travel and general travel to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific
New Zealand - the South Island
Day 1 – Nelson Day 2 – Abel Tasman National Park Day 3 - Nelson / Kaikoura Day 4 - Kaikoura / Christchurch Day 5 - Christchurch / Invercargill / Stewart
Island Day 6 – Stewart Island Day 7 – Stewart Island / Te Anau Day 8 – Te Anau / Milford Sound /Queenstown Day 9 – Queenstown Day 10 – Queenstown / Fox Glacier Day 11 - Fox Glacier / Punakaiki Day 12 - Punakaiki / Christchurch / Los
Angeles
Don't forget we have many other options on our New Zealand website.
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Pick up your rental car, and take a scenic 45 minute drive to Kaiteriteri
in Abel Tasman National Park to meet trnsfer boat at 8.40am on the
beach. A 1.5 hour cruise, with morning tea, will transfer you to a
sheltered bay where after simple lessons you will spend the
rest of the day guided sea kayaking amid bays and mountains. Lunch
will taken on a beach along the way. As snorkelling equipment is provided,
you should take your swimsuit, although the water will be cool. If
winds are favorable your return to the launch can be under sail, and
you will arrive back at Kaiteriteri at 5.45pm, leaving ample time
for your drive back to Nelson. You should take along towel, hat, sunscreen,
warm top (plus polypropylene thermals if you have them), wind jacket,
swimsuit, change of clothes, walking shoes. Dry bags are provided
for your belongings.
main
road as you arrive into the township. Kaikoura is famous world-wide
for the ease of viewing of 
many
others. At times the waters can be alive with these often huge birds
– at up to 11ft, the Wandering Albatross has the largest wingspan
of any living bird – and you are sure to see many. After the
boat trip continue south to Christchurch, the capital of the south
Island, often described as the most English city outside England.
You should
arrive about 3pm, and have the rest of the day and evening and next
morning to see this cultured city. As your hotel is centrally located,
you can return the car today as it will not be required for your Christchurch
stay. 
wish
to visit the 
stay for the next two nights. This evening at dusk you will join in
a search for Kiwis, the rarely seen emblem of New Zealand. Stewart
Island is probably the best place in New Zealand to look for these
nocturnal birds. Due to Wildlife Service restrictions, search tours
are only permitted every second evening, so it is possible that the
search will not occur until tomorrow night. As dusk is late at this
time of the year, dinner tonight is at the Lodge.
than
much of the rest of the country, and with prolific wildlife. There
is a one-hour orientation tour, which can be booked through the lodge.
Should you so choose, one well-known driver is Sam of Billy the Bus.
While many people request him, he is somewhat of a
colorful identity, full of jokes and comments that may seem less than
tactful to Americans. While he knows the island thoroughly, other
drivers may give a more serious commentary. It just depends on what
you want to remember. You should spend part of the day will be spent
on Ulva Island bird Sanctuary, a short boat ride away, which itself
should offer the opportunity to see even more. Ask the lodge manager
to arrange the water taxi to & from the island; you can walk the
well-marked trails easily by yourselves. 
drive
west and north to Te Anau, gateway to Milford Sound. As you drive
the scenery changes from the gentler
New Zealand landscape to the mountains of the Fjordland district.
You’ll enter this majestic region, and be in its heart when
you arrive at Te Anau. This evening boat across the lake to see the
glowworms, so have an early dinner and make your way to the Te Anau
wharf for a 6.25pm check in. You will get back to the wharf at about
9.15pm.
is
8.10am) to Milford Sound, along a road often described as the most
scenic in the world, and a rival to the Sound itself. There you will
spend two hours on Milford Sound on this natural history oriented
cruise, learning of the natural
history of the area and taking in the magnificent scenery. A picnic
lunch will be enjoyed aboard. You will arrive back at Te Anau a little
after lunchtime, pick up your stuff and continue on to Queenstown,
the home of adventure and extreme sports in New Zealand.
jetboating
and nature excursion. As well as the excitement and river scenery,
your 3-hour trip includes a guided nature walk deep in the river valley.
After you return to Glenorchy the day is free to explore more of Queenstown’s
offerings, including bungee jumping where it all started (well, not
exactly – it really started with Vanuatu’s Pentecost Islander
rite of passage, where young men leap from towers with vines attached
to their legs to pass into manhood) 
at
the Kawarau Bridge out from Queenstown. This evening enjoy a Maori
dinner and cultural evening. Dinner is served from 7pm, and the show
begins at 8.30pm. Tables are first come, first served, so the earlier
you arrive, the closer to the front you can sit. The evening finishes
at 9.30pm. Although obviously a tourist show, it nonetheless allows
you to see aspects of the Maori culture. 
drive)
you can enjoy a 
and Franz Josef glaciers, and Aoraki-Mount Cook National Park. If
the weather prevents a flight today, there is time to fly first thing
in the morning. The helicopter will land to give you some time high
on the alps. 
This
is postcard material early in the still morning, as the surrounding
mountains are mirrored in the still lake. There is also the added
benefit of the morning chorus of the local birds to start your day.
After breakfast you will take 
pounding waves have cut through the limestone in places creating blowholes
which, when the tide is right, perform spectacularly. The majority
of the park is wet temperate rainforest, and is a good place for an
early morning bird walk. As there is a limited range of accommodation
available in Punakaiki, location has been the key to your night’s
stay at Punakaiki Rocks hotel on the beach. Cafes and restaurants
are available nearby.
Christchurch,
and you have all day to get there before your flight home. This gives
you time to cross the mountains, stopping along the way to see Keas,
the famously cheeky mountain parrots. Be careful of your possessions,
and even your car – Keas seem to have a liking for sunglasses
and even the rubber of windscreen wipers and windscreen surrounds.
Due to the International Date Line, you arrive back in Los Angeles
in the morning of this same day.