Extended South Island Tours
Your Tours offers extended tours, starting from wherever suits you.
Below are some ideas of the sort of trip Your Tour can put together for you. Please let us know of any special interests you may have and any particular attraction you may wish to see. We will consult with you as we put together a trip especially tailored to make Your Tour of the South Island a memorable experience.
Picton and Nelson are both entry points for those travelling from the North Island by Cook Strait ferries, while the airports at Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown all service domestic and international flights.
Stirling Images
Abel Tasman National Park and Tasman Bay are within easy reach of Nelson and the golden sandy beaches with native bush extending right on to the foreshore are deserving of a visit.
Travelling down through the West Coast you can visit Punakaiki with it’s intriguing “pancake” rock stacks which have been formed by sea action on the alternating layers of limestone and softer mudstone after these were uplifted by seismic action eons ago.
TranzAlpine Tourism NZ
Greymouth is the western terminus of the Transalpine Express. Shantytown on the outskirts of Greymouth is a re-creation of an eighteenth century West Coast mining town, complete with an opportunity to try your hand at gold-panning. And yes, you get to keep any gold you find!
Franz Joseph Gareth Eyres
To the south Hokitika is home to the greenstone or pounamu jewelry industry as well as the gateway to South Westland. Moving on through South Westland we come to The Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers, a must on any South Island Tour. Opportunity here to overfly the Glaciers or to actually walk on the ice!
Lake Moeraki must be one of the most beautiful bush lakes on this road and from there we come to Haast. The road to the south ends at Jackson Bay or heads east to Wanaka and Queenstown via the impressive Haast Pass.
The change in flora as the road moves from the verdant growth of the West Coast into the drier Central Otago climate is most noticeable, as the headwaters of Lakes Wanaka and Hawea are encountered before the road climbs over the Crown Range to Queenstown.
David Wall
Te Anau is a delightful spot to overnight before heading off to Stewart Island and then back up through the unspoiled Catlins Coast. to Dunedin. This very Scottish town neighbors on to the Otago Peninsula, home to wildlife such as penguins which can be viewed from “hides” if one chooses to take a side trip at “Penguin Palace.”
Taiaroa Head on the outer harbor is the site of the only mainland breeding colony of the Royal Albatross in the world and there are guided tours to view the birds at the right time of year.
Inland from Dunedin is Naseby, home of the ice sport of curling in New Zealand. A couple of hours curling, overnight at a High Country Bed & Breakfast and a three hour Four Wheel Drive High Country tour make an interesting overnight trip from Dunedin or from Queenstown.
Fay Looney
The road to Oamaru passes the Moeraki Boulders and Oamaru prides itself on it’s historical precinct. Yellow eyed penguins can be viewed coming ashore here in the evenings along the beach.
Rob Suisted
Driving up the Waitaki Valley with it’s Hydro Electric development and the associated dams and canals leads to Aoraki Mt Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak at 3754 metres. The skyline is crowded with some of the hundreds of glaciers and peaks that make up the Southern Alps.
A leisurely drive through the farmlands of South Canterbury brings you to Christchurch and there are many one day activities here for you to take up.
Chris McLennan
From Christchurch you may travel the coastal road to Kaikoura, or maybe a ride on the Coastal Express and on to Picton in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds.
Accommodation
Accommodation can be arranged to suit your requirements. There are many Homestay and Bed and Breakfast facilities throughout the country and these offer the opportunity of meeting New Zealanders in their own environment. There are many hotels as well and these offer a good standard of hosting. Eating places abound and Your Tours are aware of those you should (and shouldn’t) patronize.