Christchurch to Queenstown Full Day Tour | Via Mount Cook,Lake Tekapo, Pukaki

Experience the beauty and grandeur of the Southern Alps on a sightseeing day tour to Mount Cook.

Leaving Christchurch in the morning, we travel through the fertile farmland of the Canterbury Plains to the shores of the stunning, glacier-fed Lake Tekapo, where you can view the solitary Church of the Good Shepherd and take in the sights of the spectacular Southern Alps. We then continue to the location of New Zealand’s tallest mountain, Aoraki / Mount Cook, situated in a national park and UNESCO World Heritage site.

Rising to 3,724 meters high, Aoraki certainly lives up to its name, which in Māori can be translated as ‘cloud piercer’. Legend tells of a young boy named Aoraki who was stranded with his brothers when their canoe struck a reef. As it tilted, the brothers climbed to the high side, where they were frozen by the south wind and turned into stone. Aoraki and his brothers now form the Southern Alps.

Enjoy lunch (own expense) at the famous Hermitage Hotel in Mount Cook Village. After lunch you will have time to explore the village and soak up the view. After that, the tour continues south, past Lake Pukaki and through the tawny tussock of the Mackenzie Country. En route, enjoy afternoon tea (own expense) in the quaint village of Omarama and if time permits, visit the Jones Family Orchard near Cromwell. Your tour concludes in the evening upon reaching Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand

• 7:05am - Check in with your driver/guide outside the Bus Interchange on Lichfield Street, Christchurch
• 7:20am​ - Coach departs Christchurch coach terminal
• 9:15am - Arrive at Mundells' Cafe, Geraldine for a rest break (30minutes, morning tea own expense)
• 11:00am​ - Stop at Church of the Good Shepherd and Lake Tekapo village
• 11.30am​ - Depart Lake Tekapo Village
• 12:50pm​ - Arrive at Mount Cook Village for lunch at own expense
• 2:25pm​ - Departs Mount Cook
• 6:25pm​ - Coach arrives at Athol Street carpark, Queenstown