New Zealand Hiking Vacations

Secret South

Hiking Safari

Start:	Queenstown Visitor Centre, Cnr. Shotover & Camp Sts, 8:00am
Finish:	Christchurch 6:00 pm (approx.)
Length:	11 days
Grade:	D (Some alpine hiking and uneven terrain)
Price:	NZ$1120
Extra Costs:	$25/day kitty, optional activities
Departs:	Sundays - see Departures

Highlights: Many New Zealand hiking vacations focus on the South Island and the Secret South hiking safari will reveal to you some of the best reasons why. This safari includes hiking into the rugged mountains of Fiordland National Park to beautiful alpine lakes with stunning mountain views. You'll kayak beneath massive sea cliffs in Milford Sound while watching out for basking seals and leaping dolphins. Explore the spectacular Catlins coast, with beautiful beaches, luxuriant rain forest, fossilised trees, and rare species of sea lions, dolphins and penguins. Hike up the rocky slopes of the Ohau range and look down on turquoise glacial lakes. Gaze in awe at the contorted forms of glaciers and the snow capped peaks of Mt Cook. Explore the remarkable volcanic topography of Mt Somers with its waterfalls and narrow canyons. This is one of New Zealand's most beautiful, varied and interesting hiking vacations.

Day 1: You'll start your New Zealand hiking vacation by heading south to Te Anau (optional pick-up point by prior arrangement) and Fiordland National Park. Hike with daypacks to Key Summit, part of the famous Routeburn track. Enjoy spectacular views of the Darran mountains. Return to vehicle and camp in the Hollyford valley. Introduction night. 3 hours hiking.

Day 2: Up early for a morning kayak ($100) in Milford Sound with cascading waterfalls and views of Mitre Peak (1722m). Fiordland crested penguins and NZ fur seals often play near our kayaks. Drive back through the Homer Tunnel and south to Lake Monowai. Camp. 4 hours kayaking.

Day 3: Drive up to Borland Saddle. Start 2-day hike above the bushline onto the Hunter Range with great views into Fiordland National Park. Traverse along Hunter Range, then descend to Green Lake. Stay in mountain hut or camp. 7 hours hiking.

Day 4: Hike through beech forest and across tussock basins to Borland Road. Drive to Curio Bay in the Catlins via Invercargill. Stay in a crib (NZ summer house). Evening walk along this beautiful beach. 4 hours hiking.

Day 5: Hector’s dolphins are often seen in the bay. Explore a fossilised forest (180 million years old). Head to Cannibal Bay and visit New Zealand sea lion and yellow-eyed penguin colonies. Camp near the beach and enjoy a hangi meal. 3 hours hiking.

Day 6: Drive up the Clutha Valley through to Alexandra. Enjoy a rest in a café or winery, or take an optional cycling tour around the historic Otago Rail Trail. Dine in a local restaurant. Optional cycling/walking.

Day 7: Drive through the high country to Lake Ohau with time to swim. Pack and begin 2-day hike through beech forest in Freehold Creek to a sub-alpine camp just below the bushline. 3 hours hiking.

Day 8: With daypacks, hike up into a mountain basin filled with tarns (small alpine lakes) onto Ohau Range (1915m). Superb views of the Southern Alps and the Mackenzie Basin. Return to campsite, pack-up, and hike back to vehicle. Drive onto Mt Cook. 7 hours hiking.

Day 9: Hike to Sealy Tarns and possibly Mueller Hut for a view of the Hooker and Mueller Glaciers, Mt Sefton Ice Fall, and New Zealand’s highest peak, Aoraki/Mt Cook (3754m) – ‘The Cloud Piercer’. Return and camp on the shores of Lake Pukaki. 5 hours hiking.

Day 10: Drive through Mackenzie Basin, past Lake Tekapo, to south Canterbury and to Mount Somers for a 2-day hike. Rock-hop up the Woolshed River Canyon in an historic mining area to a tramper’s hut. 4 hours hiking.

Day 11: Explore water caves, and Tri-Falls Stream before returning to vehicle via the coal-mine route. Hikers in this area often see the rare New Zealand falcon. Clean vehicle and gear. Drive across Canterbury Plains to Christchurch. 4 hours hiking.

Click here for the detailed trip dossier

This trip goes well with the following tours:

"New Zealand hiking vacations on the South Island of New Zealand."

HIKING NEW ZEALAND
Postal Address: PO Box 93, Lyttelton 8841, New Zealand.
Phone: + 64 3 384 3706; Fax: + 64 3 3766 483
Free Phone New Zealand: 0800 697 232;
Free Phone Australia: 1800 141 242
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Did you know?

New Zealand is home to the worlds most primitive frogs which are quite unusual in that they don't croak, don't have webbed feet and don't have a tadpole stage in their life cycle.