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Queenstown to Christchurch: Mt Cook and Southern Alps
3.8
63 Ratings
Queenstown
Embark on a scenic journey from Queenstown to Christchurch via Mt Cook. Witness Lake Tekapo, Canterbury Plains, and Aoraki’s grandeur. Book your adventure now.
Embark on a scenic journey from Queenstown to Christchurch via Mt Cook. Witness Lake Tekapo, Canterbury Plains, and Aoraki’s grandeur. Book your adventure now.
Duration:
12 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- GreatSights - Tour Begins from here
- Omarama - Rest break
- The Church of the Good Shepherd - o The majestic setting of the Church of the Good Shepherd attracts visitors from all over the world. We encourage you to take a few quiet minutes to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the lake and mountains; in our opinion it is God’s greatest…
- GreatSights - Tour Begins from here
- Omarama - Rest break
- The Church of the Good Shepherd - o The majestic setting of the Church of the Good Shepherd attracts visitors from all over the world. We encourage you to take a few quiet minutes to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the lake and mountains; in our opinion it is God’s greatest cathedral.
- Aoraki/Mt. Cook - o We are now entering the Mt Cook National Park, one of 14 National Parks in New Zealand. The area of the park is 70,696 hectares and has the highest mountains and largest glaciers in New Zealand it was established as a National Park in 1953. The Maori name for Mt Cook is Aoraki which means ‘Sky Piercer’. It is a rugged land of ice and rock with 19 mountain peaks over 3,000 metres including Mt Cook which is 3,753 metres the highest mountain in New Zealand, however, Mt Cook used to be 3,763 metres.
- Geraldine Visitor Information Centre - o Geraldine is a popular little town for arts and crafts and market days and has a reputation as a home for gifted artists and talented people such as Austen Deans and John Badcock who have their studios in the township. There are edible creations as well such as the local Geraldine cheese maker, chocolatier and the internationally recognised Barkers fruit products all have outlets in the town. We stop at the Kiwi Country Visitor centre for morning and afternoon tea breaks along with a comfort stop
- Lake Pukaki - Lake Pukaki is the largest of three roughly parallel alpine lakes running north-south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin on New Zealand’s South Island. The others are Lakes Tekapo and Ohau.
What's Included
- On-board WiFi
- Driver/guide
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- On-board restrooms
- Live commentary on board
- On-board WiFi
- Driver/guide
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- On-board restrooms
- Live commentary on board
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Embark on a one-way scenic journey from Queenstown to Christchurch through Mt Cook, and marvel at the breathtaking beauty of the New Zealand Southern Alps. Witness the stunning views of the glacier-fed Lake Tekapo, the expansive Canterbury Plains farmland, and New Zealand’s highest peak, Aoraki (Mt Cook), located in a national park and UNESCO World…
Embark on a one-way scenic journey from Queenstown to Christchurch through Mt Cook, and marvel at the breathtaking beauty of the New Zealand Southern Alps. Witness the stunning views of the glacier-fed Lake Tekapo, the expansive Canterbury Plains farmland, and New Zealand’s highest peak, Aoraki (Mt Cook), located in a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your day tour of Mount Cook wraps up in Christchurch, the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island.
- All tours are operated by luxury 5 star coaches, equipped with air conditioning, rest-room facilities and reclining seats
Location
Athol Street
Please arrive 15minutes prior to departure time and note all day parking is NOT available in this carpark.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.8
(63 Ratings)
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Jeevadavid
May 7, 2024
Best Coach Driver gives the best expereince - We are here to share our poistive feedback about Brian our Coach Driver / Tour Guide/ Encyclopedia etc.
It was an epic tour all because Brian went out of his way to explain and provide information about things we did not even know existed in the first place.
Thank you Brian.
We did the Greymouth to Franz Josef (Great scenery)
Franz Josef to Queenstown (almost dream and picturisque)
Queenstown to Christchurch via Mt Cook (the best because Brian was heading it)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Frandavies57
Mar 27, 2020
Stunning scenery & outstanding commentary - something to interest every passenger - We did the full day trip last month with driver Stuart on a GreatSights bus. It was a well-paced day with lots of stops at places with good travel food, clean toilets and/or photo opportunities. Stuart quietly explained the landscape & told stories that highlighted an aspect of places all along the journey. He pointed out glaciation evidence, infrastructure projects and historically important locations. We heard about famous people & animals who hailed from places along the route, eg Rutherford the physicist, Shrek the sheep and many more. He touched on issues such as the politics of the fur trade, the growth of the dairying industry & explained what we were looking at as we cruised comfortably in the well appointed bus. A thoroughly enjoyable day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vule
Feb 14, 2020
Highly recommend - Very informative, friendly and efficient bus driver. Scenic route. Would love to have more photo stops when reaching near mt cook (before heritage hotel)
Overall - an enjoyable experience
Review provided by Viator
Lcoo2020
Feb 1, 2020
Long but beautiful drive - Our bus driver/guide was Stewart. He has full of information about the geography of the land, farming practices in NZ, as well as important (but unknown to us) Kiwis. It helped to pass the LOOONG drive. The scenery through the mountains, Aoraki/Mt Cook, lakes Putaki and Tekapo were all amazing. Buffet lunch at the Hermitage was delicious. Great way to see the country as you travel from one place to another without having to drive the mountain roads yourself.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Geminican
Dec 31, 2019
Long but an awesome way to travel from Queenstown to Christchurch - A very long trip but you get to see the one of the most beautiful scenic route in New Zealand. Lunch buffet in Hemitage Hotel was great. Really enjoyed it after a long morning ride from Queenstown. They gave you plenty of time to enjoy the buffet and take pictures.
The afternoon journey was also great by stopping by the Church of Good Shephard, it's beautiful, wish we had a bit more time, like 30 minutes instead of 15 minutes stop.
Arrived Christchurch around 8pm. Long but worthwhile.
Great views from both sides. But sitting on the right side of the bus gives you a higher chance for a better view, the frequency is higher.
There is a toilet on the bus.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shereenp
Feb 26, 2020
Touring in the rain - The bus was comfortable. The driver friendly and informative. Both my husband and I enjoyed the bus ride very much.
Unfortunately it was a little dampening because it was raining the whole way through.
Review provided by Viator
Avigabai2019
Dec 19, 2019
nice tour - comfortable bus and very nice driver and guide that took us along the tour. bus depart on time. lots of stops for take photos and refreshments.
Review provided by Viator
Bevzaifman
May 9, 2020
Very long day - Not sure this was worth it...it was a very long day to see some beautiful scenery which we had seen all over New Zealand. Although Mt Cook is historically significant, and beautiful, once you've seen the Rocky Mountains in Canada, it pales in comparison (I know I shouldn't compare)....I'll repeat: it's a very long day with most time spent on a coach bus.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Donya_a
Feb 7, 2020
Bus ride - Beautiful countryside and views of Mt. Cook...it is a very nice ride if you have the time...a lot of it is dropping off and picking up people along the way...
Review provided by Viator
261carolh
Jan 8, 2020
Very long day. - Our very long day began with a pickup problem. We had specified a hotel pickup and booked a hotel that would accommodate that, but our confirmation specified that we would be picked up at a lot several blocks from our hotel, so, at extra expense, we booked a cab to that location. When we arrived at the lot, the tour bus was there, loading passengers, but the driver, Stuart, was surprised to see us because we were on his list to be picked up at our hotel! In the end everything worked out, except for the extra cost ($11.20) and a half hour earlier start to our day.
Stuart was very knowledgeable and full of interesting bits of knowledge. The scenery was spectacular but there were too many stops for snack and coffee breaks which made for a very long day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
