The Whole South Island — Ten Nights from Kaikoura to Queenstown

You are met at Christchurch Airport and transferred to your hotel. Christchurch is the South Island's largest city, laid out flat around the Avon River and still visibly rebuilding after the earthquakes. The rest of the day is free to recover from the flight.

You travel north to Kaikoura, a town caught between the mountains and the sea where a deep trench close to shore brings whales in year round. The morning is free here, and whale watching by boat operates as an optional excursion at your own cost.

An early scheduled coach takes you across the top of the South Island to Nelson, which claims more sunshine hours than anywhere else in the country. The route runs inland through the Marlborough country before reaching the coast again.

No touring is scheduled today. Nelson sits at the head of Tasman Bay with beaches and vineyards close by, and the day is entirely yours. Anything you choose to arrange is at your own cost and is not part of this package.

You travel south to the coast, stopping at Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks — limestone stacked in horizontal layers, with blowholes that fire when the swell is right. Continuing through Greymouth on the Grey River, you carry on south into Westland National Park and the glacier region.

No touring is scheduled today. The glacier descends into rainforest here, which is unusual anywhere in the world. Optional activities can be arranged locally at your own cost and are not included in this package.

You depart through the South Westland heritage country and cross the rugged Haast Pass, passing Lake Wanaka. The afternoon runs through the Kawarau Gorge to reach Queenstown, where the landscape opens onto the lake and the mountains behind it.

An early start along the shore of Lake Wakatipu and through Te Anau into Fiordland. The road runs through beech forest beneath steep mountains and finally through the Homer Tunnel, cut straight through rock, to reach the water. You board a catamaran and cruise Milford Sound past Mitre Peak before returning to Queenstown.

No touring is scheduled today. Queenstown is New Zealand's adventure capital and sits on a lake ringed by mountains, so the day is easy to fill or easy to do nothing with. Anything you choose to arrange is at your own cost and is not part of this package.

You travel over the Lindis Pass and reach Mount Cook around the middle of the day — New Zealand's highest peak, standing above glacial lakes and tussock country. Scenic flights over the snowfields are available here at your own cost. You then continue across the Canterbury Plains to Christchurch.

Breakfast at the hotel, then check out and a transfer to Christchurch Airport for your onward flight. Christchurch is the South Island's main gateway. Your onward flight is not part of this package, so allow the check-in time your airline requires. If your flight leaves later, ask the hotel about storing luggage.