New Zealand Family Vacation

After a hearty breakfast and relaxed start to the morning, we have an adventure planned that will knock your socks off – a fun jet boat ride through the winding Rakaia Gorge! Jet boats were originally invented by New Zealander Bill Hamilton to navigate our narrow, shallow rivers. You’ll be jetting down rapids, braided river sections and through shallow water just six inches deep in places. This thrilling, yet safe activity is suitable for the whole family. Then we’ll head to Peel Forest for a hike amongst ancient podocarp trees and many varieties of ferns. Many of New Zealand’s athletes, including our famous rugby team, the All Blacks, wear the fern as a national symbol.

After lunch, we’ll travel inland to Aoraki/Mt. Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain, and Lake Pukaki – an unreal turquoise-blue-coloured glacial lake. Tonight, the wide open spaces, regular clear evenings and lack of artificial light provide us with the perfect opportunity to gaze at the Southern Hemisphere’s constellations, including the southern cross.
Accommodation: Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Lodge or Distinction Mackenzie Country Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hiking: 0.6 miles (1 kilometer), 1-2 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 98 feet (30 meters) ascent, 98 feet (30 meters) descent

We have a few hikes to choose from in this spectacular national park and our favorite is the stunning day hike (weather permitting) to the main ridge above Mueller Glacier. It’s a bit of a hike, though it’s a real achievement for the whole family to share and you’ll remember the view from the Sealy Tarns Hike and the surrounding peaks of the Southern Alps forever! Of course, we always have plenty of options, so there are easier hikes available for you too, such as an impressive hike up the Hooker Valley to a glacial lake (complete with icebergs!) at the base of Hooker Glacier.
Accommodation: Aoraki Mt Cook Alpine Lodge or Distinction Mackenzie Country Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Sealy Tarns Hike: 3.2 miles (5.1 kilometers), 4-5 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 2,132 feet (650 meters) ascent, 2,132 feet (650 meters) descent

Hooker Valley Hike: 5.6 miles (9 kilometers), 3-4 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 328 feet (100 meters) ascent, 328 feet (100 meters) descent

Today we’ll head through the mountains to Queenstown. We’ll stop along the way for some of the best ice cream in the whole of New Zealand – you’ll soon find out why! We’ll then continue on through fruit orchards and vineyards before arriving in Queenstown. After lunch, we have options including a hike to the historic Sam Summers hut or even a game of frisbee golf in the Queenstown Botanical Gardens.
Accommodation: Scenic Circle Heartland Hotel & Scenic Suites or Heritage Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hiking: 4.6 miles (7.4 kilometers), 2-3 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,165 feet (355 meters) ascent, 1,165 feet (355 meters) descent

Excitement levels will be high this morning, as we head off for a family rafting trip in Skippers Canyon. Set in a deep, beautiful, rose-lined schist gorge, it’s a spectacular float trip – perfect for the whole family. From June to September, rather than rafting which is closed for the winter, we take a lift on the gondola up Bob’s Peak for stunning views over the region and thrilling downhill rides on the luge.

After lunch, we’ll explore an old Chinese goldmining settlement in the nearby historic village of Arrowtown. Chinese immigrants traveled to New Zealand during the 1800s and like many New Zealand pioneering stories, theirs is one of adversity and adaptation. You can try your hand at gold panning – in 2006 a man found a gold nugget worth $15,000 in this area, so you never know your luck!
Accommodation: Scenic Circle Heartland Hotel & Scenic Suites or Heritage Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hiking: 0.2 mile (0.4 kilometer), 0.5-1 hour

All the comforts of civilization are packed into this tiny resort town: restaurants galore, sidewalk cafés, stylish lounge bars, day spas, and boutiques. There’s plenty of family entertainment here too: luge rides, a gondola, lakeside playgrounds, mini golf and a cinema. There are also some more adventurous optional activities such as horse trekking, kayaking, fishing, winery tours, hang gliding, mountain biking, bungy jumping, jet boating and skydiving as well as some great hiking opportunities. Or you can just soak up the atmosphere and lounge about reading a book. Your guides will happily share their favorite haunts and point you in the right direction for your free day today.

A great winter option (June to September) is to spend a couple of days skiing or snowboarding at one of four local ski areas: Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, Cardrona or Treble Cone. 
Accommodation: Scenic Circle Heartland Hotel & Scenic Suites or Heritage Hotel
Meals: No meals

After leaving Wanaka, we’ll venture up the Matukituki Valley and hike two to three hours into Mt. Aspiring National Park to reach our home for the evening – a spacious mountain hut nestled in a valley in the middle of nowhere. The track meanders past majestic peaks, fresh mountain streams, and natural beech forest. You’ll be carrying a sleeping bag, a few spare clothes, and some food, so your pack won’t weigh much more than a regular day pack. The scenery is off the charts with Mt. Aspiring rising 9,951 feet (3,033 meters) into the blue sky. It’s amazing how far you’ll feel from civilization after this relatively short walk! Tonight your guide will whip up dinner in the backcountry kitchen while you and the kids relax by the fire. 
Accommodation: Mt Aspiring Hut, Mt Aspiring National Park
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hiking: 5.6 miles (9 kilometers), 3-5 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 197 feet (60 meters) ascent 

We have a leisurely start today, enjoying breakfast and a cuppa while admiring the view, before hiking back to the trailhead. Along the way, we might encounter the cheeky kea again – this time in its natural habitat – they’re really inquisitive and like to get pretty close at times! 

Back in Wanaka, we’ll head to Puzzling World to explore over a mile of passageways in one of the world’s largest modern mazes. Kids of all ages really enjoy trying to beat our wily guides through the labyrinth! Tonight we’ll mingle with the ‘coasters’ in the tiny township of Haast, exchanging tales of our adventures at the local restaurant in front of a roaring fire.
Accommodation: World Heritage Hotel, Haast
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hiking: 5.6 miles (9 kilometers), 3-5 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 197 feet (60 meters) descent

This morning, we’ll journey up the wild West Coast, stopping on a deserted beach to stretch our legs and keep an eye out for friendly dolphins passing by. A little further north takes us to Lake Matheson for a short walk, where you’ll be rewarded with awesome vistas of the Southern Alps. After settling into our accommodation in Franz Josef, we can head out after dark with flashlights for a short night walk to search for the native glowworm while listening to some of New Zealand’s nocturnal birdlife, such as the morepork owl.
Accommodation: Rainforest Retreat, Franz Josef
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hiking: 1.7 miles (2.8 kilometers), 1-2 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 33 feet (10 meters) ascent, 33 feet (10 meters) descent

It’s an early start this morning for our kayaking trip on Lake Mapourika, a tranquil ancient lake formed during the last ice age. This is an awesome activity, run by specialist kayak outfitters, and it’s equally suitable for beginners and experts alike. With some 140 glaciers making their way down from the Southern Alps, this area is fittingly known as glacier country. Few sights equal the spectacle of two of these giant frozen rivers (Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers) imperceptibly grinding their way down through the temperate rainforest to just 820 feet (250 meters) above sea level. Our hike will take us into the Waiho River Valley and offer views of the terminal face of the Franz Josef Glacier. Afterwards we’ll return to Franz Josef for the night.
Accommodation: Rainforest Retreat, Franz Josef
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Kayaking: 2-3 hours

Hiking: 3 miles (4.8 kilometers), 2-3 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 66 feet (20 meters) ascent, 66 feet (20 meters) descent

Today we’ll head further up the coast to experience the West Coast Treetop Walk, an adventure among giants. This walk will take you up above the forest floor, allowing you to pass through an ancient canopy of rimu and kamahi trees. We’ll then continue to Hokitika, where you can check out the local art galleries and pounamu carving workshops (pounamu is Maori for jade). The beach here is a great place for playing games or making sculptures out of driftwood. Then we’ll head back through to Arthur’s Pass, the highest pass over the Southern Alps, to settle in for the night.
Accommodation: Arthur's Pass Motel, Arthur's Pass
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hiking: 2-3 hours

Today, after breakfast, we’ll head off to check out the Conservation Centre in Arthur’s Pass and learn about the Kea, the only true alpine parrot in the world! Afterward, we’re off to the ultimate hide-and-seek spot, Castle Hill. It’s a bit of a climb to the top, but it’s worth every step as we arrive at an eerie limestone landscape where much of the movie ‘Narnia – the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ was filmed. During a visit a few years ago, the Dalai Lama called this natural labyrinth ‘the spiritual center of the universe’!
Accommodation: Darfield Motels
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hiking: 2 miles (3 kilometers), 1-2 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss: 164 feet (50 meters) ascent, 164 feet (50 meters) descent

This is the last day of your trip, and we’ll head to the small farming community of Springfield to check out a working New Zealand highcountry sheep farm. Here we’ll watch highly trained farm dogs rounding up stock and see a sheep shearing demonstration. All the kids (young and old!) will have the chance to join in and give sheep shearing a go. Then it’s on to Christchurch, where we’ll farewell our family and wave you off feeling refreshed, invigorated, and with lasting memories of the adventures, great food, stories, laughs and fun times you’ll have had with us in New Zealand!
Accommodation: Not applicable
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch