Finish: Queenstown

Enjoy friendly Kiwi hospitality, a superb scenic mix of mountain passes and easier coastal terrain that will delight cycle enthusiasts –knowing that each evening, there is a comfortable lodge and excellent cuisine awaiting you.

Unspoiled New Zealand – glaciers, rainforests, lakes and snowy peaks; the Southern Alps tour takes you on a breath-taking loop through some of the world’s finest scenery. New Zealand was one of the last places in the world to be settled by man and it still retains a rugged, incomparable pristine beauty. “The Lord of the Rings” was filmed here on the West Coast and is rightly recognized as a World Heritage Area.

The South Island is known for friendly Kiwi hospitality, excellent local cuisine and includes interesting history from the region’s gold mining days. Wanaka and Queenstown are vibrant towns and both on the shores of beautiful lakes with an astonishing alpine backdrop.

DAY 1 CHRISTCHURCH.

Meet in Christchurch, capital city of the South Island, for a shake-down ride.

DAY 2 ARTHUR’S PASS.
Start biking at Porter’s Pass through Southern Alps wilderness to Arthur’s Pass. Stay at the renowned Wilderness Lodge and enjoy a high country sheep farm tour or a bush hike.

DAY 3 HOKITIKA.
After a short walk to the Devil’s Punchbowl Waterfall, enjoy a fabulous descent of Otira Gorge to the sea and Hokitika on the rugged West Coast.

DAY 4 and 5 FRANZ JOSEF.
Time for a walk up the valley to the terminal ice and perhaps a scenic flight onto the snow. View the snowy peaks reflected in the waters of Lake Matheson.

DAY 6 LAKE MOERAKI.
Ride through lush rainforest to Lake Moeraki. Here we enjoy the comfort of the Wilderness Lodge, take a bush walk or canoe on the lake.

DAY 7 MAKARORA.
After a ride over the dramatic Haast Pass we reach the tiny isolated hamlet of Makarora.Take an optional jet-boat ride up the Wilkin River in Mt Aspiring National Park.

DAY 8 WANAKA.
To picturesque Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka, famed for trout fishing. Time to visit a vineyard or take a hike up Mt Iron.

DAY 9 and 10 QUEENSTOWN.
Pass Arrowtown, a beautifully restored old gold mining town. In