Queenstown to Christchurch One-Way Tour via Mt Cook & Lake Tekapo
Description
Queenstown to Christchurch via Mt Cook, this small group, fully-guided tour combines two of the most stunning locations in the South Island with the time and options to enjoy the activities, unlike other tours. Highlights: • Mt Cook & Aoraki National Park, free time for activities & walks • Lake Tekapo & Lake Pukaki • Church of the Good Shepherd, Lindis Pass and the Southern Alps Led by our famously passionate tour guides, notorious for bringing your journey to life by sharing their stories and rich background knowledge and run in modern, comfortable minibuses packed with extras ensuring your comfort and safety. While the destinations you will be visiting are truly spectacular, we at Cheeky Kiwi Travel believe it is our small groups, our guides, the journey and the little details that set our tours well apart. Secret stops, wildlife viewings, specially designed vehicles, complementary refreshments and many other pleasant surprises ensure our tours are an experience to remember.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your tour starts in the stunning city of Queenstown. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventure today but also point out and guide you past some of the area’s top highlights.
Departing Queenstown we then make our way north through the stunning Kawarau Gorge passing beautiful views. The Kawarau Suspension Bridge and the famous Roaring Meg Lookout. Time and light permitting we will stop for that first great shot of the tour.
Exiting the Kawarau Gorge we enter the fruit and wine growing region of Cromwell. Passing huge fields of vines we cross Lake Dunstan and follow this striking lake towards Lindis Pass.
Climbing in altitude, Lindis Pass has amazing views down through the valley. Being one of only three alpine roads through the otherwise impassable Southern Alps, we stop at the Lindis Pass lookout 971m above sea level for an essential photo.
While driving through the endless plains of the Mackenzie district we will spot several of the celebrated Merino breed of sheep before stopping at the quaint township of Omarama. While in Omarama we have time for a break or even to try the best creamy chicken pie in NZ (in our opinion)!
Turning west we begin to enter the Aoraki National Park and Lake Pukaki begins to emerge in front of us. Lake Pukaki is one of the bluest lakes you will ever see and stunningly framed by the backdrop of Aoraki/Mt Cook and the Southern Alps. We stop for some amazing photos and to just marvel the sight that we are beholding.
While in the national park you have 3 hours (approximately) free time to enjoy free walks/hikes or one of the extra optional activities. Some of our recommendations include: - Hooker Valley hike: This easy 3 hour hike is considered one of New Zealand’s most beautiful! - Scenic flights (pending availability): see the region from the air and land on the Tasmin Glacier
Farewelling Mt Cook we make our way to Lake Tekapo. This turquoise blue lake is famous world over for its pristine beauty. We have a short time here but long enough to get those Instagram breaking photos, explore the Church of the Good Shepherd and see the Mackenzie dog before starting to head towards Christchurch.
Upon arriving in Christchurch your guides will point out any highlights we pass while travelling to the drop off locations.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
*If no pickup is selected at time of booking, you will be allocated our default meeting point. You are welcome to update this at any time. If your location isn’t listed, please choose your nearest available option & meet us there. *Pick-ups can begin up to 20 minutes before the tour departure time, depending on location. To ensure a smooth start, please be ready and waiting outside 5 minutes prior to your specific pickup time. *Pick-up locations are carefully planned for each tour and may vary by day. If your pick-up location changes, kindly inform us in advance. *Our guides make multiple stops and may arrive within a 10-minute window. We are unable to wait for late guests.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- A moderate amount of walking is involved. Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair.
- Bus tour operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
- Scenic flights are independently operated and entirely weather dependent
- Guests can bring 1 large & 1 small piece of luggage each
Reviews(165)
We booked a point-to-point transfer tour from Queenstown to Christchurch with an early morning pickup on June 26th, and it was hands-down the best decision we made. Even before the trip started, the customer service was excellent. I was a bit unsure about the arrangements beforehand and sent a few emails, but the reception team responded quickly with full, helpful details every time. Everything for the trip was perfectly well-prepared, and they even sent us a few reminders before the trip to ensure we stayed safe. The driving throughout the journey was incredibly safe. Our morning guide was full of energy despite the long hours on the road, sharing fascinating background stories about New Zealand. What really blew us away was that the guides aren’t just doing this as a job—they genuinely love the NZ landscape and are passionate about their work. They took us to secret, stunning viewpoints that we would have completely missed if we had driven ourselves, allowing us plenty of time for photos without feeling rushed. Their boss even called the lady during our trip to check the traffic, since the road was blocked due to snow the day before. What a detailed and thoughtful arrangement to make sure we could safely enjoy the great journey and views! They were also extremely thoughtful. We were worried about hiking around Mt Cook in just our running shoes, but the guide provided us with ice spikes so we could safely walk on the ice, along with water and snacks. When we reached the next leg, the handoff to their partner was seamless. The lady who took over was very thoughtful and incredibly responsible; she checked that we hadn’t left anything behind and waited patiently with us until the next vehicle arrived. For the final drop-off in Christchurch, the gentleman driver asked each of us for our specific hotels and drove us straight to our doorsteps safely and right on time. This tour gave us an amazing impression of New Zealand and this travel agency. Thank you very much for such an incredible, well-organized experience—we will definitely recommend you to all our family and friends! (P.S. Sorry for the late review, just finally got settled down! I also forgot their names, but they both gave us such amazing help. Please pass a huge thank you to them! ) Travellers from Hong Kong
Thanks so much for the feedback! Our guides are totally passionate about sharing the best of the Queenstown to Christchurch Tour and love looking after guests along the way. At Cheeky Kiwi we're proud to have the best tour guides in the industry. We're stoked you had such an amazing trip and hope to see you back again :)
Danny was an amazing tour guide who got us safely through a snow storm on Lindis Pass and kept us well entertained when we were unable to move. We also loved the guide who took us into Christchurch from the salmon farm! His stories were entertaining as well!
The tour guide tried to make this a fun trip and incorporated lots of stops along the way and food. If you need to get one way I recommend this.
Thank you for your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed your trip with us. Thank you for choosing Cheeky Kiwi
form Arnab Bose and Family -If there is 10 stars i would give our driver and guide Jason who on my birthday took my family to Mt cook from queenstown, we had to take the flight from Mt cook as well and he had planned everything so perfectly to accommodate us, so kind, always giving , always before time, absolute legend, great going keep it up, will recommend all my friends
thank you very much for your really nice feedback about Jason. He loves to show people around our country. We are so happy to hear you had a great trip with him. Thank you for coming with us on your trip.
Tour was awesome, especially made better with our guide Shura who ensured that our journey throughout was comfortable and also provided tips for the walks at Mt Cook National Park.
What a lovely review, thank you! We're so glad Shura helped make the journey special — she's a real asset to our team. We hope to see you again on another tour soon!
Loved discovering the wonders of the South Island with Cheeky Kiwi! Witnessing Mt Cook and the gorgeous blue lakes were a dream come true. Nature is New Zealand is truly magnificent. I couldn't have picked a better day for this tour as the sun followed us everywhere we went. If I could, I would do it all over again! Thank you so much to the team that makes this experience so memorable with good commentary, interesting facts and a kind and caring attitude all along the way!
Thank you for your lovely review and we hope that you do find a way to come back and travel with us again. This country has so much variety of scenery in a short distance. We hope the rest of your visit is just as memorable. Thank you for choosing Cheeky Kiwi.
Loved discovering the wonders of the South Island with Cheeky Kiwi! Witnessing Mt Cook and the gorgeous blue lakes were a dream come true. Nature is New Zealand is truly magnificent. I couldn't have picked a better day for this tour as the sun followed us everywhere we went. If I could, I would do it all over again! Thank you so much to the team that makes this experience so memorable with good commentary, interesting facts and a kind and caring attitude all along the way!
Thank you so much for your great feedback. We are so happy to know you had such a wonderful trip with us. We hope we do see you again one day as there is so much more to see here in NZ. Thank you for travelling with Cheeky Kiwi
Grate journey with professional tour guide with proper information and facilities all over the journey.
Thank you for your kind feedback and for travelling with us. We are glad you enjoyed your trip and the scenery.
It was very nice, precise and proper information from guide.
Thank you for your nice feedback and we are pleased you had an enjoyable day with us. Thank you for travelling with Cheeky Kiwi
Very good experience and friendly guide. Highly recommended
