Best of New Zealand Nature Vacation: Mountains & Coastline

This morning, you will travel on a private transfer, first crossing open valleys before twisting into the mountains and Fiordland National Park. After arriving at the small harbor, you will have lunch on board as the boat starts cruising through the fjord. After two hours of casual cruising, you will have a choice of water activities, such as kayaking or exploring in a small tender boat. These activities usually encounter dolphins and seals, and even if they do not, gazing up the cliffs will prove to be an inspiring experience. As the other boats leave, you will stay and indulge in dinner on the boat before a night of solace in the fjord.

On some mornings, you can only see the end of your arm, but when the mist finally clears, you can truly appreciate the scale of Milford Sound. There will be another water activity this morning before the boat cruises back to the harbor. All the Milford Sound day cruises leave in the afternoon, and going overnight means a morning to yourself in the fjord. A helicopter will then escort you back to Queenstown. It is one of the world’s most scenic flights, and you will cross the vast space of Fiordland National Park. Your pilot will set you down on a mountaintop that is inaccessible by other means, and this is where you can wander beside natural ice sculptures and bask in the endless views.

Wanaka is a thousand shades of green and blue, and it is another lakeside town that is dominated by natural colors. Woodland stands above ragged mountain slopes and a serene lake, while volcanic peaks peer above everything else. After a one-hour transfer, your local guide will customize the day to your choice of adventure. Superb, single-track mountain bike trails are one option, and you can try some formidable downhills if you want. Horseback riding can take you deep into the wilderness or across rolling pastures. There is an option to kayak on the lake, and you can also choose from a multitude of hiking trails. Then, when the afternoon becomes evening, you will try a Wanaka wine farm for a laid-back dinner.

Just under half of New Zealand’s South Island makes up the Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage Site. Contiguous national parks provide a haven for adventure here and offer one of the planet’s ultimate overland journeys. From Wanaka to Franz Josef Glacier, you will cross three national parks, countless lakes, and so many viewpoints that you will need photos to remember them. There will be numerous places to stop and explore, including short hiking trails with an option to go black-water rafting through a forest. It will take half a day of driving to reach the town of Franz Josef Glacier, but this will be a full day’s private journey with stops tailored to your interests.

This morning, you will fly by helicopter to Franz Josef Glacier before stepping out in crampons to explore a landscape of frozen art. Icy-blue tunnels curl like perfectly frozen surfing waves, and strange shapes are visibility melting, so what you see will be different from what future visitors witness. Heli-hiking is a half-day activity, but you need to allow extra time because it can be called off due to poor weather. Sometimes the activity will be cancelled a day or two in advance. In this case, you can rush through to Franz Josef Glacier yesterday or postpone the hike to tomorrow morning. It is ideal to dedicate a full day to the glacier adventure, so you should be ready to take advantage of any clear window if this is something that you strongly desire to do.

By taking the road to Westhaven Inlet, you will have covered the entire Te Wahipounamu Western coastline and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The journey to Franz Josef cuts across the island, and today’s transfer will hug the coastline and twist beneath a variety of peaks and old volcanos. Surreal boulders dot the beaches along this coast and make for some iconic photography. Westhaven Inlet is a bucolic destination, and your hotel suite will be facing the ocean and backdropped by two national parks. It is isolated out here, and you will be able to feel the silence along with nature’s therapeutic power.

Abel Tasman National Park has a tropical feel. This coastline is not connected by road, so you will need to hike and kayak in order to explore. Rather than paddling all 50 miles, you can start with a boat transfer. This means that you can paddle and hike the most interesting sections without needing to commit to the park’s entire five-night hike and kayak route. A guide will accompany you, and it will be difficult to get lost as you can only go up or down the coast. You will still need to plan a route around the tide because some coves are only accessible at high tide. On the hiking trail, you can often look out to sights of dolphins and sometimes even whales.

Today, you can contrast Abel Tasman’s tropical allure with Kahurangi’s stark mountain brilliance. The trails are rough and ready here, and they can lead you above narrow ravines, along crystal blue rivers, and upon peaks that rarely see visitors. This national park is home to the Heaphy Track, which is one of New Zealand’s most-famous, multi-day hiking trails. You can walk along part of this track although the rest of the country’s second-largest park may be a better option because it is so quiet. It will all be on foot in Kahurangi, but you can do a shorter hike and spend more time at Westhaven Inlet, where water-based activities are available.

Today will be very relaxed, and after some busy days of exploring the great outdoors, you can rest up around the hotel and enjoy a late checkout. In the afternoon, you will be transferred to Nelson, where you will board your domestic flight to begin your journey home.