ChCh to Arthur's Pass - or - ChCh to Greymouth
by Luxury Car, or a combination of Car & Scenic Tranzalpine Train.

Arthur’s Pass National Park is in the heart of the Southern Alps/Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. Its high mountains with large scree slopes, steep gorges and wide braided rivers straddle the main divide, and are the ‘back bone’ of the South Island.

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Full Day Private Guided Tour:  From Christchurch or Lyttelton Port.

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​We'll collect you from your accommodation at 08:30 am and have you back at your accommodation by 5:00 pm the same day. (Or the final boarding time of your ship)

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Cruise passengers: We'll meet you at Lyttelton Port at 09:00 and have you back at the Information Centre in time for the final shuttle.

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By car from Christchurch we will meet early and head west taking in rural Canterbury and the Canterbury Plains on your journey into The Southern Alps. 

• Braided rivers.

• Cows, chickens, alpaca, cattle and sheep by the thousands.

• Massive irrigation canals.

• Lush patchwork paddocks.

• ​Darfield, rural support town - great coffee.

• Porters Pass, the entrance to the Southern Alps, it's stunning rock formations, lakes, braided rivers, all the beauty that makes this one of the most interesting and dramatically diverse wonders of the South.

• Arthur's Pass National Park Visitor Centre - check our the native Kea (endangered so please do not feed)

• Otira Viaduct - built because of the instability of the rockfall's around it this engineering masterpiece is nearly 500 mtrs long, stands 35 metres (115ft) above the Gorge River, was opened in 1999 for a total on budget figure of $25 million NZD and needs to withstand seismic events consistent the San Andreas / Ring of Fire fault lines, the earthquake lines responsible for what we have now, The Southern Alps.

• Otira Township - oozing history this town, now owned by local entrepreneur Lester Rowntree, is one man's dream to rebuild the town that would otherwise be lost, including the historic Stagecoach Hotel. Fascinating!!!

• Devil's Punchbowl Falls, cascading 131 mtrs (430 Ft) down the side of Mt Aicken in front of you, take the walk into the falls passing by native forest, flora and fauna, cross the two bridges which make amazing viewing platforms of the falls or for the fit, climb the 220 steps up to the falls 'bowl'. Extraordinary!!

• Kura Tawhiti Conservation Area, Castle Hill and the Limestone Formations. Castle Hill conservation area was once underneath a large inland sea known as the Waimakariri Basin. The limestone rocks were formed from years of sediment compression and then shaped by erosion following a large uplifting earthquake event. Incredible!!

• Castle Hill, Canterbury - building to be the skiing hub of the area.

• Rewi Alley Memorial Park, Rewi Alley QSO MM (known in China as 路易•艾黎, Lùyì Àilí, 2 December 1897 – 27 December 1987) was a New Zealand-born writer and political activist. A member of the Chinese Communist Party, he dedicated 60 years of his life to the cause and was a key figure in the establishment of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives and technical training schools, including the Peili Vocational Institute (Bailie Vocational Institute or the Beijing Bailie University). Alley was a prolific writer about 20th century China, and especially the communist revolution. He also translated numerous Chinese poems

• Darfield rural town supporting the rural area. Great ice-creams.

• Springfield were Homer Simpson is from...complete with doughnut and where Rewi Alley is immortalised with his very own memorial.

• Christchurch, as time permits your guide will share with you areas of interest following the massive magnitude 7.1 and 6.3 earthquakes in 2010-11 respectively.

• Delivered to your Port of Christchurch Accommodation.​

 

Tour inclusions:

• Luxury air conditioned private travel with your own experienced local guide.

• Informative commentary

• Loads of photo opportunities recommended by your guide.

• Complimentary snacks.

• Complimentary bottled NZ Spring Water.

• Flexibility - all tours can be customised unlike a rigid bus tour.

• Picked up and returned to your accommodation or cruise ship.

  • The cruise ship tour is slightly shorter to make way for cruise departure times but generally follows the same itinerary.​

Take the world famous Tranzalpine Scenic Train to Arthur's Pass OR Greymouth - see the splendour of the mountains by train AND car. Now this really is an experience. Download the full tour description >> here 

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• We'll meet at your hotel at 07:15 am and take you to the Tranzalpine Scenic Train with it's huge scenic windows, buffet car and open sightseeing carriage.

  • We'll met in Arthur's Pass, visit The Stagecoach Hotel, Devil's Punchbowl Falls, Castle Hill Limestone Formations then in your own private luxury car return you to your Christchurch hotel around 5:00 pm

  • OR we'll meet you at Greymouth and travel back through the Alps by luxury car visiting The Stagecoach Hotel, Devil's Punchbowl Falls, Castle Hill Limestone Formations then return to your Christchurch hotel around 6:00 pm