Remote South Island Adventure

Get a Lay of the Land

Meet your private driver-guide at your accommodation and set off for a memorable 3-hour sightseeing tour of stunning Queenstown. The panoramic views of Queenstown Hill are the first of several photo stops, allowing you to witness how the vista extends to Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables Mountain Range. The tour then follows a route along the Frankton Arm and into the Wakatipu Basin, passing beautiful Lake Hayes, and into the mouth of the Kawarau Gorge, one of many filming locations for ”The Lord of the Rings”. You’ll next experience a 20-minute behind-the-scenes look into how bungee jumping started, as Queenstown is famous for being the birthplace of the adrenaline-pumping sport. Discover which technology is used and how it allows access to restricted viewing areas to watch live bungee jumping action. You’ll next journey a short drive up the road to the Gibbston Valley Winery, where you’ll enjoy the opportunity to savor a selection of 4 wines. Continue on to the historic gold mining settlement of Arrowtown where you can wander around the shops and cafes in the main street. Your tour concludes with a private transfer back to your Queenstown accommodation, passing the world-famous Shotover Canyon.

After arriving in New Zealand from North America, guests often find that jet lag begins to set in by the afternoon. Today, recharge for days to come with a half-day at leisure. Should you be feeling energetic, Queenstown is a lovely town to explore on foot in one of the most picturesque settings in New Zealand.

Lace-Up for Some Fresh Air

Depart Queenstown on one of the most beautiful road journeys in New Zealand to the Western end of Lake Wakatipu where the stunning backdrop of Mt Aspiring National Park surrounded by snow-capped mountains lies before you to explore. The world-acclaimed Routeburn Track provides stunning variation in vegetation, birdlife, and topography as it climbs 6.5 km one way, on a moderate fitness trail through gorges and valleys. Walking through ancient Red Beech forest amidst lush ferns lichens and mosses, we follow the turquoise Routeburn River reaching the Flats hut located within a mountain amphitheater. Time to rest up, soak in the natural beauty and enjoy your picnic lunch listening for native birdsong This trail is well-formed and we cater to your level of fitness. The duration of the walk, altitude, and alpine conditions will determine the distance and time we will walk.

A Bird’s Eye View

Today you will explore Milford Sounds stunning fiord from the air and on the water. Upon landing in Milford, join an unforgettable cruise, past sheer cliffs, gushing waterfalls, and perhaps even spot dolphins, seals, and penguins. Enjoy an exhilarating flight past spectacular rivers, valleys, and mountains with blue-green icefall, and land upon Mount Tutoko glacier in the heart of Fiordland National Park. The trip takes approximately four hours and has a maximum group size of six guests. Please note: The Department Of Conservation recently reduced the number of concession landings on Ngapunatoru ice plateau (Mt Tutoko). Therefore, a glacier landing on Milford Sound flights can no longer be guaranteed. Alpine landings are offered in lieu.

This afternoon, enjoy time at leisure to explore at your own pace or relax at your hotel.

Taste and Tipple on a Vineyard Visit

Today your private driver-guide will meet you at your Queenstown accommodation and take you on an outstanding wine tour through the Central Otago region. Your afternoon begins among boutique vineyards and splendid scenery, highlighted by wine tastings at four of the best wineries in the Gibbston, Bannockburn, and Cromwell regions. This outing also includes a delightful gourmet platter lunch at the award-winning Carrick Winery, followed by a leisurely stroll through Old Cromwell Town and a drive through the stunning Kawarau Gorge where you’ll learn about the gold history of the region (time and weather permitting). The duration of the tour is approximately five hours and operates with a maximum of five guests. The tour departs at 12:00 pm and returns at approximately 5:00 pm.

A Change of Scenery

A private vehicle with a driver will provide a transfer traveling between the airport and Azur Lodge

Board a flight in Queenstown with service to Nelson. Please note that your flight will require a connection. The approximate flight duration is three hours and 30 minutes.

This flight is not included in the price and must be purchased separately.

You will be privately transferred from Nelson Airport to Split Apple Retreat. The approximate travel time is one hour and 30 minutes.

Sun and Sand

This morning, set out by water taxi to explore the most iconic beaches and bays in the Abel Tasman National Park. Walkthrough an ever-changing forest of the silver fern, strangely twisted Manuka, and beech trees as your guide tell tales of the early settler activity and Maori history. You will have time to relax on the golden beaches where a delicious picnic lunch will be set up on the sand. Back on board, you will finish the day by soaking in the surrounding views from your boat before being returned to your hotel.

Beach Bliss

Enjoy time at leisure to explore at your own pace, or relax at your hotel.

Settle in for an hour-long massage. Split Apple Retreat offers a wide variety of massage treatments, including deep tissue, aromatherapy, reiki, acupuncture, and reflexology.

Explore with an Expert

Depart your accommodation for a scenic drive over the productive Waimea Plains, through the historic Upper Moutere and up Takaka Hill. Enjoy views of Fisherman Island, Abel Tasman National Park, Kahurangi National Park, and Golden Bay. Take a short walk through ancient granite and marble rock outcrops into a quaint forest with spectacular views back towards Nelson. Next, you will stop at Te Waikoropupu Springs, the largest freshwater springs in New Zealand and the clearest water ever measured in the world. This small area surrounding the springs is wahi tapu, a place held in high cultural and spiritual regard, steeped in gold mining history, and the perfect place to observe the many stages of re-vegetation of a unique indigenous forest including mature beech and podocarp trees and plants found nowhere else. Travel towards the eastern side of Golden Bay as the road passes through a natural hole in the rock alongside amazing limestone formations to the Abel Tasman memorial lookout, significant to Maori and New Zealand as a whole. A delicious picnic lunch will be served on Tata Beach where you will have time to relax, then enjoy a short walk into one of the regions hidden secrets, a fascinating limestone area shaped and worn by strong undersea currents before being thrust up from the ocean into a sub-tropical climate that supports a unique collection of plants, some with strange habits and incredible stories. At the end of this tour, you will be transferred back to your accommodation.

Creative Cuisine

Split Apple Retreat specializes in serving gourmet food, devised, designed, and served with a real passion for good health. Dishes are delicious with mouth-watering presentations. Join Chef Pen as she guides you through a personalized cooking class to make sure the health benefits of your stay are long-lasting.

Take to the Trails

Meet your guide this morning and travel by road to Mount Arthur, the second-highest mountain in Kahurangi National Park. As your vehicle climbs to almost 1,000 meters, marvelous views hint at what is to follow. The walk starts with a moderate tramp through towering beech forest to reach the alpine region. During the morning, keep an eye out for diverse birdlife such as Kea, Weka, bellbird, the tiny rifleman, tomtit, and the fearless bush robin. Thanks to the volunteer group Friends of Flora and their pest trapping program, these birds are increasing in numbers. Midway up, the forest dramatically changes into predominantly dragon trees or mountain neinei. This is largely thanks to the mineral belt and seems like you have stepped into another world. As the trek continues, giant granite slabs offer spectacular 360-degree views, and hidden in crevices is the biggest selection of alpine plants to be found in one area in New Zealand. This part of Kahurangi National Park is one of New Zealand’s most interesting for visitors, with its impressive mountain and bush scenery, remarkable botany, geology, and interesting human stories.
The Mount Arthur area has many special geological features. Nowhere else in New Zealand has such a complex series of ancient rocks eroded into such a distinctively different landscape. Descend and settle in for a relaxing transfer back to your accommodation.

Safe Travels!

You will be privately transferred from Split Apple Retreat to Nelson Airport. The approximate travel time is one hour and 30 minutes.