MOUNT COOK, LAKE TEKAPO & MACKENZIE REGION

DRIVING DISTANCES: CHRISTCHURCH

Tekapo 225 kms, 3 hrs 15 mins Timaru 163 kms, 2 hrs

Cook 330 kms, 4 hrs 45 mins MOUNT

99 kms, 1 hr 15 mins Queenstown 263 kms, 3 hrs 45 mins

TOP NATURAL ATTRACTIONS:

» World Heritage Listed, Aoraki Mount Cook National Park covers 700 square kms, a third of which is permanently covered in snow or glacial ice. Mt Cook at 3,724m is New Zealand’s highest peak, there are a further 140 peaks above 2,100m and 72 named glaciers including the 29 km mighty Tasman Glacier.

» Lake Tekapo is famous for its brilliant turquoise colour due to the ‘rock flour’ suspended in the glacial melt waters.

» The much photographed tiny Church of the Good Shepherd on the edge of Lake Tekapo is definitely worth a visit.

» The region is now officially the “Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve”. There are currently only 5 International Dark Sky Reserves in the world and Aoraki Mackenzie is gold rated (some only are silver). The reserve covers a large area of night sky including Aorak,i Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo.

TIMARU Asure Ashley Motor Lodge

ASURE Ashley Motor Lodge is the best 4.5-star quality Timaru accommodation choice for corporate travellers, families, and tourists. Centrally located only a short distance from the Timaru town centre, where you will find a fantastic array of activities, attractions, shopping, restaurants, and cafes.

TWIZEL MacKenzie Country Hotel

In the heart of Mackenzie Basin, this hotel features natural stone, roaring fires, and expansive lawns, beautifully reflecting and complimenting the surrounding landscape. Comfortably furnished guest rooms all feature a private balcony or patio with mountain views. The on-site restaurant and bar offers inside and outside dining. Free WiFi.

Mt

Mt Cook Lodge & Motels

Located in the spectacular national park, with a range of accommodation options for all travellers. Newly refurbished motel units offer modern comforts in an iconic environment, and lodge rooms include ensuite bathrooms, a fridge, and patio or balcony for stunning mountain views. Bar and grill on-site, plus beer garden and BBQ area. WiFi and laundry.

The Godley Hotel

Relax and enjoy comfortable, country-style accommodation at the Godley Hotel in the stunning alpine village of Lake Tekapo in the beautiful South Island! The hotel is centrally located with lake and mountain views. Enjoy the onsite Jack Rabbit café or relax in the stylish lounge. It's a 5-minute walk to the lake with its famous turquoise waters, and the Church of the Good Shepherd.

The Chalet Lake Tekapo

Perfectly situated in one of the most scenic places in New Zealand, right on the shores of Lake Tekapo. The serene setting makes for the ultimate getaway, and the motel offers peace and relaxation with six individually designed apartments. The Church of the Good Shepherd and sheep dog memorial are less than 200m away, and the village is only 1km.

MT COOK The Hermitage Hotel

Nestled at the foot of the mountains in beautiful Aoraki Mt Cook National Park, this iconic hotel is the perfect base for your wilderness adventure. Enjoy a stargazing tour, starting on-site at the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. Amenities include a restaurant, lounge bar, and café bar, complimentary wireless internet, and a private balcony or patio for each guest room.

Village Motel

Offering comfort and convenience, situated in a central position in the village with easy walking access to local shops and restaurants. Rooms are modern and most have excellent views over the lake and mountains. Enjoy a relaxing and tranquil environment, with amenities that include free WiFi, free car parking (for one car), and laundry facilities.

Peppers Bluewater Resort

Romantic and secluded, overlooking Lake Tekapo; the architecture and décor use a natural palette that complements the surrounding landscape. Contemporary interiors provide a tranquil retreat, and are designed to take advantage of the stunning views from rooms and villas. Amenities include a restaurant, bar, car parking, WiFi, and laundry.

Dark Sky Project

Dark Sky Project is proud to offer a range of stargazing experiences from a range of exclusive locations in the internationally recognised Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. Pristine night skies, breath-taking views, world-class observatories, and knowledgeable astronomy guides make Earth & Sky a must on any itinerary.

Dark Sky Project Summit Experience - Stars, science and stories combine to create New Zealand’s premier stargazing experience. Spend the evening discovering our illustrious night skies at the world’s southernmost research observatory, located in the heart of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. A truly breathtaking experience, our expert astronomy guides will introduce you to the Southern Skies, imparting their impressive knowledge as you gaze through sophisticated optical telescopes. Learn about the mindblowing research happening onsite Duration: Approximately 2 hours including coach transport to Mount John.

Dark Sky Project Crater Experience - Enjoy our pristine Southern Skies from one of the region’s best viewpoints: Cowan’s Private Observatory. Designed specifically with stargazing in mind, our purposebuilt private observatory boasts minimal light pollution. View from our powerful telescopes as our experienced astronomy guides enhance your knowledge of the Southern Skies. Duration: Approximately 1.25 hours including coach transport to Cowan’s Private Observatory.

Mt Cook Glacier Guiding

The Adventurer: Tasman Glacier Heli-Hike - Combine the excitement of walking on New Zealand’s biggest glacier with the thrill of breathtaking scenic helicopter fly-bys of New Zealand’s largest mountain, Aoraki/Mt Cook. You fly in to your drop off point on a remote part of the glacier. Every journey is unique, because the glacier is changing all the time and our experienced guides are always finding something new and interesting to show our visitors.

The Wigley: Top of The Tasman Glacier Hike - Explore the immense beauty of the upper snowfield of the Haupapa/ Tasman Glacier. As you fly in to 2200m a board either your helicopter or skiplane. Equipped with snow shoes, walking poles, harness and other equipment, you are ready to explore ice formations in this ever-changing environment; you’re in the heart and birthplace of New Zealand mountaineering. Your flight home tracks down the eastern side of New Zealand’s highest mountain, Aoraki Mt Cook and the stunning Hochstetter icefall.

Per Person

The Adventurer: Tasman Glacier Helihike $717

The

Top of The Tasman Glacier Hike $769

Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony

See the world’s smallest penguins in their natural environment. The blue penguins nest close to town under the cliffs along the historic harbour foreshore which is within walking distance of the town centre, close to shops, restaurants and accommodation.

Evening Viewing - View the penguins arriving home from their day at sea, just after dusk, and cross into their breeding area. There are two viewing options, general and premium entry. Viewing times vary depending on daylight and penguin numbers depend on what stage they are at in their breeding cycle. Summer viewing can be as late as 9pm with up to 300 penguins, winter can be as early as 5:15pm with up to 20 penguins. Full commentary during evening viewing. For the safety of the penguins no photography is permitted during evening viewings.

Day Entry - Find out what goes on behind the scenes at the Colony, learn about the penguins, play and discover in our brand-new children’s area before heading outdoors to our specially-designed day viewing room and to explore the penguins’ nesting environment.

Adult Child (5-17yrs)

Evening Viewing from $38 $26

Tours from $22 $13

Tekapo Springs

Tekapo Springs is a year round playground offering recreation and rejuvenation, overlooking stunning Lake Tekapo and the Two Thumb Mountain Range.

Pools - There are five outdoor heated pools all perfectly positioned to capture the scenery, where you can soak and soothe tired muscles in temperatures ranging from 28-38.5 degrees or choose to sit back and relax in the steam and sauna facility.

Day Spa - With a fully equipped day spa onsite, offering a variety of luxurious treatments, this is an outstanding opportunity to take your relaxation to the next level!

Activities - To pump up the adrenalin and enjoy some fun filled excitement you could go skating on the international size ice rink which is open mid-April to mid-September. In winter the snow tube park is the place to be, open start of July to start of October and after a magic carpet ride to the top of a 150m snow-filled slope, you can catapult yourself down – with friends or by yourself. Great value combos are available.

Star Gazing - Soak in the stars on New Zealand’s only guided stargazing and hot pools tour! Operating from Tekapo Springs, the tour is 2 hours long. First, be introduced to the night skies with a unique combination of astronomy and storytelling. Then relax in a 37.5-degree hot pool on a floating hammock and admire the stars! Tekapo Star Gazing tours run 364 nights/year; start times vary. Children - 6 years+

The Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre

A tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary, the Centre is designed to educate and entertain. It features a spectacular state-of-theart Mt Cook Magic 3D movie, full dome digital planetarium and museum that documents Sir Edmund’s achievements and history of pioneering in the region. Located within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, the centre runs Big Sky Stargazing Tours in the evening. Starting with an orientation in the planetarium, before utilising specialty telescopes at the outdoor stargazing site. Located within The Hermitage Hotel (See Page 111). Open daily 7.30am – 8.30pm (times may change seasonally)

Adult Child (4-14yrs)

Big Sky Stargazing $126 $52

Explorer Pass (Unlimited access over a 24hr period to The Theatre, Planetarium & Museum) $23 $12

The Helicopter Line

Scenic flights up close and personal. Mt Cook at 3,724 metres is the highest peak in the Southern Alps, providing stunning scenery for a flight that will become the highlight of your holiday. Highly experienced pilots provide an informative commentary via personal headsets. Flights depart from either Mount Cook or Twizel (Pukaki Airport) as indicated. Options include:

Aoraki Mt Cook – Mountains High with Snow Landing - Our premier flight over vast snow-fields, glaciers and a spectacular view of New Zealand’s highest peak Aoraki/Mount Cook. Land high above the glaciers and stand in snow high in the mountains. Traverse the Southern Alps, to view the mighty Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. Duration: Approx. 45 minutes.

Aoraki Mt Cook - Alpine Vista with Snow Landing - A short scenic option ideal to touch snow and experience the thrill of a helicopter flight. Sweep through the rugged high country of the Ben Ohau Range to a snowfield landing site high in the mountains. Duration: Approx. 20 minutes.

Tasman Glacier Heli Hike - Adventure into Mount Cook National Park and Heli Hike across Tasman Glacier. Witness the beauty of the Tasman Glacier lake and the stunning ice formations from the helicopter as you fly over the spectacular Tasman Glacier. Once you descend and step foot onto the ice you will encounter fresh alpine air as your heli hike guide introduces you to the world of the Tasman Glacier. This is a unique experience and one which will not be forgotten. Departs: Oct - Apr 9am, 11.30am and 2pm daily. Moderate fitness is required. Allow 3 hours.

Adult Child (4-14yrs) Infant (0-3yrs)

Aoraki Mt Cook - Mountains High with Snow Landing - HLC2 $538 $377 $270

Aoraki Mt Cook - Alpine Vista with Snow Landing - HLC5 $308 $215 $154

Air Safaris

Air Safaris operate a modern fleet with each aircraft featuring ‘wings-above’ to ensure unobstructed viewing below and everyone is guaranteed a window seat. Your pilot will provide an informative and enjoyable commentary in addition to all passengers receiving the Air Safaris multi-language flight-guide.

The Grand Traverse - recognised as the premier Aoraki Mount Cook flight-seeing experience; this magnificent flight encompasses 10 major glaciers including Tasman, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier, two World Heritage National Parks and 200 km of New Zealand’s most breathtaking scenery. Departs regularly from Lake Tekapo and Franz Josef (see page 83), flight time approx. 50 min. ANZCRO highly recommended Milford Sound Excursion - Flights operate on demand to spectacular Milford Sound from Lake Tekapo and Franz Josef. Scenic flights follow the Southern Alps to Milford Sound via the Mount Aspiring National Park taking in alpine valleys, Wanaka Basin, Mount Sefton and often return via the rugged West Coast of the South Island. Or opt for all of the above plus include a flyby of the Mount Cook and Westland National Park glaciers. Both options includes a 30 min. stop at Milford Sound which provides the opportunity to enjoy some stunning views of the fiord and towering mountains from ground level. Experience the beauty of this stunning, awe inspiring alpine landscape and take home memories that will last a lifetime.

Adult Child (3-13yrs) The Grand Traverse

Tasman Glacier Heli Hike $600 $600 -

Mount Cook Glacier Explorers

An amazing encounter with New Zealand’s largest glacier, the Tasman Glacier. Join us for a unique experience as we journey around the terminal lake for a fascinating glacial encounter. Board our custom made MAC boats with your experienced guide to explore the rapidly growing terminal lake. Observe the ever shifting Tasman Glacier face and all the time be surrounded by the massive mountain vista. Icebergs of every shape and size periodically tear away or ‘carve’ from the glacier allowing you to get up close and touch the 300-600 year old glacial crystal.

Adult Child (4-14yrs)

3 hr Boat Tour $190 $87

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN NEW ZEALAND’S PRISTINE WILDERNESS

There’s a sound argument to be made that the best of Aotearoa is only accessible by foot. Venture into some of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes, where the tranquillity of nature refreshes the body and revitalises the spirit.