Mount Cook & Southern Lakes Bike & Hike

A splendid mix of cycling and hiking through NZ’s Southern Alps. The tour leaves the garden city of Christchurch and heads to the Southern Alps offering a chance to explore the vast and impressive Mackenzie Basin and Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park by bike and foot to truly appreciate its huge glacial lakes and snow-capped mountains. The tour travels through beautiful farm country before some superb riding alongside the stunning turquoise lakes of Tekapo and Pukaki. Following the Waitaki River to the coast via the "big-sky country" in Central Otago we head inland again towards Central Otago to see a region carved by the gold mining era of the 1860's.

Our final day takes us into the beautiful Lakes District where we marvel at the crystal clear lakes of Lake Wanaka and Lake Wakatipu surrounded by high mountain peaks. We finish this epic tour with a final ascent up the Cardona Valley and over the Crown Range; NZ’s highest sealed road before a huge descent to Queenstown, and the end of this amazing adventure.

This tour has been designed for experienced cyclists with good levels of fitness, we welcome tandem riders and road cyclists alike.

Trip highlights
Explore the Banks Peninsula and ride around the rim of an extinct volcanic crater
Cycle alongside the bright turquoise canals and glacial lakes in the Mackenzie District
Wonder at the majestic Aoraki/Mt Cook on a hike up the Hooker Valley
Challenge yourself with a walk to the Mueller Hut surrounded by ice falls and glaciers
Admire the wondrous night sky in NZ's Dark Sky Reserve
Explore the Victorian quarter of historic Oamaru
Reward yourself on reaching the summit of the stunning Crown Range Road, the highest motorable road in NZ
Taste award winning wine and local Kiwi cuisine