Hiking Safaris are for people looking for a unique hiking experience that combines multi-day hikes with kayaking, caving and camping. An unforgettable outdoor experience in remote wilderness areas with a small and social group. Hikers participate in all aspects of the safari; decision making, cooking, and camp set-up.

This safari takes you to areas of New Zealand seldom visited by other travellers. It starts with four days hiking and kayaking in Fiordland National Park. Visit the Catlins, famous for its beautiful beaches and abundant wildlife - Hector's dolphins, New Zealand sea lions and yellow-eyed penguins. We take a rest day in Alexandra, with optional cycling on an historic rail trail, then it's on to the Mount Cook region to view New Zealand's highest mountain. In South Canterbury we hike up a canyon through an ancient volcanic landscape.

Your Hiking Safari Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Join tour in Queenstown
You'll start your New Zealand hiking vacation by heading south to Te Anau (optional pick-up point by prior arrangement) and Fiordland National Park. Hike with daypacks to Key Summit, part of the famous Routeburn track. Enjoy spectacular views of the Darran mountains. Return to vehicle and camp in the Hollyford valley. Introduction night.
3 hours hiking

Day 2 Milford Sound
Up early for a morning kayak ($100) in Milford Sound with cascading waterfalls and views of Mitre Peak (1722m). Fiordland crested penguins and NZ fur seals often play near our kayaks. Drive back through the Homer Tunnel and south to Lake Monowai. Camp.
4 hours kayaking

Day 3 Fiordland National Park
Drive up to Borland Saddle. Start 2-day hike above the bushline onto the Hunter Range with great views into Fiordland National Park. Traverse along Hunter Range, then descend to Green Lake. Stay in mountain hut or camp.
7 hours hiking

Day 4 Catlins Coast
Hike through beech forest and across tussock basins to Borland Road. Drive to Curio Bay in the Catlins via Invercargill. Stay in a crib (NZ summer house). Evening walk along this beautiful beach.
4 hours hiking

Day 5 Cannibal Bay
Hector's dolphins are often seen in the bay. Explore a fossilised forest (180 million years old). Head to Cannibal Bay and visit New Zealand sea lion and yellow-eyed penguin colonies. Camp near the beach and enjoy a hangi meal.
3 hours hiking

Day 6 Central Otago
Drive up the Clutha Valley through to Alexandra. Enjoy a rest in a cafe or winery, or take an optional cycling tour around the historic Otago Rail Trail. Dine in a local restaurant. Optional cycling/walking

Day 7 Ohau Range
Drive through the high country to Lake Ohau with time to swim. Pack and begin 2-day hike through beech forest in Freehold Creek to a sub-alpine camp just below the bushline.
3 hours hiking

Day 8 Ohau Range
With daypacks, hike up into a mountain basin filled with tarns (small alpine lakes) onto Ohau Range (1915m). Superb views of the Southern Alps and the Mackenzie Basin. Return to campsite, pack-up, and hike back to vehicle. Drive onto Mt Cook.
7 hours hiking

Day 9 Mt Cook National Park
Hike to Sealy Tarns and possibly Mueller Hut for a view of the Hooker and Mueller Glaciers, Mt Sefton Ice Fall, and New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki/Mt Cook (3754m) - "The Cloud Piercer". Return and camp on the shores of Lake Pukaki.
5 hours hiking

Day 10 Mt Somer
Drive through Mackenzie Basin, past Lake Tekapo, to south Canterbury and to Mount Somers for a 2-day hike. Rock-hop up the Woolshed River Canyon in an historic mining area to a tramper's hut.
4 hours hiking

Day 11 Tour ends in Christchurch
Explore water caves, and Tri-Falls Stream before returning to vehicle via the coal-mine route. Hikers in this area often see the rare New Zealand falcon. Clean vehicle and gear. Drive across Canterbury Plains to Christchurch.
4 hours hiking

Day 5- Franz Josef Glacier and Mt Cook

Some useful information:

Grading & Fitness

Grade: D
Average 4-5 hours physical activity per day, up to 7 hours on longer days.
Pack weights of 10-12kgs on some days.
Altitude gains of up to 800 metres.
Terrain mostly tracks. Some slippery, rough or uneven track surfaces and river crossings.
Some off-track hiking.
No hiking experience necessary.
Agility and fitness required. You need to be reasonably fit and enthusiastic.

Guides & Safety

An excellent guide can make the difference between a trip of a lifetime and just an ordinary trip. That is why we work hard to make sure we hire the best guides. Our handpicked professionals come from a range of backgrounds. Each has extensive outdoor and hiking experience and a passion for New Zealand’s wild and beautiful backcountry. Our guides will ensure that your time with us is truly inspiring, a huge amount of fun and safe. All guides are trained in Mountain Safety First Aid.

Please be gentle with your guide - good guides are hard to find!

Transport

You will travel in a 10 or 12 seat minibus towing a trailer with camp equipment and your luggage. All vehicles have a public address system, and a stereo with a variety of music. It is also equipped with a range of natural history reference books. The average driving time per day is around 2-3 hours and there will be a range of roads - sealed and unsealed. The guide will often stop the vehicle for you to take photos. On some of the nights you will be camping by the vehicle.

Food

Safaris are run on a food kitty system - each person contributes about $10 per day. The first stop is usually the supermarket where everyone helps with buying food for the next few days. Everybody is involved with the preparation and cooking of meals: barbecues, salads, pancakes, stews, pasta, dampers, hangi...Vegetarian meals are no problem. When you are on overnight hikes the group will usually eat pasta and rice meals. There is always lots of hiking food - chocolate, peanuts, raisins, biscuits. The vehicles carry a full range of cooking equipment including gas burners, woks, frying pans and billies. When you go on an overnight hike the group will carry a portable stove.

Accommodation

The Hiking Safaris use a range of accommodation: camping, back-country huts, cribs (summer house), hostels and cabins. You will generally camp if the weather is fine, so you get to enjoy the outdoors more and it costs you less. In less pleasant weather your guide will arrange accommodation for the group. Note that the accommodation and food costs are not included in the price of the safari.

Camping - We will camp as much as possible in a range of range of locations; under natural rock overhangs, on the beach, Department of Conservation campsites, established campgrounds with showers. You are provided with 2-person tents to share and closed cell foam sleeping mats. You may have a small campfire if fires are permitted.

Huts - Your guide will make use of excellent Department of Conservation huts. They are equipped with mattresses, running water and an outside toilet. Cooking is done on a portable stove. We do not have sole rights to huts and so must share with other hikers. Please be respectful of other hut users.

Cabins/Cribs - When the weather is bad your guide will seek out alternative accommodation. This can be anything that is available, from a private crib (summerhouse) to a cabin at a campground. Cost is never more than $20 per night.

You must be prepared to go for 3 days (sometimes more) without a hot shower. There is always a river or lake for you to wash in. Some campsites/huts have saunas or natural hotpools!

This trip goes well with the following tours:

* Fault-Line Adventure
* West Coast Wilderness

Day 1 - Key Summit, Routeburn Track


Day 2 - Kayaking Milford Sound, Fiordland

Highlights:

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