Fault - Line Adventure - 8 days Christchurch to Queenstown   

Our Hiking Adventure Tours are for people wanting to participate in day hikes and a variety of other activities. Options might include cycling, kayaking, hiking, caving, viewing wildlife and glacier hiking in iconic New Zealand locations. Hiking Tours range from 5 - 20 days and offer an excellent way to see a large portion of New Zealand. Accommodation is comfortable, and most meals are included (see inclusions). Optional activities allow you to choose how much or how little you pack into each day.

Why is it called the Fault-line Adventure?
New Zealand did not become one of the most diverse and dramatic landforms on earth by accident. Where New Zealand is situated happens to be right over a collision zone of two of the largest slabs of the earth's crust forming a fault-line. Over millions of years this collision has created the Southern Alps, which are the backbone of the South Island.

During this 8-day adventure, we actually cross over the fault-line twice, once when we cross the alps near Arthur's Pass and again on day 6 on our way to Haast Pass. Don't worry if you are a bit confused by plate movement, collision zones and fault-lines because you are guaranteed to love the amazing play ground that it has created for us, and you will see it from so many different perspectives whether it be hiking through deep limestone canyons, kayaking across pristine lagoons, jetboating down the Wilkin River or from the air in a helicopter above the mountains of Mt Aspiring National Park. This is a trip of a lifetime, the perfect combination of adventure and incredible scenery with quality character accommodation to relax in at the end of the day.

This tour runs Saturday to Saturday, so you can squeeze it into one week of annual leave.

Your Hiking Adventure Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Saturday: Christchurch - Arthur's Pass
Your New Zealand adventure travel starts in the garden city of Christchurch. From here, you drive across the Canterbury Plains and over Porters Pass. We stop for lunch at Cave Stream Scenic Reserve, which sits among spectacular limestone outcrops. Explore this spectacular subterranean canyon before we hike up the nearby 'Bealey Spur'. We finish the day in Arthur's Pass alpine village.
2-4 hours hiking / cave exploring

Day 2 Sunday: Punakaiki
Picnic at Lake Brunner before heading to the rugged West Coast. Hike the coastal Truman Track and explore old sea caves used by the early Maori. View the famous Pancake Rocks and impressive blowhole at Punakaiki.
2 hours hiking

Day 3 Monday: Paparoa National Park
Up early for a full day's hiking on the Inland Pack Track in Paparoa National Park. Hike through lush rainforests into the spectacular Fox River. Follow the deep "Rivendell" limestone canyon out to the coast.
7 / 8 hours hiking

Day 4 Tuesday: Okarito Lagoon - Franz Josef Glacier
Your adventure continues with a drive travelling south to Okarito Lagoon, New Zealand's largest unmodified wetland. With kayaks explore the river delta and paddle deep into the Kahikatea and Rimu rainforests. See birdlife, including White Herons, Godwits, Black Swans and Tui. Help prepare an authentic hangi meal and feast around the beach bonfire. It is then a short drive to our accommodation at Franz Josef.
4 hours kayaking

Day 5 Wednesday: Franz Josef Glacier - Fox Glacier
Enjoy a half-day hike onto Franz Josef Glacier with seracs, crevasses and ice caves. This is one of the few places you can see a glacier descend into the rainforest. After this informative hike, drive to Fox Glacier and hike to the mouth of the glacier or relax at our local accommodation.
4 hours hiking

Day 6 Thursday: Lake Matheson
An easy hike to the stunning Lake Matheson. On a clear day, you can see the Southern Alps reflected perfectly in the lake. Visit a salmon farm on the way to Makaroa. Spend the afternoon relaxing at the homestead, set amongst 5 acres of established gardens and deer farm, surrounded by the Mt Aspiring World Heritage Park. Enjoy a delicious group meal of salmon prepared by the guide.

Day 7 Friday: Makarora
Board a helicopter at Makarora for a thrilling flight into the Siberia Valley. View towering mountains, rainforests, lakes and rivers from the air. Land at a classic backcountry hut, which will be our accommodation for the night. From here there is an optional hike up to a pristine alpine lake.
5 hours hiking

Day 8 Saturday: Wilkin River - Queenstown
Hike to the Wilkin River to meet the jet boat. Enjoy this adrenalin filled jet boat ride through world-class scenery back to Makarora. Drive to Wanaka for a celebratory wine at a local vineyard before driving over the impressive Crown Range to the alpine resort of Queenstown.
3 hours hiking

The trip concludes in Queenstown. You may wish to take advantage of a free shuttle return to Christchurch on Day 9 or you can stay in Queenstown to enjoy the endless activities this town offers.

Day 6 - Lake Matheson

Some useful information:

Grading & Fitness

Grade C
Up to 6 hrs of physical activity per day
At times carrying a backpack of 5-6kgs
Tracks generally in good condition
Altitude gains of up to 600m on harder days
No hiking experience necessary
Reasonable standard of fitness required

You need to be reasonably fit and enthusiatic. We will be taking you into real wilderness areas so at times the tracks will be slippery, rough and we will need to cross rivers.
The itinerary is flexible enough to provide time to relax or to present you with challenges. We recommend you do some physical preparation: brisk walking, jogging or cycling a couple of times a week during the month or so before you arrive as this will enable you to make the most of your trip

Guides & Safety

Your enthusiastic New Zealand guides have a thorough knowledge of natural history and will enjoy sharing and discussing this with you. Each has over a decade of outdoor experience; their knowledge of the back-country and weather will ensure a safe trip. In addition, they are all trained in mountain first aid. The guides enjoy meeting and getting to know new people and have the skills to make everybody feel part of the group.

Transport

We travel in a 10 or 12 seat minibus towing a trailer with equipment and your luggage. All vehicles have a public address system, and a stereo with a variety of music. We also carry a range of natural history reference books. Time spent driving is kept to a minimum, we average about 2 hours per day and we drive on a range of roads - sealed and unsealed. We make the most of being small and flexible and often find ourselves stopping to check the unexpected!

Food

All the meals are included in the price, except dinner on day 3 and day 5 - this will give you the opportunity to get out and try the local cuisine. The first night we eat at the local restaurant and your guide prepares the dinners on nights 2,4,6 and 7. You may be asked to help with the preparation or washing up. Don't let this put you off though. It's part of our philosphy to get everyone involved as we believe this makes the whole experience more fun and rewarding! The night where we have the hangi (moari earth oven) is a real team effort and the guide will need your help collecting firewood, collecting rocks and of course eating it!

Meals will be healthy and wholesome and include lots of fresh produce The trailers we tow are customised with a cooking area and fold down table, which is great for preparing picnics at all those secret places we will take you. Breakfasts are usually continental style, but don't be surprised if you wake up to the smell of fresh pancakes as well!

Accommodation

Most of the time we will be staying at locally owned B&B's. If you are travelling with a partner you can request a double/queen room, otherwise the rooms will be twin share. Most of the rooms have ensuite bathrooms. Single supplements are available. We try and stay away from big hotels and keep to the smaller friendlier places with lots of character! On the last night you will sleep in bunks in a classic back country hut, these huts can't be booked in advance so we will be sharing it with other users, but that just adds to the fun of it. You will need to have a sleeping bag for this night, but you can hire one off us if you need to.

Day 1 - Heading towards the Southern Alps


Day 1 - Hiking in the Arthur's Pass National Park

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