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Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
View on Google MapsWe spent 3 weeks in New Zealand and had planned to do a lot of travelling by bus since we were not confident to drive on the right side of the road. This 2-day tour was a great choice and gave us more than we expected for the cost. First off, the bus we rode in is really a well-fitted and comfortable van which had 10 guests on our tour. The driver is also the tour guide and ours was very good at sharing both insight and humor about New Zealand’s indigenous and Euro-Asian history. Each day includes up to 10 stops along the route that takes you through the remote and less populated west coast of the South Island (and there's an option to take the Trans Alpine train to the western side of the island, which is a separate cost and skips the Castle Hill and Arthur's Pass visits). Some stops on the route are only for 5-10 minutes to grab a picture and stretch your legs but several stops are up to an hour in length including Castle Hill, a site that is sacred to the Maori tribes, Arthur's Pass village and the Devil's Punch Bowl walking track, and the Hokitika Gorge walk, which was stunning. We ended day 1 in the town of Franz Joseph. Keep in mind this is not a stop on the glacier, which we couldn’t even see. But after the long day of travel it was a great place to stop and spend the night. Plan to visit the local grocery store before grabbing dinner at one of numerous restaurants on the main route. The next day kicked off with a morning visit to Lake Matheson, which was stunningly beautiful and the coffee at the local bakery was delicious. After a couple more stops lunch was at the Hard Antler, an unexpected treat with interesting history. I recommend trying the Sammy. The afternoon included 4 more stops before ending up in Queenstown, which was our final destination. All in all a great day trip and I would do it again.
NZ$580
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Public transportation options are available nearby, Specialized infant seats are available, Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries, Not recommended for pregnant travelers, Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health, Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness, Children aged 7 years and below are required to travel in a child safety car seat. You can hire seats ($20NZD per seat) or you can provide your own, Space for luggage - 1 large & 1 small per person, The tour duration includes travel time between attractions, Drop off off in Fox Glacier is not avaialble - we reccomend booking accommodation in Franz Josef, Lunch will be free choice from a set menu
I love these one-way NZ tours by Cheeky Kiwi. And to do it over 2 days made it spectacular. You get to see so much along the way and with more time and stops to soak in. The landscape is beautiful as you travel and you learn so much from talking to the guides (Rosie - day 1, and Noah - day 2) and the other passengers.
On the first day of our tour, Rosie was fantastic! Punctual, conscientious, and determined to keep us on track to arrive at Franz Josef at 6:30PM. The van was a very well-appointed Mercedes sprinter and was in excellent shape for a tour van -- clean, leather seats, good intercom, outfitted with all the latest safety features including wind assist (which Rosie definitely ended up needing). Rosie was a very safe driver despite extremely windy & rainy conditions. We also did all the stops and were pretty fortunate to arrive at breaks in the weather for Castle Hill (used for Narnia movie scenes), the waterfall at Arthur's Pass, Hokitika Gorge, etc. Rosie was a font of knowledge and strove to be engaging with NZ facts on geography, history, flora & fauna, culture, and politics -- all whilst driving a van in inclement weather for 7 hours! On the second day, Kristina was a wonderful guide who kept her energy up for a long day of driving and chatting. Our stops included a variety of locations: lakes w/ beautiful reflections, glaciers, beaches, waterfalls, and other scenic vantage points. Lunch was arranged at a decent restaurant along the way. There is only one major road along the west coast of NZ, and this was a great way to see the change from temperate rainforest to the interior land in the range's rain shadow. The scenery and road all felt very remote, so it was nice to see this part of the country with an experienced and knowledgeable guide. Kristina remained focused and willing to engage but also allowed time for us to just enjoy the scenery and listen to her playlist of NZ artists. Overall this whole trip was a great way to get to Queenstown from Christchurch and see some great scenery and absorb some local knowledge at the same time. Well worth it! Oh, this particular tour only runs in the summer when the pass over the mountains is reliably accessible.
This is the best way to get from Christchurch to Queenstown. My guides, Carl and Linnette, were amazing. Both are very knowledgeable. I really recommend this tour.
The two days were actually split between two guides. The trip was well organized. On the first day on our way to Franz Josef, there were only 2 of us to Greymouth as the couple in our group took the train, so it became a private tour for the first part. Our guide was nice. He gave us flexibility on the things we wanna do and the time to spent at each point. The next day to Queenstown there were still only 4 of us in total. It was a good experience overall.
We had a fantastic experience and was the perfect way to see all the sights. Both guides were super knowledgeable about everywhere we went. Absolutely a must-do!!!
We did 3 separate tours with Cheeky Kiwi (Christchurch to Franz Josef; Franz Josef to Queenstown; Queenstown to Christchurch via Mt. Cook) - some of these were partnered/split with a partner, so this may be a mixed review of both companies. It doesn't matter because all the experiences were EXCELLENT. Kudos to all the drivers who were SAFE, organized, thorough and knowledgeable about everywhere we went. I hope I have all their names right: Mark, Jonathan, Greg, and Joseph. The logistics of the company are frankly, impressive. I communicated with them a few times on booking changes for pickups/dropoffs when our itinerary was thrown into chaos from a late ferry, and they never dropped the ball with our bookings. Each tour had multiple built in touring stops that were well-planned and timed almost perfectly to the minute. We hiked waterfalls, lakes, saw glaciers, made some museum visits - and in-between learned lots of interesting facts and stories about the areas. Drivers were very flexible - on the second leg of our Franz Josef to Queenstown, one of the attractions was closed off, and we pivoted easily to see other things. My only critique is that the vans are inconsistent in terms of amenities. Not all have WiFi or even USB chargers, but this wasn't a make-or-break deal for us. Just something to keep in mind when you are on the road for hours at a time and using your phone cameras heavily. In vans without multiple USB ports, the driver was always happy to use the front driver's seat charger. In summary, Cheeky Kiwi is a great way to get from point-to-point between major sights on the South Island if you're not driving. A much better option than the Intercity Bus System (which we used on occasion) and well worth the cost when you consider the built-in touring stops and snacks. We checked nearly everything off our South Island bucket list with their help.
Our tour guides Clive from Christchurch to Franz Josef and Lynette from Franz Josef to Queenstown were both awesome. Very knowledgeable and kind. Highly recommend this tour......
They are full two days. 12 hours a day. Be prepared for winding roads. Average about 6 hours driving and 6 hours exploring on your stops. Book your accommodations early. Shout out to Hannah and Albert. Out tour guides and drivers.
