Christchurch to Lake Tekapo

The route

The journey

Lake Tekapo sits about three hours from Christchurch, and the journey there is half the pleasure. From the city the road runs southwest across the patchwork of the Canterbury Plains and the wide braided rivers, through the country town of Geraldine, a fine place to pause for morning coffee. Beyond it the climb to Burkes Pass begins, and as you crest it the land opens all at once into the Mackenzie Basin, a vast high country of golden tussock, big skies and distant snow.

Because the day is private, it moves at your pace and no one else’s. Your guide knows exactly where to stop and when to arrive for the best of the light, with the freedom to linger at a viewpoint or carry on as the day suits you.

What you will see

Lake Tekapo highlights

• The Church of the Good Shepherd on the lakeshore, one of the most photographed places in New Zealand.
• The astonishing turquoise water, coloured by fine glacial rock flour.
• The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, with some of the clearest night skies on earth.
• Mount John and its sweeping views across the Mackenzie Basin.
• The high-country story of the Mackenzie, its sheep stations and its first runholders.

What we provide

Your private journey

• A dedicated driver-guideOne expert local guide for the whole day, who drives the high-country roads, times the day around the light, and brings the stories of the Mackenzie with them.
• A private luxury vehicleA premium Mercedes-Benz for your party alone, comfortable across the long scenic miles, and never shared with another group.
• Door-to-door comfortHotel pickup in Christchurch and return, with no depots and no waiting, and bottled water for the road.
• An unhurried paceThe day is yours to shape, with time to take photographs, stretch your legs by the lake, and arrive when the light is at its best.

How it works

Travel it privately

A private journey, for your party alone, with hotel pickup in Christchurch and a premium vehicle the whole way. Lake Tekapo features on our one-day private journey from Christchurch to Queenstown via Aoraki Mount Cook, so you can take it in on the way south or make it the focus of a private day shaped around you.

From NZD $940 per person.
Tours run on demand. Enquire about this journey.

After dark

The clearest skies in the land

The whole basin lies within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, one of the largest in the world and among the finest places anywhere to see the night sky. For guests staying out, we are happy to arrange an evening of stargazing, the Milky Way arched whole over the lake and the little stone church.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions