This picturesque cycling itinerary will take you downhill from the mighty Southern Alps towards the Pacific Ocean, allowing you to experience a diverse range of landscapes and experiences on our stunning South Island. Encounter the majesty of New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki Mt Cook, and the sweeping tussocklands of the Mackenzie Basin as you cycle the ancient Maori trading and food gathering routes towards the historic and vibrant coastal township of Oamaru. With superb mountain scenery as your backdrop, you'll be enchanted by picturesque canal rides past the amazing turquoise blue lakes at Tekapo, where you can soak in the hot pools, before following the flat trails towards Lake Pukaki and the alpine retreat of Twizel. This ride offers much more than just superb cycling, you'll talk with conservation staff about their Black Stilt Recovery Program, which deals with one of New Zealand's most endangered species, learn about the early history of Oamaru and also be entertained by the nightly parade of the Blue Penguins, the world's smallest! As you cycle along quiet, rural sealed roads there will also be opportunities to view ancient Maori rock art, dramatic limestone landscapes and to explore the small local communities of the Waitaki Valley.
Brief Itinerary
| DAY 1 |
Join Christchurch for bike fitting, drive/cycle to Tekapo |
| DAY 2 |
Cycle canal roads, drive to Mt Cook, drive to Twizel |
| DAY 3 |
Cycle canal roads, visit Black Stilt Recovery Program, cycle from historic farm site, cycle to Kurow |
| DAY 4 |
Cycle to Oamaru, view blue penguins |
| DAY 5 |
Drive and cycle around Timaru, drive to Christchurch where trip concludes |
Trip Notes
Inclusions
*4 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 3 dinners *Professional guide/s *4 nights motel/lodge accommodation *Transport by private coach *Entry to Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre *Visit to DOC Black Stilt Recovery program *Entry to blue penguin colony *Department of Conservation concession fees *Comprehensive first aid kit
AIRFARES
World Expeditions has competitive airfares to get you to the starting point of your chosen adventure. CONTACT US for a full quotation including airfares, stopovers and any additional travel you wish to organize pre or post tour.
INFO NIGHTS
World Expeditions hold informative and inspiring info night presentations covering all of our adventures and journeys across the globe. CLICK ON THE INFO NIGHTS AND EVENTS TAB AT THE TOP OF OUR WEBSITE and join us for an informative evening in a location near you!
Now there are 3 ways you can book your next World Expeditions adventure.
1. online
You are now able to book your trip online!
First, search our website to find the trip you are interested in.
Then, click the 'Dates & Bookings' tab to check availability. If a trip is available click 'Book Now'.
If a trip is 'Closed' or 'Limited' contact us to speak with one of our consultants to check the availability of your preferred departure.
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2. phone
If you would like to speak with a Reservations Consultant, call World Expeditions on 0800 0744 135 (during office hours 9am - 5.30pm Mon - Fri) or email us: enquiries@worldexpeditions.co.uk
Complete your details and fax or post to your nearest World Expeditions office along with your non-refundable deposit of £250 per person per trip, or 25% per person for Antarctic, Arctic and Russian Far East tours (or USD$1500 on the Polar Pioneer or the Ushuaia).
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3. in person
You can also take your booking in person to our office or to a World Expeditions office.
Download our booking form so you'll know what information we need to process your booking.
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What happens after I book?
Receive your pre-departure information
On receipt of the booking form, we will confirm your booking by phone and our reservation staff will post to you a comprehensive Pre-Departure Kit. This kit will contain all necessary pre-departure information pertaining to your country including visa information, insurance information, a medical and personal details form, comprehensive gear list, discount vouchers for gear, our award winning Responsible Travel Guidebook as well as other information tailored to your adventure.
We can also handle your extra arrangements
World Expeditions is a licensed travel agent and we are able to handle every aspect of your booking from issuing travel insurance, booking your flights, stop-overs and other travel related services. Our reservation staff are eager to help so please do not forget to include any extra arrangements that you may need.
Note: If you cannot download this Booking Form contact your nearest World Expeditions office on and we will post, email or fax you a copy.
World Expeditions
World Expeditions is one of the world’s leading adventure travel companies offering ground breaking itineraries on every continent. The company has been operating small group trekking and adventure travel holidays and vacations since 1975.
We are widely recognized for ground breaking Responsible Tourism initiatives. In particular, the award winning Community Project Travel Program helps to improve the living conditions of some of the world’s most remote communities
Today, with offices around the globe, we offer more than 500 stand alone itineraries; small group active adventures and expeditions, cycling and walking tours and cultural journeys. Each itinerary has several scheduled departure dates throughout the season.
Supported by some of the world's most experienced and respected adventurers, including mountaineers Peter Hillary and Tim Macartney-Snape working with us as specialist guides, World Expeditions’ has helped shape the adventure travel industry standards since its inception almost four decades ago.
Our all-inclusive, no hidden extras pricing policy combined with longer, creative itineraries and the use of quality ground services attracts people who have high expectations of their travel experiences.
In 2004, we became the first adventure operator whose product was being distributed on Lonely Planet’s Travel Services section on their website.
World Expeditions is truly global company with offices in London, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, as well as Auckland, Ottawa and Montreal.
Why Travel with World Expeditions?
We own most of our operational bases around the world. This ensures that we can provide high quality trips of exceptional value with no hidden extras. Our trips are all inclusive, so there is little need to pay for anything once your trip commences until it ends. Our hands-on approach and years of experience has ensured a safety record second to none as we’ve pioneered some of the most unique itineraries in the adventure market place today.
World Expeditions has been seriously committed to responsible travel and true sustainability since we began in 1975 when we established our philosophy and stated ideal which was to “take only photographs and leave only footprints”.
Almost four decades of pioneering adventure travel has proved the positive conservation outcomes when travel is managed for sustainability. We believe a responsible, long-term vision can deliver true sustainability and with the participation of all our clients and business partners the challenge is being met and achieved.
An example of this commitment to sustainability has been our efforts to preserve the forests of Nepal. This has involved changing an entrenched culture of burning wood for fuel. World Expeditions has pioneered the change to kerosene as an alternative to wood on all trekking expeditions in Nepal. We do not have camp fires and we strongly discourage trekkers from buying wood-fueled hot showers in lodges along the trail. As a founding supporter of the International Porter Protection Group (IPPG) we also lead the way in porter protection by providing a good working wage for all Nepalese staff, food and extra clothing for those working above the tree line, life insurance cover and emergency helicopter insurance. Our efforts were recognized at the World Travel Mart in 2006 when our porter policies received a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Mountain Environment category.
Our philanthropic program ensures we ‘give something back’. Our current initiative is Community Project Travel. The concept behind our Community Project Travel range of trips is based on the ethos of “travel with a purpose”. It is a range of small group adventures, each about two weeks in length, whereby participants commit four to five days of their holiday to making a difference to a community in need. A portion of the traveller’s participation fee contributes to the associated material costs of the project. In 2006 our travellers helped to refurbish the Saramthali school in Nepal, collected 7 tonnes of ghost nets from the Arnhem land coastline, helped to build a new school room for the Xo village in Vietnam as well as erect a footbridge for the village of Qelqanqa in Peru so that kids could access the school safely.
In recognition of our environmental policies, we are the only Travel Company ever to be fully endorsed by the Wilderness Society in Australia. In 2001, we received the National Travel Industry’s Environmental Achievement Award, presented by WWF Australia, for our responsible tourism policies.
In addition, we create excellent adventures! Our trips have featured in the world’s most prestigious magazines and newspapers including: OUTSIDE magazine, both National Geographic Adventure & National Geographic Traveler magazine, Wanderlust, The Sunday Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Age, The Sunday Telegraph (UK) plus much more. Use the search widget top left of each webpage to browse our adventures, browse our Regions Of The World or Types Of Adventures pages for details of all our adventures.
