14 days
The Southern Heart
Whales off Kaikōura, a glacier at Franz Josef, and the clearest sky in the country over Aoraki.
First-time visitors · Touring couples · Nature lovers · Year-round
Fourteen days around the South Island with a guide who drives, so you can look out the window. Whales off Kaikōura in the morning with the mountains behind them. Marlborough for the wine and a boat on the Sounds. Nelson, then Abel Tasman's beaches. Down the West Coast through rainforest to the Franz Josef glacier, where you can stand on the ice. Over the Haast Pass to Wānaka and Queenstown, then up to Aoraki for a night sky so dark the Milky Way casts a shadow.
The scenery does the work. We keep the days unhurried and the stays comfortable, and we stop wherever the view is good.
For guests who want the whole South Island in one loop, and to arrive at each evening rested.
Key experiences
- Kaikōura wildlife encounter, seals, dolphins, or whale watching
- Marlborough wine tasting and Sounds seafood cruise
- Abel Tasman National Park bush and beach cruise
- Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and blowholes
- Franz Josef Glacier heli-hike or guided walk
- Rippon Estate wine tasting on Lake Wānaka
- Choice of Queenstown excursion: Milford Sound, wine tour, farm excursion, or wilderness safari
- Big Sky Stargazing at Aoraki / Mount Cook
Your route
Day by day
Welcome to New Zealand! Upon arrival in Christchurch, your guide will collect you and after a brief city sights tour drop you at your hotel. Christchurch is a beautiful city, rebuilt, compact and easy to explore, with the Avon running through it, full of parks and river walks, and an easy, friendly feel.
- guide welcome
- Christchurch city sights
Overnight Hotel Montreal, Christchurch
What's included
- 13 nights across nine properties chosen for the road
- Hotel Montreal, Christchurch, 1 night (breakfast)
- Sudima Kaikōura, 1 night (breakfast)
- Chateau Marlborough, Blenheim, 2 nights (breakfast)
- The Waters, Nelson, 2 nights (continental breakfast and bottle of wine)
- Punakaiki Resort, 1 night (breakfast)
- Te Waonui Forest Retreat, Franz Josef, 2 nights (dinner first night, full breakfast daily)
- Edgewater Hotel, Wānaka, 1 night (breakfast)
- The Rees Hotel, Queenstown, 2 nights (breakfast)
- The Hermitage, Mount Cook, 1 night (breakfast)
- Dedicated guide for the duration of the programme
- In Kaikōura: choice of Swimming with the Seals, Dolphin Encounter, or Whale Watching Cruise
- Full-day Marlborough Tour and Seafood Cruise
- Abel Tasman National Park bush and beach cruise
- In Queenstown: choice of Milford Sound coach/cruise, Boutique Wine Tour, Walter Peak farm excursion and Shotover Jet, or Wilderness Safari jet-boat and forest walk
- Evening Big Sky Stargazing at Aoraki / Mount Cook
Health and safety in New Zealand, what to know before you come.
Every journey is fully customisable
Your composition, 14 days
The Southern Heart
Every journey is fully customisable.
The journey in photographs
The regions this journey passes through
The other journeys
In experienced hands
By PPG Tours
A curator replies personally. Every journey is private and composed around you.
Named New Zealand's Leading Destination Management Company
World Travel Awards, 2025 and 2026
Trusted by the finest cruise lines
Silversea, Ponant, Celebrity and more
Two decades of private journeys
New Zealand owned and operated
Two weeks in New Zealand, how we plan it
The planning guide, sent by email
Pace, the islands, how many places to stay and the season. What to decide before we speak, and what our first conversation covers. A short read.