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New Zealand in 11 days: Christchurch, Mount Cook and Otago, day by day

Eleven days from Christchurch to the Catlins: the city rebuilt after the earthquakes, the Akaroa dolphins, the Mackenzie night sky, the Hooker Valley Track below Aoraki, the Tasman Lake icebergs, Victorian Oamaru and the Taiaroa Head albatrosses.

Sequenced by Kylian Updated on 20 September 2026

The Auckland skyline and the Sky Tower at sunset, yachts moored in the bay
  • 11 days
  • 37 places
  • 11 nights
  • sustained pace
Start
Christchurch (Christchurch Airport)
End
Papatowai, the Catlins
Main transport
Rental car picked up in Christchurch on day 42, glacier cruise on Lake Tasman and a boat trip at Akaroa
Recommended season
December to March: the day 47 Mueller Hut and the Tasman Lake cruise only work in the southern summer, and the Oamaru penguins come ashore at dusk, later and more visible in season

What you get

  • The complete itinerary: 11 days sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Hotel
  • The card of every hotel, with the address and a direct booking link
  • Quota tickets, fixed-date tickets and surcharges flagged in advance
  • The country quick guide: weather, transport, formalities, budget
  • A PDF file of 26 pages

What the price does not include

  • Flights
  • Hotel nights
  • Tickets and admission fees
  • Travel insurance
  • On-the-ground assistance during your trip

The travel book preview

The free day in full, with its hotel card. This is the sample.

Day 9

Moeraki, the peninsula and the albatrosses

Morning

Moeraki Boulders Beach

Calcite spheres two metres across, formed 60 million years ago by accretion around a core in the sea mud, then released by the erosion of the cliff. Ngāi Tahu tradition sees in them the food baskets and gourds washed up from the Araiteuru canoe. Best light early in the morning, and wider access at low tide.

Drive to the Otago Peninsula

An hour and a half, then the corniche road of the peninsula, narrow and spectacular, cut between the cliff and the harbour.

Afternoon

Larnach Castle

Built from 1871 by the banker and politician William Larnach, who brought craftsmen and materials from Europe then took his own life in the Parliament buildings in 1898. Abandoned, it was bought and restored by a family in the 1960s; the gardens, listed as of international significance, are worth as much as the house. Open 365 days a year, afternoon tea served at 3:00 PM in the ballroom.

Sandfly Bay

A big dune to go down, a wild beach at the bottom, New Zealand sea lions often asleep on the sand. Give them a wide berth, they are animals of several hundred kilos, fast on dry sand.

Evening

Royal Albatross Centre, Taiaroa Head

The only mainland royal albatross colony in the world, settled at the tip of the peninsula since the 1920s and protected ever since. Three metres of wingspan, a single clutch every two years, and birds that live more than fifty years. Viewing from a glazed hide, the guided tour is the only access. The wind at the end of the day is the best moment to see them take off.

Good to know

The Moeraki Boulders are best seen at low tide and in the morning light. Two ways in: the free public path from the northern car park, or the café at the top of the beach, paid.

Hotel · Night 9

Distinction Dunedin Hotel

Set in the old Dunedin post office, an Edwardian building with a clock tower right in the centre, two minutes from the Octagon and the railway station. Spacious rooms, restaurant and bar in the old hall.

Address
· 6 Liverpool Street, Dunedin 9016
Website
· distinctionhotelsdunedin.co.nz (new tab)
Check-in
2:00 PM · Check-out 10:00 AM
Book this hotel (new tab)

Buy this itinerary

€39 incl. tax

that is €3.55 per day of travel

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  • Available immediately in your customer account: online reading with clickable booking links, downloadable PDF for offline use
  • Method: what is checked, and when

A hotel in the itinerary closed or impossible to find, a place to visit permanently closed?

Within 12 months of purchase, email contact@etaperia.com

Itinerary corrected within 7 days, or refunded in full. Terms in article 12 of the T&Cs, on top of the legal warranty (new tab)

€39 incl. tax · 11 days

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A question before buying? Email Kylian, reply within 48 working hours.

The day-by-day rundown

11 stops, 570 km as the crow flies

  1. Day 1 Flight to the South Island and first steps Auckland to Christchurch flight Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  2. Day 2 The city and its earthquakes Cathedral Square and Christchurch Cathedral Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  3. Day 3 Akaroa and the Hector's dolphins Akaroa and the Hector's dolphins Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  4. Day 4 Up to the Mackenzie and the starry sky Up to the Mackenzie and the starry sky Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  5. Day 5 At the foot of Aoraki Lake Pukaki and the drive to Mount Cook Village Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  6. Day 6 Sealy Tarns and Mueller Hut Sealy Tarns and the Mueller Hut Route Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  7. Day 7 Icebergs of the Tasman, then the coast Cruise on Lake Tasman with Glacier Explorers Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  8. Day 8 Victorian Oamaru and its penguins Victorian Precinct, Steampunk HQ and the Opera House Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  9. Day 9 Moeraki, the peninsula and the albatrosses Moeraki Boulders Beach Free
  10. Day 10 Dunedin, the Edinburgh of the South Baldwin Street Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  11. Day 11 Port Chalmers, Tunnel Beach, heading south Port Chalmers Maritime Museum Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF

Found an error in this itinerary? Report an error

Country quick guide and logistics

The essentials of the country, scannable in ten seconds.

Weather and when to go

  • The Mackenzie is dry, very bright and cold at night even in summer: the day 45 dark sky reserve is experienced at 5 °C, down jacket compulsory under the stars.
  • The eastern side of the South Island is sheltered from the rain by the Alps: Christchurch, Oamaru and Dunedin are far drier than the west coast, though the westerly comes down warm and dry over Canterbury.
  • Below Aoraki the valley makes its own weather: the day 46 Hooker Valley Track is almost flat and doable in rain, while the day 47 Mueller Hut is only worth attempting on a forecast fine day.

Transport and permits

  • Auckland to Christchurch flight on day 42, then a rental car for the rest of the South Island.
  • Distances are long and petrol stations scarce between Tekapo and Mount Cook Village: fill up at Twizel or Tekapo, not beyond.
  • The White Horse Hill car park, the Hooker Valley trailhead, is card-only paid parking, 2.50 NZD per half hour or 25 NZD a day.

Formalities and safety

  • The Tasman Lake cruise on day 48 leaves from Mount Cook Village and depends on wind: it is cancelled and rescheduled, which the night on site absorbs.
  • The Oamaru penguin colony on day 49 runs to fixed times at dusk, with no flash and no lights.
  • The Royal Albatross Centre at Taiaroa Head on day 50 is guided-tour only by timed slot, and the colony closes for parts of the breeding year.

Budget and meals

  • The New Zealand dollar, roughly €0.55 to 1 NZD, card everywhere, including trailhead car parks.
  • Heavy items: the day 48 glacier cruise, the Mount John observatory on day 45, the Akaroa dolphin trip on day 44 and the Royal Albatross Centre on day 50.
  • The Moeraki Boulders, Tunnel Beach, Sandfly Bay and Baldwin Street are free: half the images of this stage cost nothing.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly do I receive?

Your Étaperia itinerary, available immediately in your customer account after payment: readable online with clickable booking links, and downloadable as a PDF for the trip. Every day is sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening, with the hotel for each night, its address and its booking link, and timed-entry tickets flagged in advance.

How is this better than what an AI gives me?

A generative AI composes a plausible list in seconds, without saying what was checked or when. At Étaperia, every itinerary is sequenced by hand, place by place, with the booking constraints spotted before it is too late to get them. The Method page says what is checked, against which source and on what date.

Can I adapt it to my dates and my pace?

Yes. The days are self-contained blocks: you can shift the departure, stretch a stage or skip a day without breaking what follows. Only timed-entry tickets require adjusting the dates accordingly, and they are all flagged.

What if a hotel or a place in the itinerary has closed?

Email contact@etaperia.com within 12 months of your purchase. If a hotel in the itinerary is closed or can no longer be found, or a place to visit has closed permanently, the itinerary is corrected in your customer account within 7 days, or you are refunded in full. A hotel fully booked on your dates, a seasonal closure or a change in opening hours or prices is not covered. This guarantee comes on top of the legal warranty of conformity; details in article 12 of the terms and conditions of sale.

Who is selling you this itinerary

  • Kylian, sole trader, SIRET 927 587 709 00035
  • Consumer mediator: ANM Consommation
  • Payment handled by Stripe: Étaperia never sees your card number
  • Publisher, not a travel agency: you book flights, hotels and tickets yourself

In the same country

This module is one leg of the full itinerary: Complete New Zealand itinerary: 88 days, hotels and bookings

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