South Island New Zealand Tour - Pure South

The Pure South is designed for people who want to experience New Zealand's incredible array of outdoor adventures with the flexibility to explore at a pace that's right for you. With your two New Zealand guides you'll always have easier or more challenging options available so you can scale your activity level up or down to suit your preference. On the Pure South trip, you will walk between 3 to 5 hours each day on well-formed tracks. The average distance walked each day is 9km/5.6mi. 

Click here to go to a handy page with a summary of the distances and approximate times for every walk and activity on our Pure South trip!

On the Pure South trip, you'll sleep soundly in comfortable accommodations that we have chosen specifically for their fantastic locations. You’ll meet friendly hosts and have a private ensuite room each night.  Click here to find out more about the accommodation on this trip.

Pick up information
We can pick you up on the first day of your trip in Queenstown at:

8.30am from the lobby of our city joining hotel - the Ramada Queenstown Central

OR

9.00am from the lobby of our airport joining hotel- La Quinta Queenstown

OR

9.15am from the Queenstown International Airport

Drop off information*
We can drop you off on the last day of your trip in Queenstown at:

5.30pm at Queenstown International Airport

OR

after 5.45pm at your airport hotel

OR 

after 6.15pm at your city centre hotel in the Queenstown CBD. Due to the time restrictions on the final day, if we are dropping you off at a hotel this will need to be a hotel that is either close to the airport of within the city centre, not a hotel in another suburb. 

*Please note, if you are travelling on a trip with us that departs from October 2025 onwards, the drop off locations will be: 5.30pm at Queenstown International Airport, 5.45pm at our airport joining hotel - La Quinta Queenstown, 6.15pm at our city joining hotel - Ramada Queenstown Central

When booking your flights, please make sure you:

Arrive on day one to Queenstown no later than 8:15am International 8:45am Domestic  
Depart on the final day from Queenstown no earlier than 7.30pm International 6.30pm Domestic

**If your travel plans fall outside of these times please check with us before you book.

Airfares to and from New Zealand. Airfares between the North and South Island of New Zealand if you are joining our Sweet North trip.
Airport transfers.
Travel insurance.
Visas.
Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages with lunch and dinner.

• Two experienced New Zealand Trails Guides to guide you on your tour.
• All meals.
• Activities, hikes and guides as shown in the itinerary.
• Accommodation as indicated in your final itinerary.
• All local taxes and gratuities.

New Zealand is not a tipping culture. If you'd like to show your appreciation to your guides with a tip it is very much appreciated but not an expectation on our trips. 

On the Pure South trip you'll experience the very best hiking the South Island has to offer including:

- Fiordland National Park: The Routeburn Track, The Kepler Track
- Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park: Hooker Valley track, Sealy Tarns track
- Mt Aspiring National Park: Siberia Valley
- Mackenzie Country - Mount John
- Rocky Mountain and Diamond Lake near Wanaka

On your Pure South tour you'll get the chance to experience some very special Kiwi activities including:

- Scenic plane flight into Siberia Valley
- Jet boat down the Wilkin River
- Nature cruise on Milford Sound
- Kayaking in Wanaka

Yes – we are well connected in New Zealand! You will have access to the internet, at your accommodation whether free or for a small fee, every night on your trip. While New Zealand is quite tech savvy the wifi at some accommodation may not be of the speed you are used to back home.

Yes, all of the places we stay on the Pure South trip have electricity.

Safety is always our top priority. We take great pride in our impeccable safety record and our safety management plans. Your New Zealand Trails Guides are highly experienced outdoors professionals who are first aid qualified and fully equipped with a satellite phone, personal locator beacon and first aid kit. Our trips have direct access to our highly experienced operations team and other outside services 24 hours a day.

The Pure South visits three of New Zealand’s National Parks - Mt Aspiring, Fiordland and Aoraki/Mt Cook. You will have the opportunity to hike on two Great Walks, the Routeburn Track and the Kepler Track.

Our guests are like-minded people from Australia, the UK, Canada and America, and come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. On average, we have a 50/50 split between men and women, with several single travellers on each trip as well as couples and friends travelling together.

If you would like to see the actual people that come on our Pure South Island tour, check out our photo gallery.

There is no additional charge for solo travellers on our trips. If you are a solo traveller, as many of our guests are, we will team you up with another solo traveller of the same sex to share with for the duration of your trip. If you would like to guarantee your own room as a solo traveller, then there is the option to pay a solo supplement.

You certainly don’t need any technical outdoors experience to enjoy your New Zealand Trails trip. If you enjoy being out and about in the outdoors and are a generally active person who enjoys hobbies like walking, cycling, golf, tennis or dancing then you will have no problems at all with the walks and activities on your trip. 

You will need some biking experience to complete the bike ride on your trip. The trail is an undulating gravel track that is rated as an “easy” trail ride but you’ll need to have done some biking before to comfortably and safely take part in the bike rides. The activities on our trips are very flexible and many of our guests opt to walk instead of bike. The trails we bike on are shared walking/biking trails so you’ll be able to enjoy a walk with your guide if you prefer. 

We run small-group tours, so along with your guides, there are typically 12 - 15 guests in your group. We have found keeping our group sizes small is the perfect way to make sure everyone has the best time.

Coming on a guided trip with us means we take care of everything! Our small group tours have a maximum of 14 guests per trip along with your local, New Zealand guide and are designed to make it easy, fun and safe for you to explore on your New Zealand trip of a lifetime.

Before your trip:
You’ll have a dedicated guest service team member to assist you every step of the way. From advising what you should pack to choosing the best flights to arrive for your trip on time and helping organize pre and post-trip accommodation. No matter when you book or how far in advance you plan your travel, our team is here to help.

During your trip:
On your trip, you’ll have two dedicated local New Zealand guides who will take care of everything. They provide food, snacks and safety information, as well as arrange all of your activities and make sure you get where you need to be safely and on time. They’ll also share their extensive knowledge of our country and culture and provide flexibility so you can enjoy New Zealand at the pace that’s right for you.

After your trip:
Your dedicated guest service team member will be there to support you. From helping book accommodation and advising on the best flights to sharing local knowledge on other activities you might enjoy or the best places to eat. You’ll also receive all the photos from your trip that your guides have collected along the way so you can cherish the memories of your adventure.

Yes, we can! Our dedicated Guest Services team member Becky will be here to help every step of the way. She can advise you on which flights you should book to ensure you arrive for your trip on time, the best accommodation for you pre and post-trip and everything in between. She’s here to make sure your travel experience is seamless and stress-free.

On day one of your trip, your guides will pick you up from either our joining hotel or the airport in a late-model Mercedes Benz Sprinter. This will be your vehicle for the duration of the trip and your luggage will travel with you in the luggage compartment. On the Pure South, we have two-night stays in three locations (there are no one-night stays on this trip). On the days we travel between locations we average around three hours of driving. Our trips are carefully planned to give you the most time exploring the outdoors and any travel is always broken up with hikes, activities and coffee/bathroom breaks. You'll bring your small day pack with you inside the vehicle, with just your hiking essentials (jacket, water bottle, sun hat etc) and will be all you will need to carry with you when you are out exploring. Your luggage will stay in the vehicle until we reach our accommodation for the evening. 

If you are joining us on both a Sweet North and a South Island trip, it is a very easy to transition between the South and North Islands. Our national airline Air New Zealand operates several flights a day between Auckland and Queenstown or Christchurch. We leave the flights for you to organise so that you can choose where you would like to spend any extra time between your trips and the time that suits your plans. If you have any questions about the timings for your trips, or you would like any help at all, just ask us!  

The focus of our trips is spending as much time as possible, with our feet on the ground, exploring the great New Zealand outdoors. We’ve carefully crafted our itineraries to cover as much of New Zealand as we can while at the same time minimising the amount of time spent in a vehicle.

On the Pure South, we have two-night stays in three locations (there are no one-night stays on this trip). On the days we travel between locations we average around three hours of driving. We always break up the drives with walks, activities and visits to our favourite small towns. Our guides also make sure to stop every hour or so for a coffee/bathroom break. You’ll always have plenty of opportunities to stretch your legs.

If you’d like to chat more about the specific drive times for your trip, feel free to give us a call here in New Zealand :-).