Embrace New Zealand
Join Women Embrace Adventure and and Embrace New Zealand. Hike a mountain near Queenstown • Zipline in Queenstown • Explore Fiordland•Sea Kayak Milford Sound • Hike Kepler Track • Hike to a Glacier • Stay overnight in a Backcountry Hut • Hike Mt Aspiring Valley • Bike Hawea River Trail •
Full Itinerary
DAY 1 November 1st, 2020
Fly into Queenstown
Take a flight into Queenstown anytime today (We recommend a window seat – the mountain scenery on the way in is spectacular!) Make your way into central Queenstown and your accommodation at Blue Peaks Lodge and take the afternoon to explore this adventure hub and it’s beautiful scenery. Your ‘Women Embrace Adventure’ hosts will meet you in the lobby at 5pm, introduce you to the rest of your group and all head out for your first dinner together!
ACCOMMODATION: Blue Peaks Lodge
MEALS: D
Day 2 November 2nd, 2020
Hike Tiki trail and zipline
This morning your local New Zealand guides will meet you at the hotel lobby and you’ll get straight into action with a hike up the Tiki trail to Bob’s Peak which towers behind Queenstown with stunning views from the top. This trail is a favourite of locals but will certainly get you heart pumping as we hike up! We’ll not only be rewarded with views at the top but also the adrenaline of whizzing through the treetops on a zipline tour back down! Afterwards, we’ll pack up and head south towards the stunning Fiordland National Park to the lakeside hamlet of Manapouri, our home for the next few nights.
ACCOMMODATION: Lake Manapouri Inn
Tiki trail: 1.6km, 420m 1 hour; zip lining 2-3 hrs.
MEALS: B,L,D
DAY 3 November 3rd, 2020
Sea Kayak Milford Sound, travel the Milford road and do short walks along the way
Today we’ll set off along the famous Milford Road towards Milford Sound itself. Along the way we’ll stop off to hike some beautiful spots such as the Chasm, Marian Gantry and Mirror Lakes. We’ll take a drive through the Homer Tunnel and emerge at the top of a spectacular glacier-carved valley for a memorable descent to the shores of Milford Sound. Most people see Milford Sound from the deck of a ship but we’ve got a more active way – gliding along in sea kayaks, causing very little disruption for the best chance of getting up close and personal with the friendly fur seals and dolphins that are sometimes in the area. We have an early start for this awesome trip, run by specialist kayak guides, and the paddling here is equally suitable for beginners and experts.
ACCOMMODATION: Lake Manapouri Inn
Sea Kayaking 3-4 hours, short walks off Milford road ~ 1 hr in total.
MEALS: B, L, D
Day 4 November 4th, 2020
Hike the Kepler Track and travel to Wanaka
This morning, we’ll take a hike on the famous Kepler Track, one of New Zealand’s Great Walks - we follow the track from Lake Manapouri through mountain beech forest and along the Waiau River to Lake Te Anau. It’s an awesome hike with an interesting modern history of locals preventing a large hydroelectric dam scheme. After a sumptuous lunch we’ll set off towards Wanaka and prepare ourselves for the overnight hike ahead. Tonight you can take some time to walk along the great trail system on Wanakas waterfront too, or simply sit back and enjoy the sunset before the big hike the following day.
ACCOMMODATION: Wanaka Hotel
10km, +50/-50m, 2-3 hours, option to hike further along the trail for another 7.5km.
MEALS: B, L, D
Day 5 November 5th, 2020
Hike to see Rob Roy glacier, then hike overnight into Mt Aspiring Hut
This morning we head into the Matukituki valley nice and early to start our hike to the Rob Roy Glacier. It is a massive glacier clinging to the ever-steepening mountainside as it descends into the Rob Roy Valley occasionally dropping off in chunks off the cliffs opposite our lunch spot – spectacular and noisy! We then continue further into Mt Aspiring National Park to reach our home for the evening – a spacious mountain hut nestled in a valley in the middle of nowhere. The scenery is off the charts with Mt Aspiring rising 3033 metres into the blue! It’s amazing how far you’ll feel from civilisation after this relatively short walk. Tonight your guide will whip up dinner in the backcountry kitchen while you relax by the fire.
ACCOMMODATION: Mt Aspiring Hut
Hike to Rob Roy viewpoint: 6km return, +/-380m, 3 hours; Hike to Mt Aspiring Hut: 8.8km, +120m, 3 hours
MEALS: B, L, D
Day 6 November 6th, 2020
Hike back out the Matukituki valley, bike the Hawea River Trail
After a delicious breakfast of hot porridge in the mountain hut, we’ll get one last glance at Mount Aspiring before we get back on the track and retrace our footsteps to the trail head. We’ll have a quick lunch in Wanaka before hitting the trail again, but this time on wheels! We’re fitted with 21 speed hardtail mountain bikes and take to the Hawea River trail for a different view of the amazing scenery. This gently undulating trail follows the Hawea River bank, and provides lots of great places to stop and soak in the scenery. We have our own vehicle, so there are options to do more or less biking today. We’ll ride through right into the heart fo Wanaka and all enjoy a final celebratory dinner to acknowledge the amazing week of adventures we’ve had.
ACCOMMODATION: Wanaka Hotel
Hiking: 8.8km, -120m, 3 hours, Biking: 15-20km, 2-3 hours
MEALS: B,L,D
Day 7 November 7th, 2020
Return to Queenstown
After a delicious breakfast together, we’ll head back over the mountains to Queenstown, in time for flights out after 11am.
MEALS: B