Expedition Summary
Our expedition begins in Nelson, on the northern coast of the South Island, with the perfect antidote for any residual jetlag: a relaxing tour of New Zealand's largest wine producing region of Marlborough, famous for its floral sauvignon blancs, chardonnays, fruity reislings and Methode Champenoise styles. From Nelson, we will depart on a ten-day hiking tour of the wild west coast of the South Island. We will hike through beech forests, past limestone sinkholes and across tussock-covered mountain slopes in Kahurangi National Park. We will watch the antics of New Zealand fur seal pups at a breeding colony, hike through lush rainforest in a limestone canyon, wade across crystal clear rivers, and explore glowworm caves in Paparoa National Park. After a transformation in scenery, we will walk on the spectacular Franz Josef

Group at a waterfall. (Westland National Park, New Zealand)

Glacier, marveling at its crevasses and ice caves, before heading off to kayak in the tranquil Okarito lagoon surrounded by the native birds feeding in the shallows. Our trip will conclude with a hike in Westland National Park, where we will pass through podocarp forests to natural hot pools surrounded by mountain peaks. All the time, we will be watching for penguins and dolphins as we stroll on the South Island's isolated beaches.

After we finish the hiking section of our tour, we will spend three marvelous days sea-kayaking and camping in the beauty of Fiordland National Park. Our tour will explore an extensive network of remote waterways, including Crooked Arm, Bradshaw Sound and the amazing Camelot River.

We will conclude our tour with two days in Queenstown, a veritable "adventure playground" for adults. Queenstown's offerings include bungy jumping, whitewater rafting, jetboating or just relaxing next to Lake Wakatipu.

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Experience Required
No experience is required to take part in this adventure. However, as in any physical endeavor, fitness is the most essential ingredient for success.

For groups with some sea kayaking experience, we can offer four days of expedition-style kayaking in Breaksea Sound in place of the scheduled three days of kayaking in Doubtful Sound. If the group

Fox River crossing. (Paparoa National Park, New Zealand)

elects this option, the wilderness adventure will begin with a helicopter trip into Breaksea Sound. The adventure will provide a rare opportunity to explore both the inner secrets of the fiord and the wild outer areas of Breaksea Sound and its islands at the edge of the Tasman Sea. Helicopter transport is required in order to reach the remote areas where we will be kayaking. If you are interested in this option, please notify us at the time of booking.

For confident and experienced kayakers, we can offer a six-day heli-kayaking expedition into Breaksea Sound in place of the scheduled three days of kayaking in Doubtful Sound. If the group elects this option, the trip will begin with a helicopter trip to Supper Cove at the head of Dusky Sound. We will spend the following six days focusing on kayaking, by way of the islands, up the coast to Disappointment Cove and Breaksea Sound. This is definitely our most challenging kayaking trip in a very remote and special part of Fiordland. Helicopter transport is required in order to reach the remote areas where we will be kayaking. If you are interested in this option, please notify us at the time of booking.

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Day by Day Itinerary
The following is a day by day itinerary for this trip. Please note, however, that weather and wildlife encounters may impact the actual trip itinerary.

Day 1: Arrive in Nelson
After arriving in Nelson, we will have leisure time to spend recovering from any residual jetlag and exploring this city on the northern coast of the South Island.

Day 2: Marlborough Region Wine Tour
We will spend the day touring the famous Marlborough wine region just outside of Nelson. This is

Hot pools at Welcome Flat. (Westland National Park, New Zealand)

New Zealand's largest wine-producing area, famous for its floral sauvignon blancs, chardonnays, fruity reislings and Methode Champenoise styles.

Day 3: Kahurangi National Park
After a short briefing by our guide, we will collect our food supplies and head towards the national park, stopping in Motueka for last minute shopping and/or banking along the way. We will then drive up to Flora Saddle (3,300 feet, or 1,000 meters), where we will have lunch and organize our packs for the first hike. Leaving our vehicle behind, we will hike first through beech forests, following a stream, until we reach the tussock-covered tablelands of Kahurangi National Park. Gold was discovered in this region in the late 1850's and tracks began to be laid, but in many areas gold finds weren't as rich as had been hoped or expected. However, the tracks have turned out to be a gold mine. In the early years of the last century, scientists began to be attracted to the unique flora of the Heaphy area, and conservationists managed to get the area declared a scenic reserve in 1915. We will spend the evening in an old gold miner's rock shelter, a great place to get to know each other as we gather around a cozy campfire. We will spend a total of 4 hours on the trail today.

Day 4: Mount Arthur
After an early breakfast, we will head out across the Tablelands to explore a karst landscape of sinkholes and caves. This whole area is of great geological interest, as it is situated in a range of marble and limestone hills, riddled with potholes. We will climb through mossy forest to the bush line and then onwards to Gordon's Pyramid (4,900 feet, or 1,489 meters). From there, we will continue across a basin carpeted with the crystalline marble karst of Mount Arthur (5,900 feet, or

Kayaking on the Okarito Lagoon. (Westland National Park, New Zealand)

1,795 meters). If the weather cooperates and we have sufficient time, the more ambitious members of the group may choose to trek to the summit for panoramic views of the entire Nelson region. Finally, we will return to Flora Saddle, where we will meet up with our transport and drive to our camp at Owen River, near the Buller Gorge. We will spend a total of 7 hours hiking today.

Day 5: Visit Fur Seal Colony, Travel to Paparoa National Park
In the morning, we will head out to Cape Foulwind, where we will visit a breeding colony of New Zealand fur seals, a species that was once hunted almost to the point of extinction. Turning south, we will hike to the old gold-rush town of Charleston, where we will enjoy lunch at a beautiful cove. This pretty town boasted more than 80 hotels in its late-1860's boomtown days! After relaxing for a short while in Charleston, we will begin our hike up a spectacular limestone river canyon into the center of Paparoa National Park. Created in 1988, the park covers more than 30,000 hectares. Its natural attractions include mountains, limestone cliffs, caves, rivers and wilderness areas. During our hike, we will learn river-crossing techniques, so trip participants should be prepared to get their boots wet. During the afternoon, we will collect firewood along the way, preparing for the campfire we will build that evening in our camp beneath the massive Ballroom Overhang. This day includes 3 hours of hiking.

Day 6: Cave Exploration and Pancake Rocks
We will begin the day exploring the nearby limestone canyon and its caves with their stalactites and stalagmites, cave wetas (large wingless insects), glowworms and mosses (Dawsonia superba), the largest in the world. Some may choose to swim in the caves. We will then hike (or the more

Beach campfire. (South Westland, New Zealand)

adventurous may choose to wade in the waist-deep water) down the river, with Punakaiki in our sights. Better known as the Pancake Rocks, these 30-million-year-old limestone rocks have formed into what look like gigantic stacks of immense stone pancakes. When the tide is high, or the weather is rough, the water surges into caverns below the rocks and squirts through mighty blowholes. This phenomenon bears a great resemblance to natural geysers. We will camp for the evening in a campground beside the Tasman Sea. The hot showers will be a welcome benefit. The total time spent on the trail today will be 5 hours.

Day 7: Franz Josef Glacier Hiking
Driving south, we will follow the coast, stopping in Hokitika for a short break and some quick replenishing of the food supply. Originally known as the 'Capital of the Goldfields', Hokitika was once a thriving and prosperous port. Much of its old character remains, and the gold that once led dreamers here has been replaced by greenstone, or jade. This hard stone was much treasured by the native Maori people, who used it for decorative jewelry. They also used it for carving their lethal weapons, the war clubs known as meres. From Hokitika, we will continue on to the Franz Josef Glacier, one of the few places in the world where a glacier advances right down into a rain forest. First explored in 1865 by the Austrian Julius Haast, the glacier has since retreated. In recent years, it has again been on the move. We will take a guided walk out onto the glacier, following which we will return by car to the coast and the small township of Okarito, where we will camp for the evening. We will spend about 2 hours hiking today, most of it walking on the glacier.

Day 8: Kayaking
Okarito is a sleepy town left over from the gold rush days, still enjoying its location where the rain forest meets the sea. In the morning, those electing the minimal optional charge will take kayaks

The hut at Welcome Flat. (Westland National Park, New Zealand)

and ride the tide into the Okarito Lagoon. The lagoon, the largest unmodified wetland in New Zealand, is a great place to view birdlife, including white herons, black swans and tui, and we will spend approximately 4 hours scouting around its waters in our kayaks. We will explore the river delta and its numerous channels, which extend into the surrounding Kahikatea (white pine) forest. The Kahikatea forests are New Zealand's loftiest, with trees ranging up to 200 feet (60 meters) in height. The group will be free in the afternoon to wander the remote beach or to hike up to a viewpoint overlooking this World Heritage Park and its snow-capped mountains, rain forests and coastal wetlands. Using wood we've gathered from the beach, we will cook the evening's meal in a hangi, an underground Maori earth oven, before spending our second night at this special place.

Day 9: Copland Valley - Hot Springs
Starting early in the morning, we will leave on an hour-long drive to the Copland Valley, where we will hike up through a podocarp forest, relatively unchanged for the past 70 million years. Our hike will take us across swing-bridges and mountain streams; in these environs, we often sight the

Kiwi. (New Zealand)

endangered and very primitive blue duck. Our pleasant hike through the forest and beside the river finally ends at Welcome Flat, where we will stay in a mountain hut. Welcome Flat will afford us the opportunity of relaxing our weary muscles in the natural hot pools that are surrounded by 9,800 foot (3,000 meter) peaks. We will spend a total of 7 hours on the trail today.

Day 10: Copland Valley - Waterfall Hike
We will stay close to our camp in the Copland Valley, and trip participants may choose to spend the day resting or exploring this beautiful alpine valley. Those interested in exploring can join a short off-track hike, with some boulder-hopping, that will take us up to some beautiful waterfalls high in the Southern Alps. On the way there, we will enjoy great views of Mount Cook (12,300 feet, or 3,754 meters), New Zealand's highest mountain. We will return to the hut via Welcome Flat's alpine grasslands. After dinner, we will have another evening to spend relaxing in Welcome Flat's incredible hot pools - one is too hot, one just right, the other just warm! If you choose to hike with us, we will spend approximately 4 hours on the trail today.

Day 11: Copland Valley, Penguin Breeding Colony and Beach Camping
In the morning, we will hike down the Copland Valley, before driving south through this remote West Coast region to Moeraki. Time permitting, we will visit a breeding colony of Fiordland Crested Penguins on the way. These birds stand 28 inches (70 centimeters) tall and nest in this region from July to November. Fur seals are also seen here occasionally. We will camp on a beautiful isolated beach, where we can enjoy a swim in the refreshing, crystal-clear waters at the river's mouth. We will spend approximately 6 hours hiking today.

Day 12: Beach Hike and Drive to Queenstown
We will stop at Ship Creek to look for Hector's Dolphin and to explore the coastal ecosystem of dunes, swamp and podocarp forest. Turning inland, we will drive over the Haast Pass, our road snaking alongside the wide Haast River. The pass was first opened in 1965. We will stop at Lake Hawea for lunch and a swim in a lake so deep that, although its surface is at an altitude of 1130 feet (345 meters), its bottom is 210 feet (65 meters) below sea level. After this enjoyable break, we will move on to Queenstown where we will spend the night. Today's hiking will total about 2 hours.

Day 13: Fiordland - Doubtful Sound Kayaking
We will depart early in the morning for our drive to Te Anau, where our sea kayaking adventure in Fiordland will begin. Our expedition begins in Deep Cove. From there, we will paddle down the Main Reach, past Elizabeth Island and Olphert Cove, watching for seals and penguins as we go. We will stop near Crooked Arm for lunch. Some of the afternoon's paddling will be a bit more challenging, a chance to practice new skills. As we near the entrance to Crooked Arm, the weather will decide whether we cross into the Arm or camp in a river valley opposite its entrance. If we're

Kayaking Fiordland. (Fiordland, New Zealand)

able to enter the Arm, our campsite will be relatively close to the Arm's entrance, in a sheltered bay beneath a waterfall.

Day 14: Fiordland - Doubtful Sound Kayaking
Stillness is normally the theme in the morning in the Doubtful Sound area. But, early on, we will be faced with a decision: whether we want to spend the day exploring Crooked Arm (returning to our same campsite for the evening) or whether we want to leave the Arm and paddle to Hall Arm for the night. Crooked Arm is a long narrow arm with an elbow-like bend. It is often the afternoon playground of its resident bottlenose dolphins. Their presence will likely dictate our paddling timetable. Time, energy and weather permitting, we will explore the length of Crooked Arm, sometimes using the sails on our kayaks. Or we might decide to take a break from the kayaks for a hike to Dagg Sound.

Day 15: Fiordland - Doubtful Sound Kayaking
Depending on the previous day's events, we will either explore Hall Arm or depart early from Crooked Arm to kayak down the southwest shoreline of Doubtful Sound. If we choose the latter

Seal and pup (Fiordland, New Zealand).

option, we will have lunch on a beach opposite Elizabeth Island, possibly paddling into Hall Arm for a brief look. It will be a challenging morning's paddle, and the weather will play a big role in our decisions regarding route, shoreline choice and lunch site. As we turn into Deep Cove on the way home, we typically put up our sails for the final leg of the journey, ending our three days on Doubtful Sound on an exhilarating note. Or perhaps we're just enjoying an America's Cup Challenge, kayak-style! We will return to Te Anau for the evening. After three days on the sound, we will be ready for a hot shower, a warm dinner and some rest and relaxation!

Days 16-17: Queenstown
We will spend our last few days in Queenstown, exploring its many wonders and testing our bravery and skills as we participate in its many adventure activities (bungy jumping, whitewater rafting, jet boating, etc.).

Day 18: Depart for Home
Unless we've given in to the urge to extend our trip in order to enjoy other New Zealand destinations, we will transfer to the airport for our flights home.

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