Mt Cook & Lake Tekapo Small Group Tour from Christchurch
Overview
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Mt Cook & Lake Tekapo Tour. This small group, fully-guided day trip combines all of the key highlights in the area with the famous Lake Tekapo, Mt Cook National Park and Tasman Glacier as key highlights. Led by our famously passionate tour guides, notorious for bringing your journey to life by sharing their stories and rich background knowledge and run in modern, comfortable minibuses packed with extras ensuring your comfort and safety.
Description
Highlights:
- Lake Tekapo
- Church of the Good Shepard
- Mt Cook & Aoraki National Park
- Tasman Glacier, Lake Pukaki
Itinerary:
- Christchurch - Your tour starts in the stunning city of Christchurch. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventurous day but also point out and guide you past some of the area’s top highlights.
- Canterbury Plains – Departing Christchurch we then make our way through the impressive Canterbury plains with plenty of amazing New Zealand farmland and countryside to see along the way!
- Fairlie Bakehouse (10 mins) - A Classic New Zealand farming town hidden away in Mackenzie. Fairlie goes through some stunning colour changes especially come Autum, this is truly one of the best locations to sit and relax with one of their world-famous meat Pies from the Bakehouse. And this stop is also where we will pick up your lunch to keep you full of energy for the rest of the day.
- Lake Tekapo (5mins) – We head towards the famous blue lakes of Lake Tekapo but to get there first we must go through some impressive alpine passes with amazing views. As we come over the hill to Tekapo you will be stunned by amazing view of the lake.
- Church of the Good Shepherd (10 mins) – Once in the township of Tekapo you will have time to explore the very popular Church of the Good Shepherd, see the Mackenzie Sheep dog and get those Instagram worth shots of Lake Tekapo before we continue to Mt Cook.
- Lake Pukaki (10 mins) – Turning west we begin to enter the Aoraki National Park and Lake Pukaki begins to emerge in front of us. Lake Pukaki is one of the bluest lakes you will ever see and is stunningly framed by the backdrop of Aoraki/Mt Cook and the Southern Alps. We stop for some amazing photos and to just marvel at the sight that we are beholding. It’s not hard to see why many Lord of the Rings scene were filmed nearby and we will point them out for you.
- Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park (2 - 2.5 hours) – Arriving at Mt Cook Village, weather depending, we should get some amazing shots of the mountain itself. At 3724m, Aoraki/Mt Cook is New Zealand’s highest peak, however, the mountain can be viewed without any acclimatisation whatsoever from the village which is just 750m above sea level.
- While in the national park you have 2.5 hours free time to enjoy free walks/hikes or one of the extra optional activities. Some of our recommendations include: Kea Point or Tasman Glacier Walk, Scenic flights (see the region from the air and land on the Tasman Glacier) or Mt Cook Visitor Centre & Hermitage Hotel. Whatever you decide to do we will pick you up and drop you off where you need to go and make sure you are well looked after.
- Christchurch – Unfortunately after an amazing day of sightseeing it is time to return to Christchurch. Please note additional stops are taken into considerations for toilet breaks.
Please note: the Hooker Valley Track is currently CLOSED while the Department of Conservation works on replacing one of the swing bridges. This is expected to be complete in Autumn 2026 so the track will be inaccessible to the public until then.
Cancellation Policy
Terms: Tours will only run if at least 5 people have booked on the tour, we reserves the right to alter the tour due to weather or operational needs.
A full refund will be issued for cancellations made a minimum of 10 days prior to the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Small Group
Fully Guided Tour
Picnic Lunch
Meeting points
Select a meeting point
Options
Reviews
199 reviews
Excellent
andyaF8502UW,Apr 27, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our driver and guide, Mr Pol. He was incredibly responsible, attentive, and thoughtful throughout the trip. Not only did he ensure our safety, but he also went above and beyond to cater to our needs with great patience. His professionalism made our journey truly unforgettable. Very Highly recommended!
Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo April '26
dalilam446,Apr 24, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our guide Jay was absolutely wonderful and very knowledgeable! The trip was a delight from start to finish :)
Top tour
625mickj,Apr 21, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Our travel guide, Renee, was excellent. Very knowledgeable,professional and personable. Everything ran like clockwork. Thks to Cheeky Kiwi and their wider booking team as well for being so responsive. Will definitely recommend.
A brilliant day despite 4...
AnneMaree W,Apr 17, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00A brilliant day despite 4 seasons inline day at Mt Cooke but still worth itt. Logan our guide was fantastic and taught us a lot about the areas and took care of us.
Breathtaking
451elliannaj,Apr 15, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Perfect for young solo travelers! Renne was very kind and accommodating to everyone's needs. Would book again!
Weather-dependent tour, but pretty...
Heather N,Apr 14, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00This was a decent tour, but what you actually see is highly dependent on the weather. It happened to be raining and foggy the day of my tour, so we didn't get to see Mt. Cook, but the guide was good with making sure everyone got the photos they wanted of other things.
Logan was a knowlegeable...
diane f,Apr 13, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Logan was a knowlegeable guide and a good driver. I traveled with my senior parents and their friends and he was very accomodating. Plenty of water, snacks on the van. Lunch was filling. Sun was shining in Lake Tekapo unfortunately it rained in Mt Cook but thats the weather 😅. He shared some of his culture which was very interesting. Overall enjoyed the trip..
Nice tour guide and atmosphere
Roam54654058043,Apr 10, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The tour guide is nice and he is both professional and friendly.I love the atmosphere in the group. The lunch is very nice, with also lots of nice chip as snacks.
Excpetional Tour Experience
randy o,Apr 8, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00The tour guide was very nice and knowledgeable about the places. My wife and I had a wonderful experience. We loved the scenery going to Lake Tekapo and Mt. Cook. We will definitely recommend this tour.
No driving with small tour group
LoveMaui2000,Apr 6, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Although it was a foggy day for this tour and we were not able to see Mount Cook, we still enjoyed our day. Our driver Grant was really personable and flexiable as there were only three of us (guests) on this tour. We were dropped as per plan. He made a few surprise stops to make our day still special and enjoyed the beautiful NZ landscapes. As this is my fifth tour with Cheeky, we enjoyed the small size group tour style and wonderful and friendly driver/guide. Best way to travel when you don't want to drive.
From A$250.44
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