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Canterbury to Southland 4WD Tour

Q: What is the highest point on the tour?

Mt Pisa at 6,000 feet above Lake Dunstan. Omarama Saddle is 4,000 feet and Tenants Peak out over the Hector Mountains is 5,000 feet.

Q: Do I drive my own vehicle?

Yes. You drive your own 4WD as part of a small convoy.

Q: When does this tour run?

February to April. The 2027 programme has trips on 20 to 27 February and 21 to 28 March 2027.

7 days and 8 nights, Fairlie to Lake Te Anau

Enquire about this tour 021 924 427

Mackenzie Country · Central Otago · Southland · Fiordland

Canterbury to Southland 4WD tour

Looking for a four wheel drive tour that runs the length of the South Island interior? This seven day 4WD tour starts at Fairlie at the foot of the Dobson Mountains and works south through the Mackenzie Basin, Central Otago and the Nevis, finishing on the shores of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland.

It takes in some of the highest tracks we run. Omarama Saddle at 4,000 feet on the St Bathans Range, Mt Pisa at 6,000 feet above Lake Dunstan, Tenants Peak at 5,000 feet out over the Hector Mountains, and the hand cut Skippers Canyon track above the Shotover.

You drive your own 4WD in a small convoy. The trip fee includes motel type accommodation, evening meals with the team, your guide for the trip, station crossing fees and prizegiving.

Check 2027 availability

Length: 7 days, 8 nights
Starts: Fairlie, Mackenzie Country
Finishes: Lake Te Anau, Fiordland
Season: February to April

Four wheel drive climbing a tussock valley track in the Central Otago high country

The country you cross

From the Mackenzie Basin to Fiordland

The first two days are Mackenzie and Ahuriri country. Black Forest Station and the track along the edge of Lake Benmore, then the Pylon Track through terrain that looks more like Afghanistan than New Zealand, with wallabies, deer and the odd karearea, the native falcon.

By day three you are over the Omarama Saddle looking at Mt St Bathans, Mt Aspiring, Mt Cook and the Hawkdun Range in one turn of the head, then dropping into the Manuherikia and crossing the stream repeatedly on the way down to St Bathans.

The back half is gold country. Skippers Canyon, cut by hand over twenty years from 1863, then the Nevis, which can be snowed in for six months of the year, and out over the Hector Mountains above Lake Wakatipu.

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Day by day

Canterbury to Southland itinerary

Day1

Fairlie to Omarama

Assemble at Fairlie at 8.00am. Head to Black Forest high country station via Burkes Pass and take the track on the edge of Lake Benmore, which gives you the best views of that turquoise water anywhere on the trip.

The afternoon is the Pylon Track, through rugged country with a good chance of wallabies, deer and the New Zealand falcon. We exit over the Benmore Dam, part of the Waitaki hydro scheme and the most ambitious project of its kind in the country until the Clyde Dam. Tonight is Omarama, with a meal at the local restaurant.

Day2

Omarama to Dalrachney Station to Omarama

Down the Lindis Pass to Dalrachney Station, and a full day trekking on the station including one of the more impressive switchback tracks in the South Island.

The views take in the Ahuriri Valley, the Southern Alps, Mt Melina at 6,000 feet and Mt Martha at 6,250 feet in the range immediately north west. Lunch beside the Lindis River, and keep an eye out for deer, which are plentiful on Dalrachney. Back to Omarama for the night.

Day3

Omarama to Alexandra

Up and over the Omarama Saddle at 4,000 feet on the St Bathans Range, which is one of the best views in the South Island. Mt St Bathans at 7,000 feet, Mt Aspiring at 9,950 feet, the Mackenzie Basin, Mt Cook at 12,218 feet and the Hawkdun Range.

We descend into the west branch of the Manuherikia River valley, crossing the stream many times on the way down, and come out at the old gold mining village of St Bathans. Every building there has been restored to how it was in the 1800s, and there is a lake carved out of white rock by the sluicing, right beside the pub. Tonight is Alexandra on the Clutha, one of the biggest rivers in the world by volume.

Day4

Alexandra to Cardrona

To Cromwell past the Clyde Dam, New Zealand’s largest hydro station, then along Lake Dunstan to a private high country station in the Central Otago wine country. Through the grapevines, up through schist outcrops and into the alpine country of the Pisa Range, with lunch beside one of the tarns.

We climb to Mt Pisa at 6,000 feet, one of the highest tracks on the itinerary, with Lake Dunstan below and the Dunstan Mountains behind. The country up there is unlike anything else on the trip and feels more like the moon. From there down to the Cardrona pub, past the facility where the world’s vehicle and tyre manufacturers do their cold weather testing.

Day5

Cardrona to Arrowtown

Over the Crown Range into the Queenstown Basin, through the mining village of Arrowtown and part way up the Coronet Peak road to reach Skippers Canyon. That track was built by hand over twenty years from 1863 to get miners in to the Shotover, one of the richest gold producing rivers in the country’s history.

The track follows the river closely, past what is left of the mining days, through to Skippers itself. There is bungy and jet boating on the way for anyone keen. Weather permitting we have you back at Arrowtown around midday, and the afternoon is free for Arrowtown and Queenstown. Dinner is in Arrowtown.

Day6

Arrowtown to Kingston

From Arrowtown we follow the Kawarau, where the Shotover and Arrow meet before running into the Clutha. Then up over Duffers Saddle, east of the Remarkables, and through into the isolated Nevis Valley, which can be snowed in for six months of the year.

Multiple crossings of the Nevis River as we head south through more gold mining history, then onto Lorne Peak Station and out over the Hector Mountains to Tenants Peak at 5,000 feet. From up there the view runs over Lake Wakatipu, the Garvie Mountains, the Old Man Range and the Mataura. Tonight is Kingston.

Day7

Kingston to Lake Te Anau

Southland is a different country again from the Mackenzie or Otago. It is some of the richest dairying land in New Zealand and still very thinly populated in places. Today takes in the North and South Mavora Lakes between the Livingstone and Thomson Mountains, following the lake shore through beech forest up to a hut at the head of the valley. Lunch on the lake edge tends to run long, because nobody wants to leave.

The last evening is on the shores of Lake Te Anau, where we watch a film of the area in a theatre built specifically to show it, made by a local helicopter pilot who has been flying the country since the deer culling days. Prizegiving at a local restaurant.

All tracks are weather dependent. NZ 4×4 Treks reserves the right to change the itinerary at any time to accommodate adverse conditions that could affect access, compromise station owners, or affect the safety of vehicles and clients.

2027 Program

11 to 18 February 2027 Muzzle Station
20 to 27 February 2027 Canterbury, Otago & Southland
12 to 20 March 2027 Canterbury, Mackenzie Country & Otago
21 to 28 March 2027 Canterbury, Otago & Southland
15 to 25 April 2027 GDT Trip, Australian group Provisional

See the full 2027 programme

Common questions

About this 4WD tour

Where does the Canterbury to Southland tour start and finish?

It assembles at Fairlie, an alpine village at the foot of the Dobson Mountains with views of the Southern Alps, and finishes on the shores of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland.

How long is the tour?

Seven days of driving across eight nights.

What is the highest point on the tour?

Mt Pisa at 6,000 feet above Lake Dunstan is the highest track. Omarama Saddle is 4,000 feet and Tenants Peak out over the Hector Mountains is 5,000 feet.

Does the tour go through Skippers Canyon?

Yes, on day five. The track was cut by hand over twenty years from 1863 to give gold miners access to the Shotover River, and it follows the river closely with the old workings still visible.

Which high country stations does the tour cross?

Black Forest, Dalrachney, a private station in the Central Otago wine country, and Lorne Peak. Station crossing fees are included in the trip fee.

What is included in the trip fee?

Motel type accommodation, evening meals with the team, your guide for the trip, station crossing fees and prizegiving.

Do I drive my own vehicle?

Yes. You drive your own 4WD as part of a small convoy, with a briefing before the first day and a track briefing each morning.

When does this tour run?

The season runs February to April. The 2027 programme has Canterbury, Otago and Southland trips on 20 to 27 February and 21 to 28 March 2027. Get in touch to check availability.

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