Begin your day meeting your friendly guide in the Queenstown Town Centre. Starting with a spectacular scenic drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy along the lake edge, with scenic photo spots and entertaining stories from your local guide about Lake Whakatipu and its legends.

As we travel along this incredible drive, we will stop and take in the amazing views from Bennett's Bluff. From here you can catch your first glimpse of Glenorchy and the Mount Aspiring National Park sitting beyond it.

Glenorchy township is home to approx. 400 permanent residents and the gateway to Paradise Valley and the Mt Aspiring National Park. Once we arrive in this quaint country town, you will have the chance to explore the picturesque lakefront including the iconic red boat shed.

From Glenorchy we join a dirt track, a one-way road into the National Park. The Glenorchy-Paradise Road travels past rich farmland, through native beech forests and across river beds. Not many live up in this direction, with its most famous residents being the mystical characters from LOTR and other movies, TV series, and commercials.

Your guide will show you famous filming sites, with even the chance to dress up as your favorite Middle Earth character for a fun photo opportunity. While exploring the area, In true Kiwi South Island hospitality, we will prepare a morning/afternoon tea at a picturesque location, complete with cheese rolls, ginger cake, L&P, and Whittaker's chocolate.

After Paradise we will return back through Glenorchy, where we will have a brief stop, before allowing you to sit back and relax and enjoy the sights then being dropped back in the Queenstown Town Centre.