Top Christchurch Outdoor Activities

Arriving early is the best way to see the wildlife at its most active and to secure encounter feeding times throughout the day. Spoon-feeding eels and geese, plus catching a glimpse of a native kiwi, made my day. Stopping at the café for some delicious treats also gave me a chance to feed the deer up close. Highly recommend!

This tour is about Akaroa, getting there through beautiful mountains and valleys, the township itself so quaint and tranquil, the lunch of your choosing, the dolphin cruise, the cheese factory, and return. This tour is a stunning countryside, mountain, seaside and ocean experience (whether the dolphins are found, or not). Jude was a wonderful and kind guide for the day. She was very knowledgeable and went out of her way to accommodate special requests! I can’t wait to return in the summer. We were so lucky to have been gifted a bright, sunny day in mid-winter and I returned home with loads of beautiful photos of the Canterbury hills, harborside views, and the spectacular scenic ocean cliffs and rocks on the cruise. Cathedral Cove was a beautiful place to see-watercolor was amazing. This was a fantastic introduction to the Banks Peninsula, its terrain, and the picturesque, quaint French town of Akaroa.

Terry drove a small group of us from Lyttelton to a sheep farm owned by an award-winning sheep shearer and his wife where the farmer and his sheepdog gave us a brief demonstration of the dog's herding ability. The shearer sheared a lamb for us and explained how the fleeces are sorted and packed up for processing. After the farm, we were taken to Arthur's Pass National Park in the Southern Alps of the South Island. The scenery was beautiful, and we went on a short hike in Arthur's Pass Village. Terry was very informative and kept us entertained through the somewhat long drive there and back to Lyttelton. We thoroughly enjoyed the excursion!

This was such a lovely experience!! The Hagglund ride was so much fun and then my friend and I braved the storm room without jackets which gave us such a laugh. The highlight for me was the penguins, I loved all their individual stories and the fact that they're mostly rescues. My favourite is Toa because he had to be rescued just because he is terrible at being a penguin. Toa forever.

If you have a choice, Joseph was an excellent guide. We stopped at an old wagon stop out of Lyttelton and if you enjoy old buildings this one will delight you. The stop at Mona Vale park was fun and we liked the walk along the river. Following this, Joseph stoped at a downtown collection of restaurants, called the Riverside Market. There were many choices in this food court area. The Barbecue was quite good. We stopped at the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve and took the 45 minute guided tour which was included on the tour. If you haven't seen a kiwi bitd you will see one here. Our guide was a Wildlife Environmental Biologist and knowledgeable. The time here was well spent. Joseph took us back through the highway tunnel and got us back on time at the cruise ship. It was somewhat confusing as to where to meet the tour. You take the free shuttle from the cruise ship dock and get off at the first stop. You will be met by the tour representative who will assist you to the correct bus. Don't get on the bus to Christchurch, that is the wrong shuttle to meet the correct bus.

All three of the activities were great!! The gondola was perfect…beautiful…staff was so helpful! The punting was so memorable. Matthew was our “punter” and did a phenomenal job…everyone was so nice and professional!! On the tram, Graham and Brian did a great job narrating the sites. We all loved the experience of Christchurch through these three activities!

Wow, the views were stunning on the way up and down the gondola. The views from the gondola top station were amazing! As we walked around the top we were presented with spectacular panoramic views of Lyttelton harbour, the Christchurch cityscape, across the plains to the southern alps and very long beaches. 360 degree views! Follow the map provided and do the discovery ride at the bottom of the top station! It was a highlight of our experience. It was a busy day when we visited and worth the wait.

What an amazing experience !! Worked like clock work 😊 with easy to board, staff were great! We did the lunch and train ride and were fortunate enough to have a lovely UK couple share the table we were on. The food was fantastic!! We thought it was just lunch but you get a lovely A la carte menu which also includes a light breakfast which was totally delicious with drinks being alcohol and juices or cool drinks and coffee and teas. We would definitely do it again! You won’t be disappointed!! 😊😊