At a Glance
Three days, three national parks for coastal, wilderness and alpine experiences. Explore the best of the Tasman region on foot with a private guide and relax at the award-winning Eco sensitive luxury accommodation Stonefly Lodge. Enjoy 4-course gourmet meals each night overlooking the Motueka River and surrounding mountains. This is ultimate luxury walking experiences for discerning travellers.
Using Stonefly Lodge as the base for your nature adventure, you walk the world famous Abel Tasman Coast Track, classed as one of 10 'New Zealand Great Walks'. The Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand's only coastal national park. Inviting sandy beaches fill the spaces between trees and tide line. Crystal clear streams tumble down mossy valleys to join the ocean. Granite and marble formations fringe the headlands, which are cloaked in regenerating ...
Trip Highlights
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What's Included
- Private guided tour for 3 days
- All transport and guiding
- Return transport to/from Nelson
- Park fees
- Boat cruise
- All inclusive pricing
- Guided walks each day with an experienced guide to each park, for interpretation of flora, fauna and historic features
- 3 nights Luxury accommodation at Stonefly Lodge (single supplement available at additional expenses).
- Cooked breakfast, lunch pack and 4 course gourmet evening meal each day
Itinerary
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Walking distance: 12 km, approx. 4 hours walking (Easy Grade). Arrive in Nelson airport and your transport will be ready to drive an hour through scenic farmland and local wineries to Stonefly Lodge. Pickup from Nelson for your full day excursion to Abel Tasman National Park. Arguably the most beautiful park in New Zealand the Abel Tasman National Parkis predominantly a coastal park, and is admired for its golden sandy beaches, tranquil lagoons, fascinating rocky outcrops, and beautiful unmodified estuaries. There are several coastal walking tracks which wander through the forest and along the edge of the sea. Spend a day with your own guide exploring this park, including courtesy transfers from the lodge, and lunch. The Abel Tasman walk is from Marahau to Anchorage, 4 hours reasonably gentle walking and includes the water taxi ride back to Marahau. Or alternatively walk in to Apple Tree Bay and return. Your guide will return you to the Lodge at approx. 5:00pm |
Stonefly Lodge
Lunch, Dinner (Four Course) |
Walking distance: 10 - 12 km, approx. 4 - 6 hours walking (Moderate Grade). Your guide will meet you at Stonefly Lodge at approx. 9:30am for a full day excursion to Kahurangi National Park and Mount Arthur. Kahurangi is New Zealand's second largest National Park, created in 1996. It is an untouched wilderness area and includes the world-renowned Heaphy, Wangapeka, and Mt Arthur tracks. Kahurangi is home to many endemic plant species with the largest range of flora of any of the New Zealand National Parks. A fully guided hiking tour taking you to one of the higher peaks in Kahurangi National Park with spectacular views over Nelson and the Abel Tasman Bay. The walking time and route taken can be varied easily to suit the fitness and experience of the hikers. The guides are experienced, know the area well and have a passion for nature. They are keen to share its wildlife and natural history as well as the stories of the original inhabitants, the Maori people with you. Your guide will return you to the Lodge at approx. 4:00pm |
Stonefly LodgeBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Four Course) |
Walking distance: 13 - 16km, approx. 4-5 hours walking (Moderate Grade). Your guide will meet you at Stonefly Lodge at approx. 9:30am for a full day excursion to Nelson Lakes National Park. Comprises 101,753 hectares of beech forest, valleys, isolated glacial lakes and craggy peaks, clear streams and home to native Bellbirds and Kaka among many others. This stunning hike to Mt Robert offers exquisite views and vistas of the surrounding mountain ranges and many valleys. You will leave the vehicle at the car park – half way up the mountain, this is a great way to start the day, you will have wonderful views before the hike even begins! A gourmet lunch at Bushline hut and a few hours of hiking before the return trip home. This walk on a good day is hard to beat. Wonderful 360 degree views of the Southern Alps stretching away to the south, and the valleys which lie at the feet of these mighty mountains, it’s almost hard to capture the feeling in a photograph. |
Stonefly LodgeBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner (Four Course) |
Enjoy your cooked breakfast. Then check out. Transfers will be arranged to return you to the Nelson airport. If you plan to extend your stay and look for something else to do, you can add one of the following tours: Private Guided Winery Tour (Additional Charges Apply) Guided Fly Fishing Full Day Excursion (Additional Charges Apply) Guided Heli Fishing (Additional Charges Apply) Abel Tasman Guided Sea Kayaking (Additional Charges Apply) Abel Tasman Guided Sea Kayaking (Additional Charges Apply) This itinerary is provided as an example only - prevailing conditions and local arrangements may cause variation. |
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Dates & Prices
Please contact us for private departures or group bookings. Departure every day on request. Extra $500pp for peak season 15th December to 14th March.
More Info
The departure point is Nelson, New Zealand.
How to Get to Nelson, NZ
BY SEA
Regular Cook Strait ferries provide vehicle and passenger access between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island.
BY AIR
Nelson is fortunate to have five airlines servicing the region: Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Originair, Sounds Air and air2there in and out of Nelson Airport, along with Golden Bay Air, based at Takaka in Golden Bay.
BY ROAD
The Nelson Tasman region is accessible by road from Christchurch, Blenheim, Picton, the West Coast and Murchison.
Day 1: Approximately 10 - 12 km, 4 hours
Day 2: Approximately 10 - 12 km, 4 hours
Day 3: Approximately 10 - 12 km, 4 hours
Day 4: No walk
Total: Approximately 30 - 36 km
With mild climate and sea breezes, the Abel Tasman National Park displays its stunning beauty any time of year.
Summer months are the most popular months for spending time on the golden beaches, book ahead to ensure your walking holiday.
Autumn is cooler in the evenings. As seasonal berries ripen, the forest comes alive with birdsong. Sea birds flock and maturing New Zealand fur seal pups are out exploring for new territories.
Winter sunshine warms clear, crisp days. It’s ideal for photography as you can get amazing images with no sea breeze to ruffle the crystal water, and no heat haze to soften the vistas.
Springcomes and the forest wakes. Native flowers are small and subtle, rewarding the careful observer with surprising variety and perfumes. Temperatures are ideal for walking and kayaking.
(Data sourced from www.doc.govt.nz, monitored at Totaranui, Units = °C)
Onlyluxe Travel acts as travel agency and work with different tour operators.
Payment Detail
All pricing is in Australian dollars and are quoted on a per person twin share basis. A supplementary price is available (see below). Bookings are not confirmed until full payment and the signed Booking Form has been received by Onlyluxe Travel.
A non-refundable 30% deposit is payable within 7 days of your booking, with the final balance due 60 days prior to departure. If a booking is made 60 days or less before departure, the full payment is payable immediately. Last minute bookings are payable before arrival. Failure to pay on time may result in automatic cancellation of a booking with cancellation penalties payable to Onlyluxe Travel. If you pay by credit card or PayPal a surcharge will be added to the total price.
Single Supplement
All accommodation is twin share. Single guests will share with someone of the same gender. If a single room is demanded, a supplementary price of will apply. The supplementary price refers to our quotation and needs to be stipulated at the time of booking.
General Cancellation Policies
- Outside of 60 days monies will be refunded less 30% of full fee
- Within 60 days prior to arrival all monies will be forfeited
- No refunds will be given in the event of non-arrival, any unused services or unused nights due to flight or weather disruption
- We strongly recommend guests protect themselves with travel insurance and medical insurance
Please Note: Cancellations must be advised in email and will take effect from the date they are received.
Liability
The participant agrees to indemnify Onlyluxe Travel, and its servant, tour operator and agents, in relation to any liability, loss and damage which the tour operator, or its servants and/or agents may incur as a result of the participants, negligence or misconduct during the tour.
Smoking is not permitted on the bus, or in tents or in other accommodation being used by tour operator at the time that a trip is being conducted.
Child Policy
Please consult travel consultant on age limit.
Changes to Itineraries
Local conditions may necessitate changes to sightseeing, walking and driving routes, camping and accommodation locations. While every effort will be made to provide the services and experiences as offered in our brochure, on our website, and in our trip letters, we reserve the right to vary your itinerary. In the event that we are forced to change your arrangements, substitute arrangements of a similar standard will be provided. The tour operator will not be liable where interruptions to itineraries are caused by weather conditions, technical problems to transport used by the tour operator, industrial action, political or civil commotion or other circumstances beyond our control. We refer you to the conditions regarding travel insurance.
Changes in Prices
While we will do its utmost to honour its pricing unforeseen circumstances may mean that prices may be subject to change without notice.
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions and Age Limits
You need to advise Onlyluxe travel and the tour operator on any pre-existing medical condition, mobility impairment and/or disability that might reasonably be expected to increase the risk of your requiring medical attention, or that might affect the normal conduct of a trip and the enjoyment of other trip members. Onlyluxe Travel and the tour operator may require an assessment of your medical condition from a qualified medical practitioner. If you fail to adequately notify the tour operator of any pre-existing medical conditions and/or disability, the tour operator reserves the right, at its reasonable discretion, to cancel your participation in a trip at any time, including after the commencement of your trip, with no right of refund if your medical condition, mobility impairment and/or disability could be reasonably expected to affect the normal conduct of the trip and the enjoyment of other trip members.
Cancellation by The Tour Operator
The walks take place in very special wilderness settings. The tour operator is at the mercy of nature in all her beauty and all her fury. The tour operator will under no circumstance knowingly place at risk the health and well-being of our guests and guides. In the case of natural threats, acts of God and the like (e.g. bushfires, impassable snow, etc) the tour operator may need to cancel a walk with very little notice. In some cases, this can occur after the walk has commenced. The tour operator reserves the right to cancel any walk up to 60 days prior to departure if a minimum of 4 walkers are unable to meet for a tour. If the tour operator needs to cancel for any reason, the cost of the walk or any other costs associated with travel to the designated pick up point, overnight accommodation, meals, etc will not be covered by the Onlyluxe Travel and therefore we strongly recommend travel insurance be taken out prior to travel.
Force Majeure
'Force Majeure' means (without restriction) any event which Onlyluxe Travel or its third party providers could not, even with due care, foresee or avoid. Force Majeure covers events such as, but not limited to, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events beyond our control. In the case of Force Majeure Onlyluxe Travel will not accept liability, and reserves the right to change and cancel trips.
Evacuations
In rare circumstances, due to injury or unforeseen illness, the tour operator may need to evacuate you from a remote part of the walk. Helicopter evacuations are expensive and in most cases will be at a cost to the customer.
For Australian residents, under the Australian Government Medicare Act, it is prohibited for any domestic travel insurance product to provide any financial reimbursement with regard to ambulance or air ambulance services. We therefore strongly advise our customers to take specific ambulance cover through their health insurance provider. Evacuation cost will not be covered by the Onlyluxe Travel and therefore it is also strongly recommended that our customers take out travel insurance to cover (amongst other things) the costs associated with evacuation.
Travel Insurance
In view of the heavy cancellation penalties applied to cancelled reservations in certain circumstances, we strongly recommends suitable travel insurance be purchased at the time the holding deposit is paid. We recommend insurance cover that covers any loss which may be suffered due to cancellation. We also strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance against loss of baggage and medical expenses.
