The experience of driving through New Zealands’ largest farm – nearly 450,000 acres spanning a good part of the upper South Island – is a kiwi rite of passage. The stunning scale and rugged beauty of Molesworth Station together with another neighbouring giant, Rainbow Station with its latticework of pristine lakes, is contrasted by the alpine tranquillity of the village of Hanmer Springs where we’ll be based. Here’s a summary;
Day 1: We depart Hawke’s Bay Airport this morning and head for Christchurch. There we’ll be met by our local guide, who will collect us from the airport, and we’ll drive north to Woodchester Station, near the epicentre of the 2016 ‘Kaikoura’ earthquake. Here the Kelly family will host us for lunch and show us some astonishing evidence of natures’ power which has transformed their lives forever. Later in the afternoon we make our way to Hanmer Springs and our superb centrally located base, the cozy Drifter’s Inn.
Day 2: Today we’re collected by our guide in a special 4WD mini-coach and we head into Molesworth Station. We’ll visit iconic points on the massive station with its 150yo cob buildings and thousands of acres of rippling clover and tussock grass. Cattle share the sides of the sparkling rivers with Canada Geese and Paradise Ducks. It’s difficult to prepare yourself for the sheer vastness and beauty of the place. A day heavy with memorable moments.
Day 3: After a big day yesterday, time to relax with a FREE DAY in Hanmer Springs today.
Day 4: Today we head west up through the former St James Station and into the Spenser Range to Lake Tennyson. We’ll drive over Island Pass, the highest in the country at 1300 metres, before descending into Rainbow Station itself – wintering both cattle & sheep – remarkable for its transitioning alpine landscapes and climate. What a contrast.
Day 5: We depart Hanmer Springs this morning and make our way back to Christchurch Airport but not before a visit to Iron Ridge Sculpture Park, a former limestone quarry, transformed into a huge stunning outdoor exhibition space like no other. Then it is on to the airport where, after a late lunch, we catch our flight back to ‘the Bay’.
Molesworth, Rainbow and Woodchester Stations make up a land truly alive with the evocative atmosphere of stockmen and shepherds, dogs and drovers, slough hats and well-worn saddles. It’s a landscape of extremes and of the real cowboy, even today, and what an adventure it is to get a glimpse of their way of life and to meet some of the people continuing the legacy.
Places on this tour are extremely limited so do not hesitate in securing your spot.