Molesworth Station offers abundant opportunity for New Zealanders and visitors to New Zealand to experience natural environments, rural lifestyles and natural history that few people get to experience. As New Zealand’s largest high country station it holds a special place in our history. Discover the magnificent scenery, unique plant life and the fascinating stories.
Bring your own 4X4 vehicle to drive in convoy style over some private farms as well as Molesworth Station, Rainbow Station, Mailings Pass and St James Stations. Follow our fun and informative lead guide to enjoy four days of driving in the fabulous unspoilt high-country regions, with towering mountains, meandering rivers and native beech forests through rolling farmland to the famous Marlborough vineyards.
Blenheim Railway Station
8.00am
Rich in history of the areas you are travelling through. Opportunity to speak and meet with local high country farmers. Meet like minded people travelling in your group and enjoy the personalised aspects of a small tour group where all the planning has been done for you down to the smallest detail. We are an Adventure Mark certified tourism business which means we have passed a robust assessment of all our business procedures and you can be assured you are purchasing a quality safe experience. Last but not least we hold a license to access Molesworth Station so you are guaranteed travel through the station when it is not open to the general public.
Make sure you fuel up before leaving Blenheim; Hanmer Springs has a Caltex petrol station as well as puncture repair and tyre changing facilities.
4WD with a high and low ratio gearbox is mandatory.
Ground clearance recommended of 225mm both front and rear of vehicle.
Tyres ‘all terrain’ tyres with a good amount of tread on them are required.
Low profile road tyres are not suitable.
All wheel drive SUV’s (Sports Utility Vehicle) are not suitable.
Please contact us if you are unsure if your vehicle would be suitable.
All vehicles must have a current registration and WOF.
You need to have a good knowledge of your vehicle and have some previous 4X4 off road driving experience.
Meet with your lead driver and other group members at the Blenheim Railway Station car park northern end at 8.00am, short briefing and introductions. Your drive starts by taking the coastal route around the Wairau Lagoons with its interesting history. Enjoy morning tea at a vineyard homestead before we head up the Awatere Valley, with a drive up to the Black Birch Range to a height of 1693m, weather permitting. We then visit a high-country farm for lunch before driving to our overnight farm accommodation nestled in the upper reaches of the Awatere Valley. Arriving about 5.30pm to unpack and enjoy a few drinks and a BBQ cooked by your tour guide. Note Wi-Fi available here.
Accommodation
Classic shearer’s accommodation on a high country station in the Awatere Valley. Individual bedrooms sleeping two people (mainly twin beds, please bring your sleeping bags, pillow and towel), bathroom facilities are shared and there is a large kitchen, dining room and lounge. Washing machine available.
Meals
Tea breaks will be served from our onboard supplies of locally roasted plunger coffee or tea and home baking from the cake tins. Lunch will be served on the farm. Two-course dinner. BYO drinks for evening dining.
After a farm style breakfast, we set off around 9am to drive to a neighbouring farm to explore the 35,000-acre station with the owner if he is available. Morning driving includes multiple river crossings, driving round spurs, through flat grassy expanses with a cuppa in a back-country hut. We return on the same route with multiple river crossings, arriving back at the homestead for lunch. Back to driving on a track through lush grazing blocks ascending to a lookout point. Here on a clear day, you can see Mt Tapuae-o-Uenuku, the highest peak outside of the Southern Alps. Views of the Upper Awatere Valley and the remnants of an extinct volcano Driving down from the heights back to the valley floor with a home cooked meal awaiting and stories of the day over a few drinks for the evening.
Accommodation
Classic shearer’s accommodation on a high country station in the Awatere Valley. Individual bedrooms sleeping two people (mainly twin beds, please bring your sleeping bags, pillow and towel), bathroom facilities are shared.
Meals
Your choice of continental or full cooked breakfast. Tea breaks will be served from our onboard supplies of locally roasted plunger coffee or tea and home baking from the cake tins. Lunch will be served on the farm. Two-course dinner. BYO drinks for evening dining.
After breakfast it’s time to visit a back country hut on Muller Station for morning tea before we head into Molesworth Station. See the original Acheron Accommodation Cob House cob then head south into Molesworth Station to enjoy a picnic lunch surrounded by nature and the extensive hills. Driving into Hanmer Springs via Jollies Pass around 4.30pm with time to enjoy the thermal pools or shopping before dinner.
Accommodation
The third night is at Hanmer Springs in ensuite motel rooms; situated approximately 100 metres across the road from the thermal pool complex, we recommend if you want to enjoy the pools, do so soon after arriving in Hanmer.
Meals
Your choice of continental or full cooked breakfast. Lunch will be picnic style enjoyed
Departing at 9am and heading into the back country over Jacks Pass, with a trek into Mailings Pass is quite stunning. Stopping to enjoy the scenery at various vantage points before reaching Lake Tennyson, where we will enjoy morning tea with an amazing backdrop of mountains. Highlights will include Island Saddle, the Tarndale Lakes, and Rainbow Station. Returning to Blenheim through the many vineyards that are creeping into the upper reaches of the Wairau Valley by 5.30pm.
Meals
Continental style breakfast served in your room. Tea breaks will be served from our on-board supplies of locally roasted coffee or tea and home baking from the cake tins. Picnic style lunch. Dinner at own arrangement.
Our Tag-along Tour through the Molesworth with your company was one of the best experiences we have
had. Everything was more than we expected and our guide Chris was absolutely exceptional.
Thank you for providing such a wonderful opportunity.
Sheryl and I have just completed your 4WD Molesworth Tag Along Tour.
Our four days was an absolutely awesome experience, thanks to Chris.
Our super guide Chris exceeded our expectations. He was patient, friendly and an awesome 4WD coach.
With Chris’s guidance I found I was able to drive safely in unbelievable off road situations.
Thanks also to Ultraquip Hire in Blenheim for their excellent service.
Their Toyota Hilux we hired was perfect for our adventure.
I would certainly recommend more people experience you super tour.
What a wonderful few days we spent on our Molesworth 4WD trip with Chris. It really exceeded our expectations.
Chris was a great tour leader- so nice, easy going, organised, knowledgeable, friendly, calm etc etc. We all got on well as a group and felt like we’d known each other for years- after only 4 days!
It was all so well planned. The accommodation was very good, the food was great, distances covered just right.
All the hosts we met on the trip were so welcoming and friendly. And great cooks!
Wonderful country we viewed everywhere.
Thank you so much- we will recommend this trip to our friends and family.
We had a great trip with Chris. He is very knowledgeable about the high country and on great terms with the runholders. It was a privilege to meet them all and have a glimpse into their everyday lives.
And the food was 1st class.
We thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
We all enjoyed our time with Geoff and the whole Molesworth experience. Geoff is a wealth of knowledge in the area and he certainly gave us value for money. all who hosted and cooked for us came up trumps and the hospitality shown was beyond expectations. We most certainly packed in a lot in our four day tour and I know for sure I saw parts of the country I would not have seen had it not been for the tour.
