As a paying passenger in the lead vehicle of this 4WD tour you can enjoy being driven in convoy style on private farms as well as Molesworth and Rainbow Stations in the beautiful Marlborough high country, in exchange for assisting our guide with small tasks.
Blenheim
7.45am
First two nights are staying in stylish new accommodation on a high country station. You will have your own individual bedroom. Bathroom facilities are shared. The third night is at Motels in Hanmer Springs ensuite rooms; it is situated across the road from the thermal pool complex.
Daily breakfasts are full cooked or continental style on the station and continental at the motel, one lunch is on a farm with the owner and other lunches are picnic style enjoyed in the wide open spaces of the backcountry, evening meals are two courses, and tea breaks will be served from our onboard supplies of locally roasted plunger coffee or tea and home baking.
If you have any particular food allergies or tastes please let us know on your pre trip booking form.
Your role will be to travel in the lead vehicle with the tour leader so you will be in a prime seat with personal attention. To open any gates along the route To assist with unloading catering supplies from the lead vehicle each night and to assist with morning tea setups during the day
Meet with your driver at 7.45am at your accommodation in Blenheim before meeting other group members at the Blenheim Railway Station car park at 8.00am, short briefing and introductions. Your drive starts by taking the coastal route around the Wairau Lagoons over Redwood Pass into the Awatere Valley with its interesting history. Enjoy morning tea hosted in a vineyard homestead, hear all about the wine industry and enjoy a little wine tasting before we head up the Awatere Valley. We will drive up to the Black Birch Range to a height of 1693m, weather permitting. We then visit a high-country sheep and beef farm for lunch, before driving to our overnight accommodation in one of New Zealand’s most remote high-country stays, nestled in the upper reaches of the Awatere Valley. After arriving and settling in enjoy drinks and nibbles before your Farm to Table evening dining experience with a meal cooked for you by the station’s private chef.
After breakfast, we set off around 9am to drive to a neighbouring farm to explore the 35,000-acre station with the owner. Morning driving includes multiple river crossings, driving round spurs, through bush and 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 for dinner and stories of the day over a few drinks.
After breakfast it’s time to explore the station with a family member and have morning tea at a vantage point, before we head further south to enter Molesworth Station. See the original Cob Cottage and enjoy a picnic lunch surrounded by history, nature and the extensive hills. Driving through the legendary station with stories along the way reaching Hanmer Springs via Jollies Pass around 4.30pm with time to enjoy the thermal pools and refuel for the next day. Group dinner out tonight.
Departing at 9am and heading into the back country over Jacks Pass, with a detour into Mailings Pass with stunning views. Stopping to enjoy the scenery at various vantage points enjoy morning tea beside a river. Stopping at the picturesque Lake Tennyson with its amazing backdrop of mountains. Highlights will include Island Saddle, the Tarndale Lakes, and driving through the towering mountains, beech forest and farmland of Rainbow Station. Returning to Blenheim through the many vineyards that are creeping into the upper reaches of the Wairau Valley around 5.30pm.
I would like to thank you for a fabulous 4 day Tour
Chris was Excellent and we learnt so much from him being in the lead vehicle
As a dental assistant, I will be advising all patients to enjoy the Molesworth Station experience somehow through Sth Is Tours
I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed my recent 4WD drive tour up the Awatere valley and Molesworth and to thank you very much for allowing me to travel as a passenger in the lead vehicle with Chris. I felt very safe with him and learnt a lot as we chatted as we went along.
I really appreciated going literally off the beaten track to places I would never have access to. I also enjoyed seeing a little of how a high country station works and meeting the owners.
I also really enjoyed your home baking. I am sure I put on a few kilos with all the lovely food we consumed on the trip.
I would highly recommend this tour to others.
I am very pleased with my recent 4WD tour…what a great combo, 2 nights on a high country station with great company too. Couldn’t have been better.
