The Southern Alps area is renowned for scenic beauty, wilderness and the hospitality of the high country people and is home to Aoraki, Mount Cook.

At 3753m Mount Cook (its Maori name is Aoraki, meaning Cloud Piercer) is New Zealand's highest mountain. It towers above a splendid cast of massive snow-clad peaks that make up the Mount Cook National Park. Nudging one side of Mount Cook is the mighty Tasman Glacier, a 30km giant and one of the longest outside the Himalayas.

Mount Cook village is an easy five hour drive from Christchurch.

This spectacular district is also known for it's milky blue lakes, snow-capped mountains and glaciers, high country tussock and wild flowering lupins in summer. Combine these vistas with the strong elements of silence and solitude present here and enjoy how powerfully emotive this landscape is.

The area is rich in diverse activities such as lake cruises, star gazing, heli-mountain biking or scenic flights over the Southern Alps, with glacier skiing in the winter to hiking and fishing in the summer.