New Zealand's South Island in Full Bloom

Few places on the planet are as lauded for their scenery as New Zealand’s South Island. From the towering Southern Alps to the glacier tongues of Franz Josef to the gaping fjords of Milford Sound, it's epic, epic country.

But there are places where it's been tamed; where creative and diligent gardeners have crafted and bent the elements to their will. In fact, South Island hosts some of the most acclaimed gardens in the Southern Hemisphere, including over 20 Gardens of International Significance.

Join us on a journey through the best of them. Our trip whisks you from the highlands of Otago to the winelands of Marlborough, taking in everything from romantic country gardens to dry gardens built to withstand the extreme weather conditions of the region.

It's a chance to see some truly unique landscaping and horticulture, to learn about planting and ecology on the far side of the globe, and to make new friends for life.

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AT-A-GLANCE ITINERARY

November 03, Monday – Arrival in Queenstown
November 04, Tuesday – Millbrook gardens, Mora Wines and Arrowtown
November 05, Wednesday – Jo Wakelin Garden and Wanaka
November 06, Thursday – Clachanburn Garden and Dunedin
November 07, Friday – Dunedin Botanic Garden, Larnach Castle & Olveston Historic House
November 08, Saturday – Timaru Botanic Gardens, Trotts Garden & Broadfield Landscape Garden
November 09, Sunday – Christchurch Art Gallery, Ōhinetahi
November 10, Monday  – Free day in Christchurch
November 11, Tuesday – Frensham Gardens, Akaroa and Fisherman's Bay Garden
November 12, Wednesday – Flaxmere Garden, Coldstream, Loch Leven and Kaikōura
November 13, Thursday – Winterhome Garden, Barewood Garden & Paripuma
November 14, Friday – Welton House & Hortensia House
November 15, Saturday – Departure Day

CarexTours strives to operate according to our published itinerary. However, adjustments may be necessary if unforeseen circumstances beyond our control occur or opportunities arise that would enhance the itinerary.

FULL ITINERARY

 

Day 1: Arrival in Queenstown

Kia ora! You'll be greeted by two things when you touch down in New Zealand: the sight of the jagged Remarkables Mountains – yep, they really do live up to their name! – and one of our always-smiling team members.

A direct private transfer will take you straight to the hotel for a freshen up before you meet your fellow traveling garden connoisseurs and your tour host at 4pm. That leaves ample time for an evening's cruise across Lake Wakatipu to a working high-country farm where you can bond over a proper Kiwi BBQ. Views in abundance, of course.

Accommodation: Ramada Queenstown Central
Included: Gourmet BBQ Dinner

Day 2: The gardens of Queenstown

Wake up in Queenstown to the clop of hiker's boots on the sidewalks and the buzz of adrenaline junkies – this is the birthplace of commercial bungee jumping, in case you didn't know! Don’t worry, nothing quite so gravity-defying for you today. Queenstown might be high-octane but it's also home to some exquisite gardens.

You were to begin with a walkthrough of the Chantecler Garden, but it's now closed to the public. A sneak peek of the 1,000 rhododendrons and azaleas there will have to do. There's no such issue at the Millbrook gardens, though, where you'll wander between beds of edible flowers, herbs, and veg grown using biodynamic methods.

Lunch is a time to pause – literally! Head across to Mora Wines (mora means 'to linger' in Latin). It's a good place for it, with a menu of locally-sourced dishes, come-relax-on-me dining terraces, and – of course – a fine selection of local Otago Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris for good measure.

Finish your day with a slow stroll through Arrowtown, soaking up gold-rush history, dropping into the craft-beer saloons, and shopping in the boutiques.

Accommodation: Ramada Queenstown Central
Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3: Cromwell & Wanaka

Pack your bags – you’re moving on. You and the crew will head straight through the zig-zagging Kawarau Gorge, so sit back and enjoy a montage of cliffs, rocks, and rushing rivers on the way to Cromwell.

What awaits? How about a bona fide horticultural wonder? Cue the Jo Wakelin Garden. Delve in to discover why it's graced the covers of gardening magazines and been hailed as "visionary." This shock of lavenders and zingy euphorbias manages to exist on the dry Otago highlands where there's less than 280mm of rainfall some years! You'll see the principle of "right plant, right place" at every turn as you wander beds woven together by gravel paths. Its delight is unexpected in this harsh landscape of crumpled mountains.

Talking of those crumpled mountains, you'll take a scenic drive right through them this afternoon on the way to lovely Wanaka, the more-chilled, more-easy-going brother of Queenstown. Wander the lakeside paths a bit but don't get too far. You're here for a cruise and nature walk that will whisk you across to Stevensons Island so you can appreciate the glaciated geology of the region under the gaze of the Southern Alps.

Tonight, kick back in an overwater bungalow on Marsden Lake. It's like the Maldives meets New Zealand only the water's just a touch chillier, and the palms are replaced with pines. A group dinner finishes the day.

Accommodation: Marsden - Lake Resort Cromwell
Included: Breakfast and Morning Tea

Day 4: Dunedin

Today's plan is a horticulture sandwich: A scenic drive, followed by a garden visit, followed by another scenic drive.

First, you'll embark on a trip out of the mountains and into the undulating pastoral backcountry of Central Otago. Right in the middle of it all, is the Maniototo Plain, a tussock plateau speckled with sheep and buttressed by serrated peaks on all sides – the Kakanui to the east and the Southern Alps to the west. Let's just say the drive is hardly a boring one!

You'll search for the oasis that is the Clachanburn Garden among this stark wilderness. It's the brainchild of Jane Falconer, who's been tending to the plot for over four decades. Pick her brains on all things cherry blossoms, crabapples, and hardy perennials that can handle what the Otago climate throws at them on a guided tour of the site, spotting mirror-like ponds that reflect the distant mountains and manicured lawns fringed with lavender as you go.

Lunch will be in Clachanburn itself; a chance to sample vegetables from the country garden and fruit from the on-site orchards. Fill up because the drive onwards to Dunedin – where you'll stay for the next two nights – is another couple of hours of attention-demanding travel, offering scenes of high tussock hills framed by farms of swaying flax and grazing sheep.

On arrival, you get to relax with an evening of free time. You can branch out into Dunedin to seek out statues of Robbie Burns (yes, the Scottish poet!) if you like. Or stay at the hotel to discover some local history – it's over 150 years old and was once a gathering place for Dunedin's literary elite.

Accommodation: Scenic Hotel Southern Cross
Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5: A trio of gardens in Dunedin

By Day Five, gardens are coming thick and fast. Today you’ll hit not one, not two, but three separate gardens. You don't even have to leave town for our first, as the Dunedin Botanic Garden is on the north side of the CBD. It's an official six-star Garden of International Significance, which means it's as prestigious and important as they come in New Zealand. We'll let you discover why as you wander the lower gardens with their Edwardian greenhouses packed with cacti and Japanese bamboo. Or as you stroll amid the magenta rhododendrons of the upper gardens. This was the first botanical garden ever established in NZ and it shows in its maturity, with microclimates operating in different zones and a whopping 6,800 plant species on show.

How do you top a six-star garden? That would be with two five-star gardens, of course! Head across to the Otago Peninsula to find Larnach Castle first. Try not to get too hooked up on the Gothic Revival façade of the castle itself. Beyond that lie the green spaces, which include species you certainly wouldn't expect on the salt-washed edges of South Island, NZ – hulking Monterey cypresses, towering cedars – and some you would expect – like the avenue of twisted cabbage palms.

The finale of our garden trio is at the Olveston Historic House. This one's back in the city, and it gives clues to the unique past of Dunedin – a place that was founded by Scottish traders way back in the 1840s. Expect Jacobean architecture and an Edwardian-era glasshouse to name just two stand-out features. You'll glimpse a more urban garden style here, seeing how the ornamental planting mirrors the ornate interiors of one of the city's grand VIP homes.

Accommodation: Scenic Hotel Southern Cross
Included: Breakfast, Lunch

BREAKOUT: What is a Garden of National Significance in New Zealand?

The New Zealand Gardens Trust was established in 2004 to promote the most unique gardens in the country. It created a system for ranking gardens, ranging from three stars for a "notable garden" to six stars for "New Zealand's top garden experiences." As of 2025, there are only 17 sites in the six stars category, representing the crème-de-la-crème of horticultural sites in the land of the Kiwi.

Day 6: Dunedin to Christchurch

The route to Christchurch – where you can unpack and relax for four full nights – is speckled with gardens. Drive north out of Dunedin, skirting the coast, navigating landscapes of grass-green hills on roads lined with cabbage palms. You'll have some time to discover the quirks of Oamaru town on the way – think elegant Victorian row houses in the Historic District and some of South Island's largest colonies of blue penguins on the beaches. Talk about juxtapositions to kick off a morning!

We'll try not to wax too lyrical about the first gardens of the day, the Timaru Botanic Gardens. Suffice to say, they are among the oldest botanic gardens in the country and a haven for Antipodean species.

Soon after, you'll be wandering between the rhododendrons – all 650 of them – at yet another six-star Garden of International Significance: Trotts Garden. The site has recently changed hands, but still showcases the patchwork of English country planting, manicured lawns, and intricate knot gardens that it's been known for since the 1970s. The crew will settle in here under the dappled shade of the magnolias and beeches for an afternoon tea.

The finale of the day's garden hopping is the Broadfield Landscape Garden. It's another – yes, another! – six-star rated garden, but it's different because the focus is on meticulous design principles and ecological architecture. Notice how the central reflective canal sits flush with the tōtara hedge topiary; how the garden's various "rooms" whisk you from native NZ kauri woods to English rose bushes in a matter of seconds.

Ready to rest? That's precisely what's on offer as you cruise into central Christchurch come the evening. Kick back and relax in the luxury Fable hotel, a gorgeous boutique hotel with its own sauna and gin bar. Chin chin!

Accommodation: Wyndham Gardens & Hotel
Included: Breakfast, Afternoon tea

Day 7: Culture and gardens in Christchurch

Slow down the pace a little at the halfway point of the trip by retreating to a habitat not so natural to us horticulturalists: the indoors. It's okay, though, it's all in the name of high culture. You'll go on a guided walkthrough of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. Appreciate the curvaceous glass and steel exterior, and then go within to find landscape works and modern installation pieces by some of New Zealand's most ground-breaking artists.

Outdoor spaces come back to the fore in the afternoon. You'll head south of town to the edge of the Banks Peninsula to find Ōhinetahi on a sliver of land between the green hills and the glinting blue of the Pacific. See how the rugged landscapes have been shaped and shepherded into a space that effortlessly blends the old and the new. You'll spot thought-provoking modern sculpture works at one turn and English country rose beds at another. The center of it all is an Arts and Crafts-style home with a wrap-around verandah. Talk about the perfect setting for that afternoon tea!

Accommodation: Wyndham Gardens & Hotel
Included: Breakfast, Afternoon tea

 

Day 8: Free day in Christchurch

You've earned a rest, so day eight is yours to spend as you wish. Be lazy if you like; ditch the alarm clock, brunch in one of Christchurch's cool coffee roasteries, dip into your book. Or perhaps take the chance to tick off the Christchurch bucket list: A punt around the Avon River, a ride on the Christchurch Gondola to lookout points high above the bijou harbor town of Lyttelton. Today, the itinerary is yours to control.

Accommodation: Wyndham Gardens & Hotel
Included: Breakfast

Day 9: Christchurch's final gardens

Invigorated and ready to go? Good, because Christchurch still has more gardens up its sleeve. Ditch the city center and head out to Frensham Gardens, a plot crafted to harness the changing light of the seasons with its mix of heavy tree planting, classical garden design, and just a touch of kitsch. You'll be visiting in summer, when the lawns are in full color and the light booms through the apricot and Acers. Notice the sheer range of perspectives created by the varying levels – a foreground marked by a pruned hedgerow, a background semi-visible through the trees.

Trade the country for the coast in the afternoon with a 1.5-hour drive through the heart of the Banks Peninsula. You'll view-watch the whole way, guaranteed – it's a montage of bald mountaintops buttressing deep valleys so green you'll be seeing green even when you blink!

The drive is broken up with a pitstop in Akaroa, where you can stretch your legs walking the boat-bobbing harborside and grab a croissant or 10 in one of the Francophile bakeries that hearken back to the days when this was a French whaler settlement.

Don't go too baguette-mad, though. Lunch awaits at the Fisherman's Bay Garden. It's a hard-to-believe garden if there ever was one. As you stroll the gravel paths between the bulging beds of flowering perennials, it's worth remembering that you're standing on the edge of a 98-million-year-old shield volcano. Don't worry – it's extinct!

By Day Nine, Carex tours feel more like family trips. You'll have made new friends for life and forged bonds stronger than a New Zealand flax grass. It seems like a good time to take a free evening, perhaps to dine and drink together before the crew departs Christchurch in the morning.

Accommodation: Wyndham Gardens & Hotel
Included: Breakfast

Day 10: Kaikoura

Bid farewell to The Garden City of Christchurch. The sat nav points north today, to the yes-I'm-ridiculously-handsome region of Kaikoura. But before we wow you with a place where snowy mountains, literally, drop straight into a whale-filled sea, more gardens await.

You'll visit the Flaxmere Garden first. It was a humble sheep farm 50 years ago. Today, it's run under the guiding hand of Penny Zino, a gardener with a penchant for crafting pleasing vistas – you'll sit and wonder at visions of the Southern Alps through the azaleas and see the outline of the mountains mirrored in the five ponds that pepper the property. Lunch is also at Flaxmere.

The next garden on our list is one of the smallest you'll encounter on the whole trip. But size hardly matters here, because Coldstream still flaunts a five-star Garden of International Significance rating. It takes longer to explore than its one-hectare size implies, too. You'll cross carpet-like lawns between groves of mature oak and birch trees, and get to stand on the jetty lookout beside the Coldstream creek, where eels twist and turn in the water below.

The last stop before the grand reveal of Kaikoura's coastal mountains (don't worry – you will get there!) is Loch Leven. Originally a nursery, it's grown into a fully fledged garden with a five-star rating. Appreciate the shape and contour of the curved lawns that rise and fall between beds that contain vibrant displays of New Zealand rock daisies and peonies, between a pretty summerhouse and clusters of boulders that break up the space.

Lastly: Kaikōura. This is one to write home about. Keep your eyes peeled as you cruise into the bay because there are snow-mantled peaks lurching overhead and the waters are filled with dolphins and whales. Your hotel is right on the esplanade – views front, back, and sides.

Accommodation: Sudima Kaikoura
Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 11: Blenheim

Today's trip will whisk you north again. There's good news and there's bad news. Bad first? It's our last destination. Good? It's NZ wine country and home to some spectacular gardens. Whoop!

Enjoy the drive in the morning, snaking on the famous State Highway 1 with the jagged tops of the Kaikoura Range on one side and Pacific waves rolling in on the other. Make a quick stop for leg stretches and lunch on the way, and even get a chance to see the Winterhome Garden, a 10-acre plot that offers something a little different to the gardens you've seen further south – how about avocado plantations, hedgerows that recall the palaces of central France, and lawns that open onto driftwood-strewn Pacific beaches?

The celebrity garden – that is to say the six-star Garden of International Significance – of the day comes in the form of the Barewood Garden. You'll detour a little inland to discover it among the undulating vineyards of the Awatere Valley. Appreciate the artful and abundant planting here, starting with the color shocks of the herbaceous borders, and ending with the summer houses draped in white wisteria. It's a serene and meditative space, so take some time to digest the journey you've been on so far.

But don't get nostalgic for it all just yet. There are more gardens to come, and one more on Day 11 at that! Cue Paripuma. It clings to the edge of the Cook Strait, spilling out onto a blustery beachfront where you can stand and see the outline of North Island in the distance. Take in the fairway-like textured lawns that create a feeling of vastness between beds of New Zealand natives, enjoy the echinacea and helenium beds dancing in the sea breezes, and don't miss the butterfly garden planted in the New Perennial Style to maximize naturalism and habitat creation.

The hotel in Blenheim isn't quite the same boutique lodging we've had all trip. That's okay, though – this town is the centerpiece of the Marlborough wine region, which means an evening of sipping local Sauvignon Blanc could be in order.

Accommodation: Chateau Marlborough
Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 12: Blenheim

Day 12 marks the final day of your garden adventure. But, to put it in a way that horticulturists will appreciate, it's not time to go all sad like a salix on us just yet! There's still one final hurrah of gardens, which kicks off with a visit to Blenheim's own Welton House. Talk about going out with a bang. This is a garden set atop an ancient sand dune, encircled by swirls of Marlborough vineyard, mixing wild bushland with stark elements of hardscaping, all while incorporating the old footprint of the farmstead it came from. It's a space to appreciate the subtleties, shapes, and colors that inform the work of Kiwi garden designer Ross Palmer; to admire the intermingling of the untamed and tamed sides of South Island. The group will have a hands-on garden walkthrough here followed by morning tea.

Then comes your last garden of the whole trip. Finish off bathed in the blue agapanthus and lily ponds of Hortensia House, a garden with a uniquely French twist. It's like someone picked you up and dropped you in a Monet painting. Walk beside a Victorian cottage framed by weeping willows and insect-whizzing streams, notice the hydrangeas jostling for space, and the sprays of summer daisies and asters.

A group dinner is in order, of course. Eat together tonight to confabulate on a wonderful journey, wonderful gardens, and – perhaps most of all – wonderful new friendships.

Accommodation: Chateau Marlborough
Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 13: Bid farewell

There's one final chance to say goodbye to your new Carex family this morning before the trip officially comes to an end. It's a moment to swap contacts, and maybe even plan your next horticultural expedition together.

Included: Breakfast

 

Can you picture yourself on this garden trip? Click the link to reserve your spot!