Top Things to do in Mackenzie District
Top Hotels in Mackenzie District
Countries
The 10 Best Things to do Good for Couples in Mackenzie District, South Island
Discover the best top things to do in Mackenzie District, New Zealand including Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters by Inflite, Air Safaris, Mt Cook Glacier Guiding, Hooker Valley Track, Mackenzie Alpine Horse Trekking, Aoraki/Mt. Cook, Gem Alpaca Stud, Red Cat Biplane Flights - Aviation Adventures, Mueller Hut Route, SkyScape.
Restaurants in Mackenzie District
1. Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters by Inflite
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 366 reviews
Exclusive to the Southern Hemisphere, Aoraki Mt Cook Ski Planes and Helicopters is the only company to offer glacier landing flights in both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Experience the natural quiet of the Tasman Glacier and absorb the ever changing glacial landscape of the New Zealand Southern Alps. Aoraki Mt Cook Ski Planes and Helicopters have been sharing the breathtaking scenery of the Southern Alps with travelers for 60 years. With snow present all year round, this impressive alpine environment creates an unforgettable adventure for people of all ages. Flights depart from Aoraki Mt Cook Airport, only a 5 minute drive from Aoraki Mt Cook Village. With our company base location within the Aoraki Mt Cook National Park it allows us to guarantee captivating scenery from the moment you board your flight. Experience the Ultimate Alpine Adventure with a Helicopter / Ski Plane Combo. For group bookings of 8 or more, fly half of your trip in a Helicopter and the other in a Ski Plane. Ideal for families and large group bookings. This Ultimate Alpine Adventure Combo is available in our entire range of scenic flight options at no additional cost. For climbers and skiers interested in transfers to the various hut locations within the Aoraki Mt Cook and Westland National Parks, we have both Ski Planes and Helicopters available for charter.
2. Air Safaris
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 329 reviews
This premier Aoraki / Mount Cook flightseeing experience, 'The Grand Traverse' encompasses two World Heritage National Parks in a tour of 200kms amongst New Zealand's highest mountains and largest glaciers. From the golden tussock lands, turquoise glacier lakes and huge glacial valleys of the Mackenzie Basin around Aoraki Mt Cook, Mt Tasman and the Tasman Glacier to the coastal plains of Westland and the dramatic icefalls of the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. Every passenger has a window seat and all aircraft have wings-above to ensure optimum viewing below. Pilots provide a full and informative commentary with multi language commentary brochures supplied. We also offer exciting helicopter flights from Tekapo with alpine landing and an incredible Combo Flightseeing Experience featuring the MacKenzie Explorer heli-flight plus Grand Traverse fixed wing. The best of both worlds!
3. Mt Cook Glacier Guiding
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 73 reviews
Discover New Zealand's big mountain country & largest glacier at Mt Cook National Park - enjoy heli-hiking, snowshoeing or ice climbing adventures on the mighty Tasman Glacier with professional guides. We provide the highest level of safety. All of our guides are certified to guide you on the glacier through the internationally recognised New Zealand Mountain Guides Association.
4. Hooker Valley Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,041 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip.
Reviewed By Falsendrach - Auckland Central, New Zealand
We did the Hooker Valley trail in May, just after NZ dropped to Covid Alert Level 2. It was a great time to do it with the lack of tourists around. Because of the popularity the Hooker Trail is usually very busy, sometimes with so many people on the trail you feel like you're walking in a queue. Parking can be an issue if you're arriving later in the day and you sometimes have to park on the access road and walk 15-20mins to the trail start. With the current Covid international travel restrictions though there's few tourists and it's not hard to get a space in the carpark. Wonderfully though this time it felt virtually empty. Sure, we ran into other people but only about 60-70 rather than the 1000+ you'd expect. The trail is about 90mins each way, culminating at Hooker Lake. Do allow extra time as we happily spent an hour playing at the frozen-over lake skipping stones & throwing sheets of ice around. As far as reward vs effort goes, the Hooker Valley trail is one of the best short tracks you can do as it's wide, mostly flat, taking you over three suspension bridges that offer gorgeous views of turbulent pale azure water rushing underneath, majestic hills sweeping up on either side and Mt Cook/Aoraki as a stunning backdrop. Make sure you wear comfortable shoes as the trail is mostly rock, & switch out to boots in colder/wetter weather. Layers are essential & you'll find that coming back in the afternoon it's quite a bit cooler once the sun has dipped behind the peaks. And on that note, bring a torch or headlamp if you're setting off within 4 hours of sunset. There are some toilets about two thirds the way along the track but they aren't great. You should definitely pack some hand sanitiser & a roll of toilet paper in case they run out (they frequently do). At the height of the tourist seasons there's usually a queue.
5. Mackenzie Alpine Horse Trekking
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 148 reviews
Enjoy a fabulous horse trek in the Mackenzie with views of the Southern Alps, lakes and high country sheep stations. Suitable for beginners, choose from our beautiful 1,2 or 3.5 hr treks
Reviewed By Jareda_0496
Had an awesome time riding with my partner with an awesome guide we did the 1 hour trek and was a great track to ride from awesome views up high along the hills right down to a splash in the lake 100% recommend will definitely be back
6. Aoraki/Mt. Cook
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 532 reviews
Reviewed By BradJill - Hong Kong, China
Mount Cook also referred locally by its Maori name of Aoraki is the highest mountain in New Zealand and the darling of the Southern Alps range on South Island. It dominates the peaks of the Mount Cook National Park and can be viewed well from both sides of the mountain range. We recently spent some time around Mount Cook National Park enjoying views of Aoraki from numerous hiking areas and trails. Most enjoyable was probably at Lake Hooker, a beautiful reflection lake made up of melt water from Hooker Glacier located a short distance from the Mount Cook Village. A similar impressive view of Mount Cook can be found at Lake Matheson, another famous reflection lake near the Fox Glacier Village on the west side of the range. There is a very good Visitor Centre in the Mount Cook Village with quality displays and historic accounts of mountaineering and general exploration of Mount Cook and fellow peaks in the area. You can also learn quite a bit about hiking and other activities related to visits to Mount Cook on the DOC National Park website. This is well worth spending some time researching before making trips to the area.
7. Gem Alpaca Stud
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 144 reviews
Gem Alpaca Stud is situated on the main highway from Christchurch to Queenstown - perfectly placed for your stop over. Come on in and feed, touch and meet our Alpaca, Llama & sheep. Get your up close photos with our beautiful animals. Large covered veranda and outdoor seating with our farm shop open 7 days featuring a huge range of alpaca products. We also now have refreshments, ice creams, coffee and cold drinks. Farm Visits daily 11am, 1pm and 3pm $25.00 per adult, $15 per child, children 5 and under are FREE. PLEASE NOTE: No public toilets on site. please use facilities in the township just 1 minutes drive away.
Reviewed By taniat358
This farm + tour was amaze-balls!! We highly highly recommend this place. Lovely staff, lovely shop selling souvenirs and alpaca related goodies. The tour was amazing, the guide was very informative walking us through the different Alpaca sections, giving us food we can feed them. She knew the name of every Alpaca, and they were all so friendly and super cute. You got up right close to them all. Loved our experience. You even get wellies to wear so your own shoes stay clean. Towards the end of the tour, the guide also gave us top tips of what to see and do during our South Island road trip! We did this tour in Jan 2020, we got there for the last tour (think about 4pm), and we were lucky enough to be the only ones in the group, so felt like we had a private tour. Loved it. THX U, we had a great time!!!
8. Red Cat Biplane Flights - Aviation Adventures
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 68 reviews
Red Cat Biplane Flights and Aviation Adventures operate a Grumman Ag-Cat biplane that takes two passengers in addition to the pilot. For a fun open-cockpit experience where you get to dress up in leather jackets, flying helmet and goggles, we offer flights starting from $245.00 per person. Bring a camera! Both our biplane and Cessna 172 also fly to the Glenmary, Tasman, Fox and Franz Josef glaciers. Prices start from just $195.00 per person (with a minimum of three people). For a fun, friendly and personal flight to view some of New Zealand's most spectacular scenery, check out our website and reviews!
9. Mueller Hut Route
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 56 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip. See website for the price of accommodation on this track.
Reviewed By Roadtrip_Fan_UK - Hong Kong, China
It's the scenery that will keep everyone going. The ascent is super steep but the views are truly breathtaking. I continued on to Mount Ollivier and got rewarded with a 360° panorama that was well worth the extra effort.
10. SkyScape
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 83 reviews
This distinctive accommodation is designed to maximise the extraordinary views of the Mackenzie Country both day and night, with a bedroom built predominantly of glass. This unique building comprises a glass-roofed bedroom, as well as a grass roofed kitchenette and bathroom and is located on a farm, within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.
Reviewed By Travellingtom2021
Bevan and Bridget have created a wee slice of paradise in the middle of Mackenzie Country. Fantastic accommodation, so well presented and thoughtful, with the eco-friendly design of the room. Peaceful and isolated, it was the perfect place to relax and unwind with views looking out over the the land and of course, billions of stars once the sun sets, either from the outdoor bath or the comfort of the roomy bed. The magical sight of seeing stars drifting across the glass ceiling as you lay in bed is an experience like no other. I will definitely be back and highly recommend Skyscape for anyone looking to experience something special.
