The 10 Best Things to do Good for Kids in Mackenzie District, South Island

October 27, 2021 Layne Dawes

Discover the best top things to do in Mackenzie District, New Zealand including Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters by Inflite, Air Safaris, Tekapo Jet, Hooker Valley Track, Mackenzie Alpine Horse Trekking, Aoraki/Mt. Cook, Gem Alpaca Stud, Heliworks Mount Cook, Lakeland Explorer, Tekapo Adventures.
Restaurants in Mackenzie District

1. Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters by Inflite

Excellent
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5.0 based on 366 reviews

Mount Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters by Inflite

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

Excellent
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5.0 based on 329 reviews

Air Safaris

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. Tekapo Jet

Excellent
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5.0 based on 33 reviews

Tekapo Jet

Without question, Tekapo Jet is the most spectacular way to view the captivating beauty of Lake Tekapo. Your magical journey with us starts from Pines Beach on the southern shores of the lake. From there, you will head up the lake and around Motuariki Island. You will be treated to gorgeous views of ancient glacial valleys and remote high country sheep stations in the distance.

4. Hooker Valley Track

Hooker Valley Road, Aoraki Mount Cook National Park (Te Wahipounamu) New Zealand +64 3-435 1186 [email protected]
Excellent
83%
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5.0 based on 1,041 reviews

Hooker Valley Track

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

Lake Tekapo New Zealand +64 21 134 1105 [email protected] http://www.maht.co.nz
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5.0 based on 148 reviews

Mackenzie Alpine Horse Trekking

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

Mt. Cook Road, Mt. Cook Village, Aoraki Mount Cook National Park (Te Wahipounamu) New Zealand +64 3-435 1186 http://www.doc.govt.nz
Excellent
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5.0 based on 532 reviews

Aoraki/Mt. Cook

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

18 Nixons Road Rd17, Fairlie 7987 New Zealand +64 3-685 8689 [email protected] http://www.gemalpacas.nz
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5.0 based on 144 reviews

Gem Alpaca Stud

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. Heliworks Mount Cook

Excellent
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5.0 based on 58 reviews

Heliworks Mount Cook

Based at Aoraki/Mt Cook airport Heliworks Mt Cook offer spectacular scenic flights throughout the Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. Heliworks Mt Cook is privileged to be able to land at a number of locations on the Tasman glacier and throughout the National Park. Every scenic flight includes a landing on the Tasman Glacier. Join us on a trip of a lifetime! All of our flights are designed to provide the best experience. We go further to really show you around this stunning region. We take pride in delivering a quality product, safe procedures and personalised service.

9. Lakeland Explorer

Excellent
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5.0 based on 30 reviews

Lakeland Explorer

Come and enjoy our amazing outdoors of The Mackenzie Region. Cycling, Scenic Tours, Stargazing. BIKE HIRE with maps for exploring. Available at TWIZEL Information Centre and Mackenzie Country Hotel Twizel. CYCLE TRIPS with spectacular scenery on The Alps2Ocean Cycle Trail. A2O DAY-TRIPPER LAKE PUKAKI A2O DAY-TRIPPER LAKE OHAU Includes equipment, transport to best locations and our back up support. A2O WEEKENDER, A2O LONG WEEKENDER A2O WEEK AWAY Multi-day trips Includes accommodation, meals, equipment, transport, luggage transfer, our back up support. SCENIC TOURS - 2 hrs, 1/2 day, full day Customised to suit you. Attractions and activities TWIZEL, Mackenzie and Aoraki-Mt Cook. STARGAZING - Night Sky Tour Twizel A unique and amazing experience near Twizel. One of the few best places in the world to view the stars.

10. Tekapo Adventures

Excellent
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5.0 based on 62 reviews

Tekapo Adventures

Escape the crowds, Tekapo Adventures offers Scenic 4WD Tours through some of New Zealand's most impressive High Country Wilderness surrounding Lake Tekapo and The Mackenzie Country. Our breathtaking tours offer guests the opportunity to experience The Outstanding Natural Landscapes of The Mackenzie Basin, an impressive region in the South Island of New Zealand. Private access to some of NZ's most impressive High Country Stations, offers beautiful natural scenery of towering glaciated mountains, pristine rivers and views across the southern alps and remote tussock grasslands of the unique Mackenzie Basin, which is the largest intermontane basin in New Zealand. Our memorable tours educate guests on the unique ecology and Outstanding Natural Landscapes that are found within this magical part of NZ, as you travel in style in our comfortable Land Rover Defenders. Tour range from 1.5 hours to 3 hours- full day excursions. Private charter is also available.

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