Tours in Lake Tekapo

Many of our trips pass through the Lake Tekapo region and enjoy stunnig mountain and lake vistas. For those joining a tour passing through Lake Tekapo heres a taste of what you will be up to.

About the Lake Tekapo area:

Approximately 250-300 million years ago the Southern Alps and the area surrounding Lake Tekapo were part of a seafloor valley. Movement of two large plates of the earth's crust has seen the once horizontal seabed, hardened to rock and pushed upwards to form the land it is today.

The Maori are thought to have named the area Takapo after a small white berry that grows locally. The current name, Tekapo is possibly a corruption of Takapo. In 1855 James Mackenzie, a Scottish shepherd turned sheep stealer discovered the basin that now bears his name when he, with the help of his dog Friday, drove flocks of sheep inland to avoid being discovered. Authorities were finally able to capture Mackenzie, but struggled to take control of the sheep due to his highly intelligent dog. It is alledged Friday continued to drive the sheep without his master's control until finally being disabled by the authorities. A bronze memorial to working collie dogs, such as Friday, was commissioned in 1968 by local farmers and now stands on the shores of Lake Tekapo near the Church of the Good Shepherd (content from www.tekapotourism.co.nz).

Optional hikes for tours passing through Lake Tekapo:

Optional bike rides for tours passing through Lake Tekapo:

This is one of our favourite areas for bike rides and there is the chance to cycle to your hearts content from 17-50km. 

Tours that visit this area are:

Ultimate Explorer - 27/28 days

Grand Traverse - 15 days 

Summer Blast - 16/17 days

Southern Light - 9/10 days

stunning Lake Tekapo