Canterbury Springtime Gardens & Hanmer Springs Fete

7-day small group garden tour

On this springtime New Zealand garden tour the blooms are at their very best. You'll enjoy private farmhouse lunches with country hospitality from the Hurunui to the Banks Peninsula. Among the numerous highlights are lunches at Flaxmere Farm, Akaunui Farmhouse Fishermans Bay and the gardens at Giant’s House and Ohinetahi.

All 2024 2025
Fly to Queenstown - Gibbston Valley - Queenstown

On arrival in Queenstown, we drive to Annabel and Bruce Russell’s garden in the Gibbston Valley where the first commercial vineyard was planted in the 1980s.

In Queenstown check out the shops or take a wander in the Botanic Gardens adjacent to our hotel, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside where we stay two nights.

Lunch in the stunning Gibbston Valley
Wander the lakeside Botanic Gardens in Queenstown
Queenstown - Novotel Lakeside
Day 2
Queenstown - Stoneridge Estate - Arrowtown

We visit Stoneridge Estate garden above Lake Hayes then meet Penny and David Wallace in their cottage garden nearby. In Arrowtown, we stroll the main street and visit the historic Chinese gold miners' settlement along the riverbank. 

In the afternoon we drive beside Lake Wakatipu towards Glenorchy to a special wilderness garden, A Wild Dream, created by Thomas and Christy Schneider over three decades. We dine in our hotel this evening.

Stoneridge Garden above Lake Hayes
A Wild Dream Garden near Glenorchy
Queenstown - Novotel Lakeside
Day 3
Queenstown - Cromwell - Clyde - Ophir - St Bathans - Ranfurly

We meet Jo Wakelin for morning tea in her renowned dry garden at Mount Pisa where carefully selected plants from all over the world thrive without water. We drive into Clyde’s historic main street, once claimed to be the most populous town in New Zealand during the height of gold fever, and then on to the historic settlement of Ophir for lunch at Pitches Store.

Out in the big skies of the Maniototo Plain, we visit Rayleen McNally’s garden at Poolburn, a treasure trove surrounding an original stone farm homestead. We meet Bob L de Berry at his Cambrian Common Forest and stop for refreshments at the Vulcan Hotel in St Bathans. Hawkdun Lodge in Ranfurly is our home for two nights.

Over morning tea with Jo Wakelin find out all about dry gardening
Visit Rayleen McNally’s garden of treasures in Poolburn on the Maniototo
Ranfurly - Hawkdun Lodge
Day 4
Ranfurly - Naseby - Clachanburn Station, Patearoa - Ranfurly

We call into the Art Deco Gallery in Ranfurly, visit Naseby, and then meet David and Carolyn Steele at their sculpture garden.

Out across the Maniototo Plain we lunch with Jane Falconer and stroll through the beautiful garden she has created on a deer farm, Clachanburn Station, in Patearoa. Jane’s rambling country garden is set around a pond with wide views out to the ranges.

Returning to Ranfurly, we dine in at Hawkdun Lodge.

Visit Naseby then David and Carolyn Steele’s lovely sculpture garden
Enjoy a private lunch at Clachanburn Garden with Jane Falconer
Ranfurly - Hawkdun Lodge
Day 5
Ranfurly - Oamaru Victorian Fete - Riverstone Castle

In Oamaru, the Fete is in full swing celebrating the town’s Victorian heritage amid streets of Oamaru stone buildings – live music, dance, street theatre and penny farthings.  

Just north of Oamaru, we take a guided tour of Dot’s famous creation, Riverstone Castle. We stay two nights at Mariner Suites on the waterfront and dine out both evenings.

The Victorian Fete celebrates Oamaru’s heritage
Tour Dot Smith’s Riverstone Castle
Oamaru - Mariner Suites
Day 6
Oamaru - Totara Estate - Burnside Homestead - Brookfield House

This morning we drive out of town to the Historic Places Trust Totara Estate for a step back in time. Totara is where lamb was first frozen and shipped to Britain in 1882. Hear the stories while you sit on hay bales as the billy tea brews.

We lunch with Marcus and Cathy Holgate at the distinctive Burnside Homestead set among parklands. We visit JJ Rendell’s painstakingly restored Brookfield Park Gardens, a unique historic treasure and a 5 5-star garden of National Significance.

Lunch with Marcus and Cathy Holgate at Burnside Homestead
Meet JJ Rendell at Brookfield Park Gardens
Oamaru - Mariner Suites

Day 7
Oamaru - Rangitata - Christchurch - Return flight

This morning we meet Jackie, an artist, and Greg Bird who specialises in bonsai, in their Oamaru cottage garden.

Heading north we call into Geraldine to check out the artisan shops and lunch with Boo and Hamish Woodhouse in their Rangitata garden. We continue across the Plains to Christchurch Airport for our return flight.

Meet Jackie and Greg Bird in their Oamaru cottage garden
Lunch with the Woodhouses in their Rangitata garden

Discover New Zealand's wonderful gardens on one of our small group tours, from renowned gardens of national significance to some hidden gems you'll never forget. You don't have to be a gardener to appreciate a beautiful garden and the wonderful hospitality of our friends, the gardeners.   

Some of the gardens we visit have varied levels and are large. You will enjoy our tours if you have good health and mobility. It’s important for Health & Safety reasons that you can use the steps to get on and off our coach with minimal or no assistance. All our tours require a certain amount of walking and you need to be comfortable walking on uneven ground. We strongly recommend bringing a walking stick or a hiking-style walking pole for extra stability and to help prevent tripping.