8 Day The Mainlander Southern Rail & Coach Tour

Experience the romance of the rail as you journey between Christchurch and Dunedin on the legendary Main South Line. This sweeping seven-hour voyage carries you across the patchwork tapestries of the Canterbury Plains before meeting the dramatic edge of the South Pacific. You’ll glide past the turquoise braided waters of the Rakaia River, hug the rugged cliffs of Timaru, and pass through the ornate limestone streetscapes of Oamaru. From the comfort of your window, watch the landscape shift from vast agricultural heartlands to the rolling coastal hills of Otago, culminating in a grand arrival at the world-renowned Dunedin Railway Station a masterpiece of Victorian architecture and the perfect gateway to your southern adventure.

Welcome Dinner and Tour Briefing will be held at the hotel restaurant in Dunedin at 6.30pm.

Step aboard The Mainlander for a quintessential southern rail odyssey that connects the historic charm of Dunedin to the vast horizons of Invercargill. Exclusively available on The Mainlander, this five-hour journey whisks you along the legendary Main South Line, trading the city’s Victorian architecture for the shimmering waters of Lake Waihola and the mighty Clutha River. As you relax in modern air-conditioned carriages, the landscape transforms from rolling Otago hills into the golden, productive heartland of Southland, pausing at iconic towns like Gore along the way. With an onboard café serving local treats and engaging commentary detailing the rich heritage of the rails, it is more than just a transit it is a nostalgic celebration of New Zealand’s breathtaking southern scenery.

A day trip from Invercargill to Stewart Island (Rakiura) is a popular way to experience New Zealand’s third-largest island, known for its pristine bird sanctuaries and rugged southern beauty.

The 30km journey across the Foveaux Strait is only a 20-minute flight and departs directly from Invercargill Airport. This is the fastest method and offers spectacular aerial views of the coastline.

Alternatively embark on a captivating full-day coach journey from Invercargill into the heart of the Caitlins, where the untamed Southern Scenic Route reveals a world of ancient forests and rugged coastlines. Your adventure begins with a drive through rolling Southland plains before reaching the wild Pacific edge, where you’ll visit the historic Waipapa Point Lighthouse and the windswept southern tip of New Zealand at Slope Point.

Departing Invercargill, we coach via Mandeville and visit the Croydon Aviation Heritage Centre, located at the Mandeville Airfield near Gore, which is a “nationally significant” museum dedicated to New Zealand’s civil aviation history. It is renowned for housing the largest collection of de Havilland aircraft in the Southern Hemisphere.

The drive from Mandeville to Te Anau is a transition from the nostalgic, golden plains of Southland into the towering, emerald embrace of Fiordland. Covering approximately 135 km, this journey takes roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes as it winds through heartland service towns and increasingly dramatic alpine landscapes and is one of the finest alpine drives in the world. The scenery is exceptional, ranging from broad grassy flats, dense rainforest and towering mountains through to glacial lakes and alpine herb fields.

A day tour to Doubtful Sound offers some of the most spectacular natural scenery to be viewed anywhere in the world. The journey from Te Anau to Doubtful Sound is a multi-stage adventure that begins with a scenic coach ride to the lakeside village of Manapouri and since the sound has no road access, you then board a catamaran for a one-hour cruise across Lake Manapouri to West Arm. From there where a second coach takes you over the dramatic Wilmot Pass, ascending 671 metres through dense rainforest for a breathtaking panoramic view of the fiord before descending into Deep Cove. Finally, you board your cruise vessel to explore the vast, pristine wilderness of the “Sound of Silence,” a remote and tranquil experience that often includes an abundance of wildlife. A one-day itinerary is enough to see all the beautiful views along the way and get back to Te Anau in time for dinner.

The adventure playground of Queenstown awaits! On the way, our journey calls in to visit the Takahe Bird Sanctuary. Takahe are the stars of the show and meeting these prehistoric-looking characters is a ‘must do’ for Fiordland visitors. The sanctuary is a large part of the success of the Takahe Recovery Programme.

Cap off a special day, as we arrive in Queenstown take in The Remarkables Mountain Range and the view of Lake Wakatipu from the hotel. Join a lake cruise, which takes us across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak High Country Farm for a gourmet dinner.

Departing Queenstown, we continue to Wanaka then Twizel by coach, via the spectacular Lindis Pass and onwards towards to the majestic Mackenzie District. Here, we find the home of the tallest mountain in New Zealand, which helped Sir Edmund Hillary to develop his climbing kills in preparation for the conquest of Mt Everest. Recognised as part of the Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage Area, the National Park is a breath-taking environment of glaciers, terminal lakes, turbulent rivers and Australasia’s tallest peak, the mighty Aoraki Mt Cook soaring above at 3,724 metres.

Overlooking Lake Pūkaki and Aoraki/Mount Cook we stop at Mt Cook Alpine Salmon to taste the highly acclaimed freshwater King Salmon and take in the famous panoramic views.

Surrounded by the silent splendor of the Southern Alps, we journey back to the coast via Tekapo, along the way taking in Pūkaki lookout (of Mount Cook), Tekapo historic church, then on to Geraldine and Rakaia on the way to Christchurch. On arrival in Christchurch, your journey concludes.