Isolation has created a unique assemblage of textured cushions, pillows, domes or enveloping mats in the stunning alpine uplands of the worlds’ most remote major island group. Among them grow architectural celmisias and the pure white goblets of Mount Cook daisy. This tour aims to reach prime cushion plant habitat in the South Island, amidst spellbinding alpine landscapes to witness these amazing plants first hand.
Day 1 Arrive in Christchurch (6 January)
Upon arrival we will transfer to the pleasant thermal spa resort town of Hamner Springs
Day 2 Lake Tennyson
An easy day to start our tour begins with a look at the lovely mauve-blue Thelymitra cyanea. These grow with stands of the handsome Celmisia semicordata, perhaps the showiest of all species in this genus. More of the latter will be seen around Lake Tennyson where we’ll also search for the diminutive and pretty Utricularia dichotoma, which grows alongside the little daisy Celmisia gracilenta and abundant Drosera arcturi. big cushions of Haastia pulvinaris can be seen on the higher slopes, but these will be much easier to reach tomorrow.rocky ridges have the irregular-leaved Lobelia roughii and cushions of Raoulia bryoides, whilst screes nearby have pale yellow Myosotis traversii and lilac Wahlenbergia cartilagena. Overnight Hamner Springs.
Day 3 Mount Lyford
A superb high mountain experience beckons today with an abundance of easily reached and huge Haastia pulvinaris cushions. These grow with Celmisia incana, Haastia sinclairii and Stellaria roughii. If we are lucky there may still be a few penwipers Notothlaspi rosularis in flower. For those with more energy there are mixed populations of this and large Raoulia bryoides cushions higher up too. Searching the rocky slopes there will be Wahlenbergia albomarginata and Raoulia apicinigra, whilst grassier areas have many Celmisia spectabilis. Other rocky outcrops combine Helichrysum coralloides with Raoulia bryoides. Overnight Hanmer Springs.
Day 4 Mount Hutt
Driving south to Methven we can easily access the heights of Mount Hutt, another excellent alpine area with accessible vegetable sheep. This time we will see large cushions of Raoulia eximia and more modest mats of R. mammillaris, loose domes of Haastia recurva and the extraordinary leaves and seedheads of Ranunculus haastii. Wet flushes have Dolichoglottis scorzoneroides, Celmisia angustifolia and Aciphylla montana, one of the more delicate of these fierce plants. Damps banks will have Ourisia caespitosa and Euphrasia petriei, whilst those with a head for heights and good balance can try for the golden-bronze bells of Myosotis macrantha, one of the loveliest species in the genus. Overnight Methven.
Day 5 Arthur’s Pass
The forest clad Southern Alps rise sharply from the Canterbury Plain and we’ll spend the day walking in a lovely area, rich in textured plants Standout species include Celmisia semicordata and C. armstrongii, the feisty and architectural Aciphylla ferox, Phormium cookianum and some fine landscapes. Higher up are streamsides with Veronica linifolia. The forest edges along our route have the beautiful native shrub Hoheria glabrata, Hebe elliptica and the bizarre Pseudopanax crassifolia, whose juvenile leaves are long a thorny. Overnight Methven.
Day 6 Mount Cook
Today is a transit day to reach the central alps. However, hopefully Mount Cook will be visible and we will have a short visit to this area when fine stands of Aciphylla grow. However, this area is very popular with tourists so expect crowds. we will also stop at the scenic Lindis Pass area swathed in golden tussock grasses. Overnight Cromwell.
Day 7 Old Man Range
Mackenzie country has some superb landscapes and we’ll spend the day on the Old Man Range where peculiar rock towers punctuate the upland tundra. Neat buns of Myosotis pulvinaris might still be flowering and there will be Bulbinella gibbsii and Celmisias. Overnight Cromwell.
Day 8 Mount Pisa
Another wonderfully bleak plateau to explore today. To reach the best areas we’ll (weather permitting) take a helicopter to the upper ridge and then spend the rest of the day walking down. the tundra here is a mosaic of cushion plants with Anisotome imbricata, Dracophyllum colensoi, Hectorella caespitosa and Veronica thomsonii. Hopefully the many Gentianella divisa will have begun flowering too. Big mats of Celmisia viscosa are common, as are clumps of C. lyallii, whilst C. ramulosa forms domes on rocks and the attractive C. prorepens is a rarer treat. Wet flushes will have lots of Ourisia glandulosa. Lower down we can also expect to find the soft yellow of Craspidea incana. Overnight Cromwell.
Day 9 To Te Anau - Fjordland
In the morning there will be a pleasant walk in the old gold mining country where alongside the relicts of this period there are impressive populations of Raoulia australis that smother slopes. They have earned the rather unattractive local name of scabweed. The rest of the day will spent travelling south, stopping for lakeside views and tracts of red tussock before we reach Te Anau, our gateway to the spectacular landscapes of Fjordland. Overnight Te Anau.
Please note Fjordland has fickle weather, even by New Zealand standards and the sequence of and ability to reach all the areas mentioned below will depend on this.
Day 10 Gertrude Saddle and Milford Sound
We pass through impressive glacial landscapes, with lower slopes swathed in dense Nothofagus forests, that give way to sheer unrelenting granite cliffs. A fairly flat (but uneven) route takes us to the base of one such area, where depending on the season we hope to find Celmisia verbascifolia, Craspidea uniflora, orange-yellow Bulbinella gibbsii and the last flowers of Ranunculus lyallii. For those prepared to climb up there is the chance of the lovely R. buchananii and R. sericophyllus too. The granite rock sheets below the saddle have the attractive Aciphylla congesta, more Celmisia species and at the saddle itself fine spreading cushions of Raoulia buchananii. The views down onto Milford Sound are sublime. Depending on the weather and time we will continue down to the renowned Milford Sound. Overnight Te Anau.
Day 11 Key Summit
An straightforward path leads through a gorgeous tract of moss-clad southern beech forest brimming with lush ferns. Along the way are colonies of Pterostylis orchids and as we climb above the treeline the pretty blue flowers of Thelymitra cyanea might be open if its sunny. Our route takes us up onto a delightful area of bogs and heaths with many new plants from Astelia nivicola to Gentianella corymbifera, the tiny Prasophyllum colensoi and big clumps of Celmisia petriei, all nestled beneath dwarfed trees wrapped in thick red mosses. The landscape in all directions is stunning. Overnight Te Anau.
Day 12 Mount Burns
Another magnificent landscape area and one which also has some superb plants. Celmisia holoserica grows along the roadside and climbing up through a Tolkienesque tract of lichen-encrusted forest we enter tussock country with many Celmisia coriacea and C. lyallii. pretty tarns are sprinkled throughout the golden grass landscape, some edged with abundant Drosera arcturi. Pushing on higher, those with the legs can traverse a fine area of tussock with occasional bogs with the handsome chestnut-and-cream Aciphylla pinnatifida, which ultimately leads to three alpine lake. Celmisia viscosa is common throughout. around the uppermost lake we hope find a good population of the lovely Ranunculus buchananii, growing in meltwater streams perhaps with the odd hybrid between R. lyallii. The Fjordland landscapes are perhaps the finest we will see. Overnight Te Anau.
Day 13 Fjordland
Given the notoriously unpredictable weather in parts of Fjordland this extra day is included to mitigate against this. If we are washed out one day then we can make up for it on this day. If everything goes to plan we'll spend more time exploring additional sites. Overnight Te Anau.
Day 14 To Queenstown for onward flights (19 January)
