The Road to Mesopotamia
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Port
Timaru, New Zealand
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Activity Level
Moderate
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Excursion Type
All
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Wheelchair Accessible
No
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Starting At
$289.95
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Minimum Age
Information Not Currently Available
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Duration
Approximately 8 Hours
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Meals Included
Meals included
Escape from civilization on this journey up the glacially-carved Rangitata Valley to visit the historic Mesopotamia Station in the heart of New Zealand's Southern Alps.
Visit the Peel Forest Park with its ancient podocarp forest. Take a short forest walk to a thousand-year-old totara tree. Enjoy the birdsong of the native bellbird and perhaps an encounter with a fantail or native keruru (wood pigeon).
Pass the historic Mt Peel Station, watching for wild game and trophy animals in the paddocks on the way to Mesopotamia Station (farm). You'll also visit the Mesopotamia School and photograph the upper reaches of the Rangitata River Valley, with its stunning panorama of glaciers and snowfields. You'll see why this landscape was chosen as the site for Edoras and Helms Deep in the Lord of the Rings movies.
Pause in the vibrant country town of Geraldine, well known for its cafés, art, and the Giant Jersey. Puzzled? All the answers await you! Enjoy a home-style light lunch here, and a local shearer offers a sheep-shearing and sheepdog demonstration on his farm.
Travel back across the Canterbury Plains to Timaru.
Notes:
Total distance travelled by coach is approximately 230 km (140 miles). Estimated time on the coach is about 3.75 hours. Some of the drive is on unsealed country roads. There is plenty of time for enjoying the locations, the forest walk, shopping, and restroom stops. Tour sequence may vary. Minimum age is 10 years.