Leaving Lyttelton via the “Great Alpine Highway”, you'll cross the flat farmland of the Canterbury Plains towards the mountains. Halfway across the plains, you will discover the small rural town of Darfield, where you will enjoy a short stop, allowing you to sample some of the local delicacies from the famous Darfield Bakery. Your next stop is Springfield, just 20 minutes down the road. Its giant doughnut statue is well worth a photo, and your guide will explain how the town ended up with this giant doughnut.

From Springfield, the road winds up over Porter's Pass at 900 meters before continuing to Lake Lyndon, where we will stop for morning tea. From here, it's only a 10-minute drive to Castle Hill/Kura Tawhiti. This area is an amazing labyrinth of giant limestone boulders in the Craigieburn Basin, surrounded by mountains. The area is rich with cultural and recreational significance and has a Tōpuni status of a “symbolic cloak of protection”. It is also known internationally as a world-class climbing, bouldering, photography, and film-making destination.

Your guide will show you around and explain the geography and cultural significance of the area before finding the perfect spot to sit down for a picnic lunch. Following lunch, you will have free time to explore the boulder fields before meeting back at the car park. From there, your return journey back to Lyttelton takes approximately 1.5-2 hours.