Leave the city limits and touch on the discoveries of Sir Ernest Lord Rutherford, one of New Zealand’s most famous men. Then, learn about the pioneering endeavors of the early road and railway developers at Kawatiri Junction.

Continue your scenic drive to Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park, which protects the northern section of the Southern Alps. During the Ice Age, massive glaciers gouged out basins in the mountainous headwaters of the Buller River to form a series of alpine lakes.

Take a gentle walk through beautiful beech forest, the perfect place to see conservation in action and the results of an intensive pest trapping and eradication program. Enjoy lunch on the lake edge, then take in the 360-degree views from Mt Robert.

Experience the vivid birdsong and the rejuvenated forest understory returning to its pre-human condition that has allowed the re-introduction of kiwi & kaka and improved the breeding conditions of robins, tomtits and the rifleman - New Zealand’s smallest bird, and many others.