Begin your day meeting your friendly guide in the Queenstown Town Centre. Starting with a spectacular scenic drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy along the lake edge, with scenic photo spots and entertaining stories from your local guide about Lake Whakatipu and its legends.
As we travel along this incredible drive, we will stop and take in the amazing views from Bennett's Bluff. From here you can catch your first glimpse of Glenorchy and the Mount Aspiring National Park sitting beyond it.
Glenorchy township is home to approx. 400 permanent residents and the gateway to Paradise Valley and the Mt Aspiring National Park. Once we arrive in this quaint country town, you will have the chance to explore the picturesque lakefront including the iconic red boat shed.
From Glenorchy we join a dirt track, a one-way road into the National Park. The Glenorchy-Paradise Road travels past rich farmland, through native beech forests and across river beds. Not many live up in this direction, with its most famous residents being the mystical characters from LOTR and other movies, TV series, and commercials.
Your guide will show you famous filming sites, with even the chance to dress up as your favorite Middle Earth character for a fun photo opportunity. While exploring the area, In true Kiwi South Island hospitality, we will prepare a morning/afternoon tea at a picturesque location, complete with cheese rolls, ginger cake, L&P, and Whittaker's chocolate.
After Paradise we will return back through Glenorchy, where we will have a brief stop, before allowing you to sit back and relax and enjoy the sights then being dropped back in the Queenstown Town Centre.
Magnificent scenery along the way.Our guide,Mary,was excellent.She was very informative,helpful,easy to understand . The tea + cakes were delicious and we even received a small present.
Morning 4 1/2 hour trip with some picturesque stops. Good sense of the grandeur of the Queenstown lowlands, with some history and natural environment info given along the way by tour guide.
Pick up is centrally located and on time. Chase, our tour guide is entertaining and sharing especially Lord of the ring behind the scene stories . The area is beautiful. Definitely worth the effort to go
My only disappointment was we didn’t make it to the park due to crash on entrance to park which was beyond altitude tour’s responsibilities. But Shanay made sure we did have a good tour. It was nice and relaxing tour.
It was a great trip with Shanay she is lovely guide keeps everyone alive!
Shanay was a very informed and personable guide. 10 out of 10 recommend! 😃
Amazing experience! Our tour guide, Shanay, was really lovely and bright. Food was really good too! Highly recommend this tour 🥰
Excellent guide with great knowledge. Knew everyone’s name within the first few minutes. Loved the morning tea. Scenery was breathtaking. Could not recommend this tour more highly .
We had such a wonderful day touring Glenorchy and Paradise with Shanay! She was friendly, knowledgeable, and made the whole trip so enjoyable. She took us to some beautiful spots, shared interesting stories and information along the way, and made sure we were comfortable throughout the tour. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and having Shanay as our guide made the experience even more memorable. Highly recommend booking a tour with her if you’re visiting Glenorchy and Paradise!
Shanay was a great tour guide, with lots of info to give! Great day, amazing sights despite a bit of rain.
Excellent 1/2 day experience with Shanay to Glenorchy and Paradise! Beautiful drive along coastline, including a rainbow today! Loved the delicious picnic lunch esp that no single use plastic was used! Thank you, Marianne
What a wonderful tour!! Our guide, Shanay, had so much information, facts and stories to tell us which made the beautiful scenery we were seeing come alive even more. I’m so glad I selected this tour!!
Allegra made our trip really enjoyable and informative with her detailed knowledge of the area. Great scenery and a tasty morning tea
Amazing experience. Really loved the gift the ponsmu stone as a souvenir. Allegra was great, liked her sense of humour. Dropped off back in QT before time, I was worried about my flight back to Auckland.
Caleb was very nice, friendly and knowledgeable. It was a nice pleasant drive with beautiful sceneries.
We booked this experience just wanting to experience Glenorchy, see the braided rivers and (personally) see as many LOTR sites as possible. Booked at the last minute, but Shanay was awesome, telling us more than we expected and keeping it fresh and fun the whole way through. The photoshoot at the end with LOTR costumes was an excellent touch! All in all amazing and appreciated the time and parting gift. Thank you Shanay!
Amazing and stunning views. Great pace and well balanced of stops, time on bus and points of interest (arguably the whole way). Shayna is very friendly, funny and knowledgeable. She is the perfect tour guide we hoped for on our Glenorchy Scenic Tour.
We had an amazing trip! Shanay was the best tour guider ever 😊
This half-day tour was really worth it, and the guide was so friendly throughout the entire trip!
We had a great tour and an amazing guide, Shanya🤩 her stories were informative and fun🥳 scenery on the way to Glenorchy was stunning !
Great Tour! Caleb is a fantastic and funny guide, full of great stories and insights. Wonderful scenery, nice food.
Lovely day Loved Caleb our driver Incredible scenery Delicious food Comfortable van
Wonderful trip, our tour guide, Do, was fabulous! She was so knowledgeable and fun! Highly recommended!
Our tour guide talked non stop - telling stories plus his constant added humor. He kept u awake that’s for sure. Overall tour was nice easy view of the natural landscape of the area. For us it would mean much more if we were Lord of the rings fans and have seen other movies filmed in the area at one time. We stopped and he setup a little picnic for some hot drinks and pastries from a local cafe. It was all good and relaxing.
I like Shanay leading this tour. She is very well-rounded and has great sense of humor. I enjoyed the experience very much.
Second tour with Altitude in the past one year. It so happened that we got Shanay as our tour guide both times. Shanay is awesome , full of information facts and local myths.
We had the best time! Our guide Shana was the best and very knowledgeable and helpful! Morning Tea was yummmmm!! Thank you
Glenorchy was a half day trip that was very informative our guide Ana talked what she loved and told us many interesting facts along the way. She was pleasant and friendly and you could tell she loved what she was doing.
We did the Glenorchy and Paradise half day tour with Ana at Altitude Tours and she was perhaps the best guide we had in New Zealand. She set expectations about timing and pacing at the start and then held to them, so we always knew what we were getting at each stop and never felt rushed or stranded waiting around. She also filled the drive with things we would have gone straight past. She talked about conservation work in Queenstown and across New Zealand in a way that made the landscape make sense instead of just look nice. My wife is a serious Lord of the Rings fan and I am a much more casual one, and Ana pitched it so both of us got a lot out of it. Her descriptions of the filming locations were detailed enough that you could stand there and picture exactly what was shot and where. She added an unscheduled stop at a beautiful spot that turned out to be a filming location as well, and it was one of our favorite parts of the day. This was our second tour with Altitude Tours and they have been excellent both times. Highly recommend both Altitude and Ana.
It was a smooth and pleasant ride, with great tidbits of information and trivia by our guide Shanay. Even though the weather was slightly cold, her helpfulness, hospitality and warmth more than made up for it. It was also pleasant to see her explain the origins for the Maori names of the lakes and traditions, on top of the overall history of New Zealand. Adding a photo of a prop prepared by Shanay to add to the immersive atmosphere captured in Paradise and in the Lord of the Rings.
Shanny 超級棒! 分享很多有趣的故事🫶🫶🫶
We had such a wonderful time on the Glenorchy and Paradise tour with Altitude Tours. Hanna was an amazing guide. Hanna was wonderful, friendly and knowledgeable. She shared lots of interesting stories and information about Glenorchy and New Zealand, and you could really tell she loves what she does. The scenery was breathtaking, and the delicious morning tea was such a lovely touch. We really enjoyed every part of the tour and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to experience some of New Zealand’s beautiful scenery, especially if you’re short on time.
Shanay is hands down one of the best and friendliest guides I’ve ever encountered! She has this amazing ability to make everyone feel included, fostering a great group vibe from start to finish. No dull moment during the whole tour. Such an amazing experience being included on this tour on her watch.
Amazing Tour, Beautiful places, and Shanay our tour guide was exceptional, she is really friendly and explained all the stories about the places and New Zealand culture. Also speaks Portuguese and translate to one of us who didn’t speak English. Thank so much for that.
The scenery throughout the trip was absolutely breathtaking — the snow-capped mountain peaks created a stunning contrast with the deep blue waters of Lake Wakatipu. Ash, our tour guide and driver, was genuinely passionate and knowledgeable. He shared a wealth of interesting background information about Queenstown and Glenorchy that really enriched the experience. The morning tea included in the tour was also thoughtfully prepared and delicious.
Our guide Ana was good and very cheerful and it was a lovely trip out despite the weather being pretty rainy!
It was a wonderful experience. Ana our guide was great-friendly and informed and easy to talk to. She played a super collection of music on the radio for us, which matched the mood and the scenery. Would recommend to anyone who loves seeing and moving around in beautiful country side settings
Even though the weather wasn’t very forgiving at the start, Shanay still made the tour such a lovely experience. She’s so down-to-earth and knowledgeable. As a first-time tourist in New Zealand, her tour genuinely felt like I was exploring with a friend. I learnt more about NZ in those 4 hours than I ever could have on my own. Thank you Shanay!
I really enjoyed this tour. Our guide was super friendly, funny and attentive throughout the whole experience, which made the day even better. The scenery around Glenorchy and Paradise was absolutely stunning, with plenty of beautiful stops along the way. The refreshments were also very complete and delicious, which was a nice touch. Overall, it was a really enjoyable experience and a great way to discover this beautiful part of New Zealand. Definitely recommended!
Not regretting a bit. Bought the tour last minute, glad that I did because the tour was absolutely amazing! Shout out to Shanay, she’s so cute and I really like the commentary from her!
We had Shanay as our guide. We had a fabulous time and were given lovely stories of the areas we visited. Thankyou
Amazing thankyou so much for the trip our guide shanay was 5 star
Great way to learn about the local history while experiencing spectacular scenery.Caleb was full of Dad jokes to get us all interacting.
Overpriced for the content. Stopped in a field of flies that bit everyone and heaps in the cars. It authentic experience with a Canadian guide
Ana was an outstanding guide! She was professional, friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable throughout the tour. She shared fascinating stories, ensured everyone felt comfortable, and made every stop memorable. Her enthusiasm and excellent organization made this experience truly enjoyable. Highly recommend this tour, especially with Ana as your guide!
This scenic tour out to Glenorchy and Paradise was absolutely phenomenal. The pacing was flawless—every single stop was timed perfectly, allowing just the right amount of time to take in the breathtaking valleys and mountains without ever feeling rushed. As someone who relies entirely on guided tours rather than driving, having such seamless logistics made the experience entirely stress-free. Our guide, Shanay, was the absolute highlight of the trip. She went above and beyond in explaining the history, ecology, and facts about the natural landmarks we visited. Her deep knowledge and storytelling really brought the scenery to life, and I especially appreciated that her commentary focused on the fascinating reality of the region rather than just relying on standard Lord of the Rings movie trivia. We truly couldn't have wished for a better guide. Highly recommend!
It was a very very great expense!
Our guide was incredibly passionate, knowledgeable and thoughtful. We learned so many fun local stories and enjoyed the stunning lake‑side scenery. It was a wonderful day trip and we highly recommend this tour for couples visiting Queenstown.
Standing in Glenorchy felt like stepping back in time. For a moment, it genuinely felt as if I had wandered onto the set of The Lord of the Rings, with the iconic tower and breathtaking landscapes making it easy to imagine the filming happening right in front of me. Looking beyond Glenorchy, I could almost picture Tom Cruise racing through the mountains during the Mission: Impossible shoot. The place has an incredible cinematic atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re living inside the movies, not just visiting a filming location.
Very nice scenic tour. Covered all the advertised sites and had very informative commentary along the way by Shanay
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