TOUR PROSPECTUS This prospectus sets out the contents of the tour and together with the Booking Conditions and Booking Form is the basis of our contract with you. New Zealand 6 February - 1 March 2015 Tour 1470 New Zealand is probably the most scenically diverse country on the planet high snow covered mountains, steaming volcanic lakes, beautiful fjiords and tropical rain forests. Just 1,000 miles from north to south across two major islands, it is approximately the size of the UK but with a population of around of around 4,000,000 people. It is a fabulous country to tour by bike. This is largely a repeat of the CTC tour run in early 2014. Itinerary Fri 6 Feb Fly from London Heathrow to Singapore on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321, departing at 2205. Sat 7 Feb Sun 8 Feb Mon 9 Feb Tue 10 Feb Arrive at Singapore airport at 1845. Onward flight to Christchurch on Singapore Airlines flight SQ297, departing at 1945. Arrive in Christchurch at 1035. Transfer to accommodation. Stay two nights. Collect any hired bikes. Sightseeing in Christchurch and/or short local ride around Lyttleton Harbour. Free day for sightseeing and/or local rides. Transfer to Geraldine. Cycle south to Fairlie and over the Burke Pass (807m) to Lake Tekapo. 74km. Stay one night. Wed 11 Feb Cycle from Lake Tekapo, past Lake Pukaki and on R8 to Mount Cook Village. 103km. Stay one night. Optional excursion flights over the Mount Cook range. Thur 12 Feb Retrace along the lake to Twizel and cycle on to Omarama. 97km. Stay one night. Fri 13 Feb Sat 14 Feb Sun 15 Feb Mon 16 Feb Tue 17 Feb Cycle west, still on R8, to climb the Lindis Pass (1032m). Long descent to Tarris. Continue to Cromwell. 112km. Stay one night. Follow R6 to the Kawarau Suspension Bridge, a world-famous bungee jumping site. Continue to R6 and divert into the picturesque gold rush town of Arrowtown. Continue on past Coronet Peak and Arthur s Point into Queenstown. 70km. Stay three nights. Rest day, but many activities to join up with in the adventure capital of New Zealand, including the Shotover triple (jet boat, helicopter ride, jet boat in the Shotover Gorge) and the Lake Wakatipu steamer to Walter Peak Sheep Station. Optional excursion by coach and lake steamer to the Manapouri underground power station and the Doubtful Sound fjiord. A wonderful experience. Ride NE through Frankton to climb over the Crown Pass (1120m) and descend to Wanaka on Lake Wanaka. 72km. Stay one night. Wed 18 Feb Cycle north past Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka and continue along the Makarora Valley to Makarora. 64km. Stay one night. Thur 19 Feb Continue north along the Makarora River valley. Cycle over the Haast Pass (562m) and descend to the Haast River valley, following it west to the coast at Haast. 80km. Stay one night. Fri 20 Feb Sat 21 Feb Cycle north along the coast road passing by several lakes to Jacobs River. 87km. Stay one night. Cycle to Fox Glacier with the snow-covered Mount Cook mountain looming high at 4000m to the right. Detour to view the Fox Glacier. Continue over a hilly section of road to Franz Josef Glacier village. 60km. Stay two nights.
Sun 22 Feb Mon 23 Feb Tue 24 Feb Rest day. Many optional activities from the village, including Franz Josef Glacier hike, flights over and landing on Mount Cook snow fields and rafting. Continue north past Lakes Mapourika and Wahapo, famous for great crested grebes and white herons. Divert off into the village of Whataroa. Optional jet boat excursion to a white heron sanctuary with nesting herons. Continue over Mt Hercules, a tough 4.5km climb, and descend to Harihari. 64km. Stay one night. Take the coast road again to Ross, an old gold mining town with its own museum, then on again to the town of Hokitika, a famous greenstone (jade) craft town. Visit a glow worm dell north of the town in the evening. 78km. Stay one night. Wed 25 Feb Ride to the main road junction at Kumara Junction then head east along the Taramaau Valley through Jacksons and Otira. The road climbs steeply for several kms over one summit then again to the second summit at Arthur s Pass (980m). Descend to Arthur s Pass village. 104km. Stay one night. Thur 26 Feb Ride over several climbs to Porters Pass (937m) with tremendous views over the Canterbury Plains. Long descent to the town of Springfield. 86km. Transfer the remaining 68km into Christchurch. Stay two nights. Fri 27 Feb Sat 28 Feb Scenic local ride around Lyttelton Harbour. 40km. Return hired bikes. Local sightseeing. Optional visit to the International Antarctic Centre. Fly from Christchurch to Singapore on Singapore Airlines flight SQ298, departing at 1155 and arriving at 1745. Continue to London (Heathrow) on Singapore Airlines flight no. SQ322, departing at 2345 Sun 1 Mar Arrive London Heathrow at 0555 Back up support There will be back up on cycling days to carry luggage, ill persons and for emergencies. Accommodation and meals This will be mostly in motels and guest houses; the four nights in Christchurch are at the YMCA, with ensuite rooms for two people. All rooms are ensuite and are based on two people sharing. All breakfasts and evening meals are included. Every effort will be made to accommodate vegetarians in the meal arrangments if requested at the time of booking. Price 3250 (Land only 1820) The price is based on a minimum number of 12 participants taking part in the tour and is calculated at a rate of 1.89 NZ$ = 1 sterling (based on exchange rates published on ForexFX on 24 October 2013; please note Booking Conditions, clause 4). If there are insufficient bookings by 19 April 2014 we will contact you and return all monies paid, though in certain circumstances the tour may still run at below minimum numbers but at the same price. Price includes: - Return flights from London Heathrow to Christchurch (not land only) - Transport between airport and accommodation in Christchurch (not land only) - Transport from Christchurch to Geraldine and from Springfield to Christchurch - Excursion to Doubtful Sound - Back-up vehicle to carry luggage - 16 nights hotels / motels / guest houses, half board, sharing rooms - 4 nights YMCA accommodation, half board, sharing rooms - CTC Cycling Holidays costs Price does not include: - Meals in transit - Drinks with evening meals - Refreshments at morning and afternoon stops - Picnic lunches on 14 cycling days, provided from a kitty ( 50) - Optional activities and excursions in Queenstown and Franz Josef (budget approximately 100-200 for each) Passports, Visas and Health EU citizens must hold a valid passport. Visas are not required. There are no compulsory healthrelated requirements for UK residents, but you are strongly advised to check that you are up to date with all vaccinations. Travel Insurance Clause 8 of our Booking Conditions stipulates that, for tours outside the UK, Travel Insurance is mandatory. Details of the level of cover needed and other conditions you should check are stated on the Booking Conditions. You must complete the enclosed Insurance Declaraton Form and return it with your Booking Form. CTC Cycling Holidays & Tours Ltd can accept no responsibility for any costs that may be incurred due to insufficient insurance cover.
- Any other personal expenses - Travel Insurance - Single occupancy supplement ( 450, subject to availability) Travel If you book for the land only option on this tour, it is very important that you note that neither your leader nor CTC Holidays & Tours are responsible for you in any way until the appointed time at the designated meeting point. Should you fail to arrive at the appointed time for whatever reason, we will not be responsible for any additional expenses you may incur in order to meet up with the tour group. Before finalising travel arrangements to meet the tour, you should ensure that you have read and understood our booking conditions and that the leader is able to offer you a place on this tour. Should this tour not attract sufficient bookings to reach the minimum operating size, we may cancel the tour at any time up to 10 weeks before departure. It is therefore recommended that you book fully flexible and refundable transport and accommodation or wait until you have been informed that the tour is going ahead, as in the event of the tour being cancelled, we will not be responsible for any losses incurred. Payment schedule A deposit of 500 per person must accompany the Booking Form. Cheques should be made payable to CTC Tours, or complete the credit/debit card receipt in the booking pack. An interim payment of 1050 (land only 500) is due by 21 June 2014, and the final balance of 1700 per person (land only 820) is to be paid ten weeks prior to departure, by 28 November 2014. Cancellations Should you be forced to cancel your booking for any reason you must notify us in writing. Cancellation charges are as follows: Written notice received: Cancellation charge: Land only: Before 21 June 2014 Deposit ( 500) Deposit ( 500) 21 June 2014 to 27 November 2014 50% ( 1550) 60% ( 1000) 28 November 2014 through to departure 100% ( 3250) 100% ( 1820) To make a booking Complete, sign and return the Booking Form together with your deposit plus the relevant part of the Travel Insurance Declaration Form directly to the leader (address on Booking Form). CTC Cycling Holidays & Tours Ltd, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX
LEADER S INFORMATION SHEET The information below is given by the tour leader to help enquirers decide if the tour is suitable for them. The area covered by the tour New Zealand 6 February - 1 March 2015 Tour 1470 The tour takes place on South Island, commencing and finishing in Christchurch. From the town of Geraldine, the cycling route takes the group south and east through hilly countryside, with a deviation into the high mountains of the Southern Alps at Mount Cook. It eventually reaches Queenstown, the adventure capital of New Zealand, on the shore of beautiful Lake Wakitipu and surrounded by high mountains. From here, the route goes through spectacular mountain scenery to the west coast. The route then turns northward; it is often hilly and parallels the snow covered peaks of the Southern Alps before finally crossing them, returning to Queenstown. There are several passes to cross, the highest being Crown Pass near Queenstown and Arthur s Pass heading back to Christchurch, both just over 1000m. Rides and rest days There will be no obligation for participants to keep together in one large group whilst on the road. You will be free to ride at your own pace, with or without company, and to stop where you wish. On cycling days, the group will gather for picnic lunches, which will have been purchased in advance. The roads are excellent throughout, with the exception of the descent from the Crown Pass after Queenstown, which is gravel but it is perfectly rideable. Other than in Queenstown, traffic density will be very light throughout the tour. Do note that in New Zealand, traffic drives on the left. We will have a self-drive back-up truck that will be driven by group members on a half day rota basis. This will be used to carry our luggage and up to two members of the group needing time off the bike for any reason. Travel The group will meet at Heathrow approximately 3 hours before departure unless you are making your own travel arrangements. New Zealand is a very distant destination for a cycle tour and I want to give any potential participant in the tour the opportunity, if I can, to take advantage of variations in the basic holiday. Please make contact to discuss any of these. 1. If you wish to extend your trip but use the same air routeing, this may be possible to arrange. 2. If you want complete flexibility you can book a land only trip and arrange your own air travel. Land only tours start and finish in Christchurch. Please read the Travel section of the Prospectus carefully. Accommodation / Meals The accommodation will be mostly in hotels, motels and guest houses, all with en suite facilities. For the three nights in Christchurch, the group will stay in a very comfortable YMCA, also in ensuite rooms shared by two people. Where breakfast is not provided by our accommodation, provisions will be purchased to eat using one of the chalets/rooms. Where the accommodation doesn t provide an evening meal, the group will eat out at a local restaurant. I hope that the group will join in purchasing food for a picnic lunch prior to departure each day, which will be carried on the back up vehicle. This will be supplied from a kitty, which I will collect on tour. Snoring can adversely affect the person you share a room with and thus anyone booking on their own who snore is asked to declare this on the booking form in the box for medical conditions. Every effort will be made to find you a roommate, but booking a single room will assure you of getting a place on the tour. Anyone else booking as a single person who would not prefer to share a room with someone who does snore is asked to say so on the Booking Form as a special request, thus facilitating the process of matching up single bookings.
Group information The likely group size is around 16 people, including the leader, with a maximum of 20. Weather and clothing It should be comfortably warm during the period of the tour, with day time temperatures recording up to 25C, so riding in shorts and short sleeved tops will be most comfortable. It is likely that there will be some rain during our tour, particularly on the journey up the west coast, so come prepared with wet weather clothing. Because of the thin ozone layer of this part of the world, one can get sunburnt very quickly, so a sun hat and plenty of sun protection is recommended. I will supply a list of suggested clothing and cycle spares to take with the final information. Cycles / Equipment A touring cycle, hybrid or lightweight ATB would be suitable for this tour, but for the latter you are recommended to fit slick or semi-slick tyres. We will be travelling through mountains on parts of this tour with some long climbs, so a bottom gear of 26 inches or lower should be fitted. Cycles are available to hire in Christchurch, should you wish to save the hassle of taking your own. Details will be sent later in the year. Since we will have a vehicle to carry luggage, you will be able to travel with only what you might need for the day. An under-saddle pouch or small rack pack should easily carry an inner tube, tyre levers and a rain jacket, with perhaps a bar bag to carry your camera and valuable items. Any bike boxes or other packing material can be left at the YMCA in Christchurch until our return. Please note that the use of cycle helmets is compulsory in New Zealand. Maps and Guides The route is extremely easy to follow and you may not wish to purchase maps. If you do, New Zealand Topographical Maps can be useful - 1:500,000, Numbers 3 and 4, at 9.50 each. One guide of several available is New Zealand - Lonely Planet - 16.99. Approximately four weeks before departure I will send final information on the tour together with a suggested clothing and spares list. I will also include an A5 itinerary folder with complete details of the route, points of interest, possible excursions and details of the accommodation for each day. Travel Insurance and Advice Make sure you have read Clause 8 in the Booking Conditions. Before booking you should check the Travel Advice by Country at www.fco.gov.uk or on 0845 850 2829. About the leader I have been organising and leading CTC tours for a great many years and have travelled with groups in 47 countries worldwide. I have taken several groups to New Zealand, the most recent being in 2000 to South Island. However, I will be leading another tour there in early 2014, and this one is a repeat of that, taking in all that is best scenically in this breathtaking country. I am very much looking forward to travelling there again, and I hope that you will join me. If you would like to discuss arrangements or have any queries regarding this tour, please make contact. Peter Crofts 30 Henlow Rise, Radbrook Green, Shrewsbury SY3 6BL Tel 01743 248924 petanita@onetel.com