After breakfast the next day at Fiordland Lodge, a beguiling surge of adrenalin was hard to avoid as a helicopter swooped down and landed on the lawn in front of the hotel. Twenty minutes later, we found ourselves gazing silently down on the mountains and valleys of Fiordland on the Kepler Track. As a veteran of four of the nine Great Walks, the Kepler in my view has to be one of the best. 

We crossed wide-open spaces with blockbuster views and sections of dense rainforest that felt like Jurassic Park – without the dinosaurs. In the latter we were greeted by gnarled mountain beeches covered in mosses, and huge koru spiral tree ferns – a Maori symbol of peace and new life.

Our finale was an overnight boat cruise through Doubtful Sound, which included a sublime two-minute silence with all the guests on deck. The birdsong I had hardly noticed a few minutes before built to a crescendo as a passing flock of shearwaters played tag among the rags of low-lying mist. My senses became so heightened that the reflections in the water felt almost as real as the world above.

Many of our fellow guests told us it was the highlight of the whole experience. And that’s with stiff competition from a gentle evening kayak under Doubtful’s cliffs while watching pods of bottlenose dolphins at close quarters. It was followed by a sublime, candlelit dinner and a sleep that felt way deeper than the 1,500ft of water beneath our heads. After all, who needs adrenaline when you have found mindfulness?

Essentials

A seven-day, tailor-made journey on the South Island with Red Savannah (01242 787800; redsavannah.com) costs from £4,270pp. The price includes three nights at Fiordland Lodge, two nights at the Lindis, a guided Kepler Track day walk and heli-hike, a visit to the Glowworms Caves at Te Anau, an overnight cruise on Doubtful Sound, most meals and Group J car rental. Excludes flights

Air New Zealand (0800 028 4149; airnewzealand.co.uk) flies to Auckland from London via Singapore from £1,113 return

Covid rules 

Fully vaccinated adults and children under 17 will be able to visit from 23:59 on May 1 without needing to isolate on arrival. 

However, they will be required to take three Covid tests: one before departure (PCR, LAMP or rapid antigen), another rapid antigen test on arrival, and a third on day five or six