If you're planning your trip across the South Island, chances are your social media feeds will be full of beautiful photos of travellers running around the lavender fields in Wanaka. I'm also assuming that you probably don't want to share this experience with 571 other people (the Wanaka lavender fields are impossibly beautiful but BUSY).

If you're travelling to Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand Alpine Lavender is the answer to all your dreams. This beautiful, certified organic lavender farm is only a five-minute drive from the State Highway 8 turnoff on the road to Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest mountain.

The lavender field is tucked away under the Ben Ohau mountain range, a place so beautiful it was used as a filming location for Lord of the Rings. NZ Alpine Lavender is the largest certified organic lavender farm in the Southern Hemisphere and a true labour of love.

Entry is just $5 NZD per person. The fields are open from 10 am to 4 pm from the 6th to 19th of December and the 16th of January to the 31st of March. They have extended hours from 9 am to 5 pm between the 20th December and the 17th January.