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Feedback From Some of Our Travellers
We love planning fantastic holidays for visitors to New Zealand. We also really appreciate receiving feedback about how the holiday arrangements went, what were the highlights and lowlights (if any!). If you have travelled with us and would like us to post your comments here, please email us on manager@southpacifictravellers.co.nz. We would greatly appreciate your time to share your experiences with us. If you don't want your comments published on the web site, just let us know If you're planning to visit New Zealand, then you will enjoy reading these letters from previous South Pacific Travellers' World travellers.
I have returned from my trip and just wanted to thank everyone for their help. It was a wonderful time. Everything went very smoothly. New Zealand was one of the most beautiful, scenic countries I have ever seen. The only drawback was that it was cold but I expected that and was prepared. Thank you again for a wonderful time.
Many thanks for all your help, both before and during our holiday in New Zealand. How was our holiday? It was absolutely fabulous. Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed meeting up with our intrepid, travelling daughter. By the time we caught up with her, she had been in the country for a few days and had already been ski-diving at Taupo! She continued along the same vein, with dolphin and whale watching, horse riding and glacier climbing. The two "oldies" were not nearly so adventurous. However, we had a truly wonderful time. The KiwiComboPass worked extremely well, with two great cars and super motels. There was only one motel that we would not revisit and many where we wished we could have spent longer staying at. The vast majority of the motel hosts were extremely helpful, with assistance ranging from information about the activities and sights in the area, putting our laundry in their machines, giving us books left behind by other holidaymakers, helping carry our suitcases up stairs and even, occasionally, providing a friendly cat to stroke (extremely valuable for a family of cat-lovers missing the moggies left at home!) For me, there were many wonderful highlights, and it is difficult to pick out just a few. In the North Island - the scenery and dolphin-watching trip in the Bay of Islands, the Sound and Light production at Waitangi, the amazing geysers at Rotorua, the entertaining evening at the Tamaki Maori village and having our head in the clouds at the Skyline Tower in Auckland. In the South Island it was equally amazing - fur seals lounging in the car park at Kaikoura, the views from the twisty winding road on the Otago peninsula, the fantastic sea smashing waves against the beaches, and the sunset on the beach at Hokitika, As for the mountains - my real, all-time favourites. Living close to a city, working in a built-up area and travelling to work on very busy motorways, I really appreciate finding out-of-the way places with few people and total peace and quiet. Lake Tekapo and the high country, and the southern coastal route felt like that, but I think one of the major highlights was definitely the trip to Doubtful Sound. I am so glad that I took your advice and experienced that trip. All three of us felt that It was truly awesome and fabulous day's experience. We really enjoyed the entire trip, whether in the mountains or on the coast, in the countryside or in the towns and cities. Although we had a few days of rain and cloud, the weather progressively improved until we experienced sunshine and totally blue skies, which was much better than we had expected for May My only complaint is that we never got to see the penguins! We arrived too early at Oamaru, too late at the Otago Peninsula and, although we were exactly on time at the little beach close to Nugget Point (can't remember the name), they didn't show up during the hour we waited and, unfortunately, we had to continue on our journey along the South Coast. I think I can say that New Zealand more than met my expectations. It is not so much a country that you visit, but one that you fall in love with. I felt very sad to leave. As New Zealand is so far from home, it is unlikely that we will visit again, but, "never say never" is a phrase that comes to mind! You are very welcome to use quotes from the above. Best regards
It was so nice of you to come join us for lunch. We appreciated your time and company. I hope we didn't discourage you from meeting other Americans in the future. They are not all as bad as us. As far as the rest of the trip, it went without a hitch. The weather cooperated. We had the blue skies lead our way for the entire week. When we left Christchurch we travelled south to Dunedin but not before stopping to see about 28 little penquins exit the Pacific ocean, walk up the embankment to their homes which were made in the ground approxiamately 2 soccer fields from the water. It made my trip complete. I had to see the penquins in their natural habitat. Dunedin is an awesome city. I was very impressed. It reminded me of a college town near to where I live with the two exceptions. The 1st difference is, Dunedin is built on beautiful rolling hills and the second is that it is over looking the Pacific Ocean. We were fortunate to travel out the peninsula from town enjoying the views along the way. Upon reaching the end of the peninsula we were captivated with the sight of an albatross winging its way along the rocky coastline. Very cool. The side trips to Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound were fantastic. I will have to see if I can attach a letter that was written by one of the girls Scott, Teri and Rusty had met on the kayaking trip. As far as Cheryl and my trip to Milford Sound it couldn't have been better. The ride was awe inspiring around every turn it just got better and better. Our camper/van helped to make the moments even more memorable. We were able to park in a couple of areas and indulge in some wine, cheese and crackers, exploiting the views without getting bit by the sand flies. The sand flies were only prevelent along the beaches. We stopped along a raging riverbed, sat on the rocks that adourned the sides, looked to the green mountainscapes rising up from the white crest of river, to the snow capped peaks of larger mountains in the background, all while sipping on a glass of some of New Zealands best. It really doesn't get better than this! This is what life is all about! Nature at its best. The cruise kept pace with everything else we had experienced so far along the way. It was very relaxing. The views from the ship gave us a different perspective from which to see this beautiful countryside. We met up with another couple and together enjoyed dinner and an evening under the stars. We saw the Southern Cross for the first time. I would highly recommend the overnight cruise. We left the Fiords and headed to Queenstown. What a town! Cheryl liked it the best. I don't think a minute past that she didn't click off another photo. Your choice on accomodations was perfect. I would also recommend the St. James Apartments to anyone. Very clean and nice. Great location. We saw all we could of Queenstown. I don't think we stopped walking all the time we were there other than the ride up the gondola. The views from the top of the mountain will remain in my mind hopefully for a long time to come. The sight of the Remarkables reaching toward the blue skies in the background with the old, well preserved, TSS Earnslaw cutting through the crystal clear waters of Lake Wakatipu creating a light ripple in the water where you could still catch the reflection of the green, blue, yellow, red and white sails floating down from the mountaintop on the backs of the paragliders. This I don't want to forget! We departed Queenstown and headed toward Lake Wanaka stopping along the way at Arrowtown, A.J. Hackett's infamous bridge, a lite lunch at a local winery (Gibbston Valley) and then to I believe the oldest hotel and bar in NZ, the Cardrona, where we endulged in a native brew. After dinner in Wanaka we endulged in a movie at Cinema Paradiso. This was a most unusual cinema. Definetly worth a look if you are in town for the evening. We spent the last day and half before returning to Christchurch, viewing and walking the countryside with the Glaciers in sight for most of that time. Like everything before it, they were also inspiring. Kind of scary to think and see how far they have receded over the past years. One can only hope that this trend reverses itself and that they can be saved from extinction. I believe we are on the right track for that to happen. I know I may have forgotten a few things regarding the South Island but I tried to let you know how much we enjoyed it. Thank you again for your assistance and I hope you enjoyed your Easter. Let Madellan know I figured out how the Easter Bunny is able to get all around the world passing out his goodies on early Easter morning. It only took a trip to New Zealand to figure it out. He has 2 days to do it. It is still Saturday here while you are celebrating your Easter today. Take care. Jim, Cheryl, Scott, Teri and Rusty
Cannot adequately put into words the most enjoyable and exhilarating South Island 'Round Robin' you organised and arranged on our behalf, during the limited time at our disposal. Should you have a need for a positive recommendation from anyone - 'refer them to us'. Regards and grateful thanks Bubbly and Harry
Dear Deb and Toshi My apologise for not responding sooner. Wanted to let you know how things went before now. In a nutshell, it was the best holiday that Nina and I have ever had, in terms of all the things you look for when you have a vacation: (i) Planning We loved NZ, and we like many before, and probably many after, have been beguiled into wanting to eventually buy a property. However, this dream will have to wait until I succeed in my new business venture. Wonderful memories of a truly "big" country in the sense of space but also the people we met who were so helpful and kind with a great sense of humour. Well as you see we thoroughly loved the experience and as soon as we can will be back. Will contact you guys when we are planning the next trip and have no hesitation in recommending : South Pacific Travellers' World Thanks again for making our first trip to NZ such a winner. Best personal regards P & N PS: We took some 3000 photos....yes 3000!!! ..... so if the tourist board needs any help just come to us.
Dear Amanda Sorry for not communicating with you earlier, but you know what it is like when you have been away for a full month and come back to face a million items to handle. First of all, we thank you for arranging a wonderful trip for us. We came back with a sincere appreciation for NZ and have many memories to keep us warm on winter nights. We fell in love with the South Island and would like to get back there someday. Our cruise was delightful, our friends in Christchurch were most hospitable, and our family in Australia treated us like royalty. All in all, it was a memorable month in our lives. Once again, we express our appreciation to you for your involvement. We would be happy to recommend your service to anyone who is interested in arranging a visit to that beautiful part of the world Hope to hear from you! Y & P
Dear Amanda, Thank you so much for your e-mail. Forgive us we should have sent you an e-mail earlier to thank you for such a fantastically arranged trip. The accommodation you offered was superb, everything went very smoothly - I do not think we had one criticism of anywhere that we stayed. Whilst we covered a terrific distance in a relatively short period of time we really enjoyed New Zealand and managed to fit a lot in including a sky dive, white water and black water rafting, swimming with dolphins, bungy jumping, canyon swinging, whale watching, jet boat riding and covering ourselves with volcanic mud!! I am sure there is something I have forgotten. My parents intend to visit New Zealand next year (2007). They already have your contact details and will probably be in touch quite soon. With kind regards
Hello Deborah, Wishing you a Happy New Year, though a bit late. Arvind
Dear Deborah, Greetings from Malaysia. My wife and I had a splendid time in NZ - thanks to your arrangements. We are very happy with the hospitality shown by the establishments you made arrangements with. The arrangements were well made and the destinations were really awesome. We would like to thank you and your establishement for the superb work in our NZ self drive tour. We would recommend South Pacific Travellers to all our friends when they go to NZ! Again, thank you. Jeffrey
Dear Deborah
Hi Amanda, Just a quick note to let you know we all had a fantastic time on our recent trip to NZ. It is a stunning country with so much to see and do, and you kiwi's are such a friendly bunch of people. All accommodation and car hire arrangements ran very smoothly, and it was a hassle free way to travel and see the country. Thanks again for all of your help in preparing and booking our holiday arrangements, I will certainly recommend the Kiwi Combo pass to any prospective travellers. Regards, Jacinta
Greetings! We are back in the states now for about 1 month. All the pictures are in the album, so beautiful! WOW what a great trip. We want to thank all who helped us to have such a special vacation. Toshimi, Susanne and Amanda. Again, we had a wonderful trip and thank each of you for making it so relaxing and enjoyable. Sincerely, S & D
Hi Sandi Thank you all you're excellent and professional work along with the endearing informal touch in organising our tour around the south island recently. Everything went very well and according to schedule. Terttu and I are finally home having had a wonderful time throughout your beautiful country and we were very lucky with the weather, apart from the test. Shame about the rugby results! Although I have to say I do not believe there is any disgrace in losing to this All Blacks team after seeing the second test, they were simply superb. I even forced myself to read the New Zealand newspapers however; I must confess that it was a bit hard. I was outside from half time in the Christchurch test as I was having to bite my tongue being surrounded by friendly Kiwis so endured the rain, hail, sleet and wind returning somewhat dishevelled and with misted up glasses. Typical Pom� Many thanks Sandi for all your kind help and of course I will recommend you to any prospective NZ tourists in the future. Best regards Peter
Dear Amanda
Dear Sandi, I´m Ana, from Spain.
Independent Travel In New Zealand We were planning an extended trip to New Zealand and wanted to spend more time in each place than an organized tour would allow and we were not particularly interested in driving. We did some search on the internet looking for alternatives and were fortunate to find an excellent travel agency in Christchurch N.Z. The travel agency is South Pacific Travellers' World. Their web site is www.southpacifictravellers.co.nz The agent we dealt with was Jill Blacklock. I have never had a better experience in planning a trip and we did it all via email. I had done a lot of research and knew generally the places that we wanted to visit so I laid out our basic plan and the time we wished to spend in each place. Jill then made suggestions and recommended some changes based on her experiences and knowledge. We firmed up our plan and she tailor- made a trip for us. We traveled by Inter City Coach lines. This involved several types of vehicles including large tour type coaches between major cities to small 20 seater buses or in more rural areas VW vans. The transportation was always very comfortable with a great mixture of passengers including locals and people from around the world and friendly informative drivers. As New Zealand is a relatively small country distances are not vast so most journeys were about 4-5 hours. The coach makes frequent rest stops where there were always clean washrooms and refreshments. If you had to change coaches the driver would be responsible for the luggage. Jill had arranged door to door service for us. Which meant in the rural areas the coach would take us directly to our accommodation. In the larger towns there was a taxi waiting for us. On our departure the taxi would take us back to the coach station. If we were scheduled for a day tour the taxi would deliver us to the departure point and be waiting for us at the end of the day to take us back to our accommodation. To have this all pre arranged and paid for was amazing and made things so easy. The tours that Jill had pre booked for us were fantastic. We also used public transportation which we always found well organized and easy to understand. If we were ever in doubt there was always a friendly local who was more than happy to point us in the right direction. We found lots to do and explore in each place we stayed. Most of our accommodation included a kitchen and laundry facilities which, when you are on the road for so long, are both most welcome. We have traveled extensively particularly since retiring and always have had wonderful interesting trips. Until this trip it was hard to say which our favourite was as they all have their own interest and fascination. We now say that, so far, this has been the best. The transportation, accommodation, people, and particularly the scenery were just the tops. We would be interested to talk to anyone planning a similar trip or would send a copy of our detailed itinerary as my following account of our trip only scratches the surface of a most incredible trip. We arrived in Auckland on the North Island and spent the first four nights there. Auckland is a beautiful city with a lovely harbour and is known as the city of sails. From Auckland we headed east to the Coromandel Peninsula. We spent one night at Coromandel Town four nights in Whitianga and one night in Tairua. We took a day to travel from Whitianga to Tairua in a VW van with a driver/ tour guide who was knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about the area. He took us to lots of places off the beaten track. In the evening he took us to some local caves to see the glow worms. This was an incredible sight and a perfect way to see the glow worms. From there we headed inland to Rotorua for two nights. While there we enjoyed a day sight seeing tour which included a visit to the Whakarewarewa thermal reserve, the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute, the Agrodome for a sheep dog demonstration and sheep shearing. The tour concluded at the Polynesian spa where the thermally heated mineral springs are located. Our next journey took us across the Rangitaiki plains to Hawkes Bay back on the east coast. We stayed in the art deco town of Napier for three nights. We enjoyed a half day private tour of the area by car ending up at a winery for lunch. Now we head south to Wellington, New Zealand's capital city, for two nights. A must see here is the Te Papa National Museum. From Wellington we flew to New Plymouth spending five nights visiting relatives over Christmas. Not too many tourists make it to this area of the north Island's west coast. It's well worth a visit for a couple of days. The Taranaki coast line is very rugged. We flew back to Wellington for one night and the following morning we took the interisland ferry across Cook Straight to Picton on the South Island. The coach was waiting at the ferry to take us to Nelson where we spent four nights. We spent a full day cruising the waters off Able Tasman National Park. We started our journey down the west coast of the South Island and our first stop was Punakaiki. The main attraction on this beautiful stretch of coastline is the pancake rocks and the blow holes. We stayed here for two nights before continuing our journey south down the west coast to Fox Glacier. We stayed in the village for two nights. We took a four hour guided walk on Fox Glacier where all the necessary equipment including boots, crampons, walking poles and jackets were provided. You need to be reasonably fit and agile for this fantastic experience. As we journeyed south we saw spectacular views of the Tasman Sea, remote beaches and high mountain peaks. We passed by picturesque lake Wanaka through Kawarau Gorge into Queenstown. Queenstown is known as the adventure capital and has lots of activities available for thrill seekers. A more recent claim to fame is that the surrounding mountains were used to film parts of The Lord Of The Rings. We took a one day tour to Milford Sound which included a cruise on Milford Sound. No Matter how short your time is on the South Island this is a must do. We left the west coast and arrived in Invercargill for one night which was our southern most point of our journey before heading north along the east coast. We took a day to travel from Invercargill to Dunedin on a small bus with eight other people. We traveled through the Catlins stopping for walks in the bush and on the beaches to observe New Zealand sea-lions, yellow-eyed penguins, Hector dolphins a large fur seal colony and many oceanic and native bush birds. We spent two nights in Dunedin. We took a cruise of Otago harbour to see the Royal Albatross and many other sea birds. We took a half day train trip through the magnificent Taieri Gorge. Our next stop was further north for one night at the small French village of Akaroa on the Banks Peninsular then on to Christchurch for three nights followed by one night at Hamner Springs before flying back to Auckland on the North Island. This was the only part of the trip that we would have changed. We could have spent two additional nights in Christchurch and could have easily done a day tour to Akaroa and Hamner Springs.They are both worth the journey there and visiting but the day tours would have saved changing hotels. After overnight in Auckland we traveled north to Paihia in The Bay of Islands where we spent three nights. We took a full day cruise in The Bay seeing lots of dolphins and wonderful scenery. From here we traveled to the idyllic spot of Coopers Beach in the far north. We spent the last eight days in a house right on the beach just relaxing and enjoying the wonderful beach and ocean and reflecting on our amazing trip. We took a day tour to the most northerly tip of the North Island at Cape Reinga. In the morning we drove along Ninety Mile Beach on the west coast and dipped our feet in the Tasman Sea and in the afternoon we dipped our feet in the Pacific Ocean on the east coast. We spent one final night in Auckland before departing for Vancouver. In 57 days we traveled both islands from Cape Reinga in the Far North of the North Island to Invercargill at the southern tip of the South Island and the east and west coast of both islands. The cost for all the coach transportation with door to door pick up and drop off, airport transfers, the tours that I have talked about and all accommodations for two was approximately $14,000 CN.
Hi Amanda, Carol.
We are home again from our March 6 to April 5 trip to New Zealand & wish to express our thanks for your efforts towards making this the great trip it was. Thanks for the advice on limiting the Motel bookings. It worked out exactly as you predicted, with the twenty days passes covering the days we were able to stay in Gold Chain Motels, either because of location or the already fully booked, by others, sites. Many thanks to you all. D & L
Dear Deborah When I spoke to you on the telephone whlist we were in Christchurch, I promised to give you some reflections on our holiday. We have been home for 3 weeks now and are more or less back into the grove of our normal lives. It was bitterly cold when we left the aircraft at Heath Row - at 4.30 am. We had some warm clothes available but it was still a shock to our system having travelled in temperatures mostly above 25C for six weeks - 2C felt like the north pole. It took several days to readjust and it is only in the last few days that the sun has come out and we have been able to turn off the central heating in our house. Lovely drive to Nelson and another really friendly host - Gerry at Grove Villa. He suggested we drove to Kaiteriteri to have time for a leisurely breakfast - it worked out ok and the day with Abel Tasman was another great time - we chose to cruise. The jouney south from here as you know goes through great countryside lots of 'ohs' and 'wows' and the Swingbridge!, We visited the Franz Joseph glacier in the late afternoon -great- our previous experience is for glaciers emptying into the sea. We planned to visit the 'Fox' next morning but the weather had closed in by then and visibility was very limited. We made a side trip on the way to Dunedin to meet relatives of local friends who emigrated to NZ in the late 1940s - near Mossburn. They had been sheep farmers but are now retired - miles from anywhere! This meant that our stay in Dunedin was short - what a hilly town. The boulders on the beach must have been a real puzzle to the first maories to arrive. We did much more sight seeing in Christchurch feeling quite at home in this English looking city. On our last morning there was time to go to the Antartic Centre at the airport before dropping off the car and checking in.
Dear Deborah, Now regretfully home in England's Winter, this is to record formally what I said on the phone a couple of weeks ago in Christchurch: Bravo Zulu the excellent response you gave to our requirements - to experience everything from Auckland down to the Wellington ferry via Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua and "Volcano-land" all in 4 days. Can't be done - but with Johansonn's Adventures followed by Lake Waimangu ( complete with the unknown Dave's Shuttle out - conscientious & very nice chap who also mentioned that you had checked arrangements just prior to our trip - and travel back in their staff bus) we got as close as maybe. Accomodation fine. Only glitch was 11/2 wet days around Coromandel, and even that didn't spoil more than the Whitianga afternoon! A signal of Bravo Zulu is the highest expression of praise in the Royal Navy, so please pass this on to Top Management (if that isn't you anyway) and please feel free to quote or use in promoting South Pacific Traveller's services. I think you would have been shocked by the poor response of three other contenders, all eliminated very early on! Regards M & R Smith, now disclosed as a pair of 70 year-olds who were visiting their grandchildren in Christchurch.
Dear Deborah, Sherna and I had the most wonderful holiday and we would like to thank you for all the effort you went to in putting together such an interesting and perfect itinerary. It was such a pity that we were in Christchurch on the two Saturdays and we could not meet you, but I plan on winning Lotto and buying the house for sale at Mona Vale (is that correct?) in the botanical gardens on the little (Avon?) river. We loved everything we saw and did. It's a holiday one could repeat over and over and never tire of it. Am keeping my itinerary for anyone who is planning such a trip. Thank you again and regards A.
Hi Deborah, Glad to hear you are back to work and feeling better. We had an absolutely fabulous holiday which was largely due to all your hard work so the flowers were just a small token of thanks. We had a thoroughly good time, but cant wait to come back and explore some more. All our travel arrangements were great, the hotels and B&B's were good ( The one in Napier had fabulous spa baths in all the rooms you must try that one). The only one I wouldnt recommend was the one in Wellington. The bathrooms were not very clean and the service left a lot to be desired. We met some lovely people and made a lot of new friends. So thanks again for all you hard work. Don't forget to let me know when you come to the UK and I will try and do the same for you. Many thanks and best wishes Jean
Hello Jill! Just a quick note to say thankyou for all your work with our clients driving holiday in March. They absolutely loved it! Could not stop raving about it! Thankyou again Jill. Regards, Karen
Jill, Thank you for all your help. The trip was the most awesome experience that my troop has ever had. Many of the boys are wishing they could go back. We definitely have a lifetime of memories of one of the most beautiful countries in the world. New Zealand is a shining jewel with the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen. The Boys and I appreciate everything you did to help make this trip a reality for us. I know it was a long time working with you leading up to the trip and I personally appreciated your flexibility. I have been speaking nothing but praise about you and your agency to all the other scout troops here. Thanks again for everything. Sincerely, John
Hi Toshimi. The tour was wonderful and everything worked like clockwork. It was just the right activity level and we saw lots of interesting things. We didn't have time to explore Tairua but it seemed to be a lot smaller than Whitianga, so I was happy that we spent more time in Whitianga. We had a very nice meal in Tairua at a restaurant across the street from Shells. I can't remember the name except that it started with M. On Saturday night it had a live entertainer (singer-guitar player). I'd just like to mention a couple of very minor points. The bus stop from Tairua (toward Thames) is across the street from Shells restaurant. We got back to Auckland a few minutes early and didn't realise you had reserved a Regency cab for us. The bus station was closed so we went around to the hotel to call them. We ended up with two Regency cabs, but they were very nice about it. All in all a great experience. Thanks a lot. Sheila
Dear Jill, Well we have been home for a week now and we are still trying to get our feet back on the ground. We had the best holiday ever. We loved your country and the people. Both Islands we beautiful in their own way. It was great to meet you and thank you for taking the time to have lunch with us and for taking us to such a lovely spot. We loved the Northland and the accommodation that you booked for us in Piahia was fabulous. It was so luxurious. Although when we first got there we wondered if it would be ok as it was way up the hill but the owner had made a path which was a short cut down the back of his property to the road so it was fine. The last 8 days at Coopers Beach were idilic and it truly is a lovely spot. We were right on the most spectacular beach and had fabulous weather. We were very happy and didn't want to leave. We felt fortunate as the day we were leaving it started to rain and we had an email from the people there and they said that it rained for the next 5 days!! It is going to be hard to top that holiday. Thanks again Jill for all your help and advise. We couldn't have had anyone better to work with. We hope that all is well with you. Best wishes. M and A.
Hi Deborah, What a trip! Thank you so much for arranging our accomodations, transpo and activities. Everyone had a great time. Quite a Christmas holiday to remember definitely. May 2004 give you much of what you desire. Sincerely, Betsy L and family
Dear Jill, It was a pleasure to meet you in NZ, even if only briefly and I wish to thank you on behalf of the entire group for your assistance with our trip. Kind Regards Julia
Hi Toshimi, I just wanted to say Thank you for all your help in arranging my parents Kaikoura trip. They had an excellent time and wish to express their Thanks for all you did for them, they said the Bendemere Bed & Breakfast accommodation was superb and they will reccomend them and yourselves to their friends when they return to the UK. Once again thanks for your help. Sue
Hi Deborah, I'm sorry that we have taken so long to be in touch. We had not forgotten you or your beautiful country! It's just that we don't seem to have had a moment to draw breath since returning to the northern hemisphere, what with visits by our son and his family from America, a huge family get-together and putting our noses back to the grindstone! The latter was the worst, especially after four weeks away. Well, what is there to say? The itinerary worked very well indeed and anycomments we have (after all the superlatives!) of an even vaguely critical nature pale into insignificance when compared with the great time we had. Highlights? Well, they were almost too many to list! Every time we crested a hill, there were gasps at the sheer beauty of the scenery. The helicopter flight was certainly well up with the best of the trip. Low cloud cleared literally half an hour before we took off. The result left us all breathless (Picture attached, if your network will let it in!)(It was checked by Norton anti-virus before despatch). You were correct in recommending that we stop two nights in Queenstown: we needed it and there was plenty to do. The meal at the Boardwalk restaurant on the quayside was outstanding - both for quality of fare and for quality of service. In contrast, we were disappointed in the Maori display we went to see: when the participants brought Japanese (and other) tourists onto the stage to do the Hokey Kokey, we began to wonder what message they were trying to put over! Nevertheless, the views of the lake, particularly from the Gondola were a photographer's dream come true. Although the weather at Milford Sound was rain all the way, the drive through the pass and the boat ride were still worthwhile. The sight of those waterfalls going upwards (blown by the wind) was a sight to remember! The need to be back through the pass by 1700, before the road was closed due to the weather, made the first part of the journey back a little 'nervous', shall we say? But, of course, there was no problem. Te Anau and the glow-worm caves was yet another highlight, although the guides did seem to have taken on rather more tourists than they could easily handle when 'traffic jams' of tour groups built up. People had a long(ish) wait either before setting out or on return to the base building. But, again, the sight was worth the wait! The boat trip was refreshing after so much time in a car. There wasn't a lot of time in Dunedin to do the town (and, anyway, we had begun to focus on the fact that we were coming to the end of our trip. I think that summarises what the McL's thought of the trip. You did say you wanted to hear about it - warts and all. Although I have mentioned some comments that might indicate criticism, please believe me when I say that these are very minor in comparison to the enormous enjoyment we had on an almost minute-by-minute basis. Thank you from us all for organising a memorable, varied and entirely enjoyable week in your beautiful and hospitable land. Furthermore, the efficient and pleasant way you went about meeting our needs made the organisation a painless experience for us. L & J McL PS: J. has one or two reservations about NZ traffic policemen! But that's another story.
Hi Deborah Returned today to Johannesburg after a spectacular visit to New Zealand and I hope that all my pics come out as beautifully as each place I visited. Thank you and Rebecca so much for arranging such an interesting itinerary, but I think that on my next visit I would like to spend more time in Wellington, Rotorua and possibly other parts of Auckland - so I shall have to save, save, save like mad to undertake another visit. I was also fortunate to visit Canberra something I had not planned but there was a flower show in the city which was breathtakingly beautiful and if any of the pics come out as stunningly as the flowers were, I shall post a few to you. N
Hi Rebecca & Toshimi!
Dear Deborah, Back to Italy, to the routine of daily life, to the husle bustle of urban living, after a challenging, hectic month through unspoilt, magnificent scenery, breathing fresh, wholesome air, listening to the whistling of a relentless wind, scorched by a strong sun, We would like to express our thanks for your work and all the help you gave us. You were undoubtedly of great service to us in providing useful information and wise advice for our New Zeland experience. Everything was ok: car rental, accomodation (maybe not fully satisfying Airedale Hotel in Aukland: good the location, less good the standing), excursions. The weather too was mild and generous (above all in South Island) offering us very sunny days and unforgettable opportunities for our autdoor activities. The itinerary went according to plan; we also managed to travel to places (part of Coromandel Peninsula, southern tip of South Island) not arranged in the original draft. We regret leaving without meeting you; we called your office on saturday We are certainly very pleased to have come into contact with your Company for which we got a very good opinion. We'll advice it and advertise it if some friend intend to visit your country. Thanks for all, bottles of white wine and chocolate box too. With best regards and sincere good wishes, L and B Party.
Dear Jill, We have been home now for two weeks, settling back in after our tour of New Zealand. Fortunately we can look forward to the Spring and Summer ahead, in fact the weather has been most unseasonal since our return, dry and sunny. It was a wrench leaving your country. We enjoyed every minute of our tour and find it hard to decide which was the highlight. We saw whales, dolphins, an albatross, most of your native birds (including a morepork!) trekked, fished, played golf and enjoyed some first class meals. The many wonderful flowers, shrubs, and trees gave us great pleasure. We would all like to say to you a big 'thank you' for organising the first part of our trip - the car choice was exceedingly good, enough room for us and our many bags!, and the change-overs were painless. We travelled over 4,000 miles during the six weeks. The motels worked well, a very easy and relaxed mode of accommodation. Tom, our son, is still in NZ (somewhere!), he is thoroughly enjoying all the extreme sports and trekking, etc. We hope we will return in the not too distant future. Once again Jill, many thanks for your support. King regards, A, S, R and R. |
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