Loved NZ - scenery, Māori culture and wine!
New Zealand
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Mar 3 - Mar 17, 2025
Loved NZ - we had three targets for our trip; scenery, Māori culture and wine. Liz did a wonderful job balancing a lot of different options for us. We started thinking of a long Aus-NZ trip and she worked with us to trim it to a realistic timeframe. We only had a couple of true guided tours - in Rotorua the Kahukiwi afternoon with Patrick was eye-opening about current Māori life, visiting his tribe’s marae and taking time to understand the great significance of the marae to the culture. And then Paul with Appellation Wine Tours gave a great tour of Central Otago wineries. Lastly, Liz suggested Doubtful Sound for our Fiordland tour, instead of the much more heavily touristed Milford Sound. We did the overnight tour with kayaking and swimming in the Sound. We also managed to see albatross and fur seals. So, overall, great time!
Hotel Reviews
Very convenient, friendly staff, great food.
Close to the lake (with the accompanying sulfur smell), a little bit of a long walk to town.
Not much choice for this location. Room was small, bathroom was smaller! Dinner was wonderful
Comfortable hotel. Was a bit swamped with tour groups. No on-site parking, valet only (@NZ$45/ night). Short walk to the waterfront and cable car.
Great location on Lake Te Anau. Comfortable large room (we were in the villas), good amenities. Very close to the Main Street (restaurants and shopping), wonderful view out onto the lake.
Can I give this six stars? Location is just OK, needed shuttle or car to get to town, but the view over Lake Wakatipu was gorgeous. Restaurant is extremely small, breakfast was hit-and-miss to get a table. Staff were wonderful, room was incredibly comfortable.
Convenient, clean and comfortable.
Activity Reviews
Good mix of Māori culture and history.
An in-depth look at current Māori life and culture. Patrick was our guide to his family/tribe, including a visit to his marae. Sometimes was a bit tough to hear about the darker side of Māori history.
Good overview of the Museum, allowed for long follow-up once the tour was over.
Unique glow worm life
We were extremely lucky with the weather, calm waters even out into the Tasman Sea. Opportunity for kayaking and swimming. Managed to see the fur seals, wrong time of year for penguins, and no sign of dolphins.
Good small group. Paul (guide) was a wealth of knowledge about the wine business in NZ. Good selection of wineries. Would have liked to see more of the wine making process.