New Zealand Explorer

New Zealand Discovery, Feb - March 2025. Solo traveller. This was a superb tour and absolutely exceeded my expectations which were high! What a stunningly beautiful land Pros: 1. Our tour leader, Runty Jackson was excellent. I've been on several Explore trips and enjoyed good leadership but Runty was exceptional, he was a star! The trip would have been good anyway but thank you Runty, you made it outstanding. 2. The trip itinerary was great and we were able to do nearly everything that had been advertised. 3. Accommodation on the whole was fine. 4. We were lucky with weather so saw New Zealand's highlights, e.g. Doubtful Sound, Mount Cook, Fox Glacier and the west coast in perfect weather. Cons: Nothing major. 1. Breakfasts: These are the only included meals (except for 2 others). Best breakfast without a doubt was at Rotorua- exceptionally good. The Copthorne chain hotels were also quite good. However worst was in Napier. Frankly dire. White sliced bread, no variety of food, tinned sweeteened fruit. A jar of instant coffee. Horrible. The motel next door where we stayed was fine but the restaurant was not!!! 2. Coffee in hotel breakfasts. Again with the exception of Rotorua and the Bealey Quarter, the hotel coffee was not good. This is New Zealand after all, the land that prides itself on its coffee culture. Acturally one of the best breakfasts we had was in Hokitika where the motel didn't have food so Runty took us to a cafe in the town- excellent. Further suggestion By contrast with the rest of the trip, Wanaka was not that interesting, and restaurants were ok but mostly fast food types. Wanaka certainly didn't deserve 2 days. The advertised jet boat ride/ wilderness walk didn't seem to be available. I did take the boat across the lake and it was ok, but it was quite expensive for what it turned out to be. The 'guide ' didn't seem that knowledgable or indeed, interested. Instead I'd suggest at least another day in Abel Tasman National Park which was so, so beautiful. Maybe an overnight stay there and opportunities to walk more and spend more time on the idyllic beaches.

A fabulous introduction to New Zealand. A very varied trip including trekking, sightseeing and cruising. Fairly full on, but it had to be to cover the ground and see everything. Runty Jackson, our tour leader, was brilliant going the extra mile to ensure we had a fab time. He was also very caring when I took a tumble. Thanks Runty. Accommodation was generally fine but nothing fancy, except for the Bealey Quarter in Christchurch which was very cramped. The minibus was OK, but leg room was an issue. All the logistics worked perfectly. We were expected wherever we went. Overall, we had an amazing holiday, loved New Zealand and will use Explore again.

I highly recommend this trip. It is worth the long journey. Our leader Runty Jackson was exceptional. He is a proud New Zealander with Māori children and gave us an enormous amount of information about the country including adding a few interesting places to our itinerary.. We were able to do this because we were all willing to get up early and were always on time. We were taken to Nugget Point - the most Easterly point of NZ and the nearest place to Antartica. We saw sea lions and exceptional views. We were also able to walk the beginning of the track up Mount Cook. Runty was exceptional at helping organising things, and making suggestions. He managed the group dynamics well. New Zealand is a wonderful place to visit but I do feel the whole experience was made exceptional by Runty. He is by far and away the best Explore guide I have had on my many trips. Thank you.

I am very pleased with the trip. The program was very interesting and carried out calmly without rushing. Many thanks to the guide/driver (Pelle), who can be an example for others. He even washed the bus windows every day so that the photos would be successful. He was helpful in all situations. Many thanks.