Anne & Peter Haywood

Many thanks Anne & Peter and well done with that weather in the Southern Alps!!

Hi there Paul

Well here we are returned from our epic journey. We absolutely loved NZ and its people. We had the time of our lives. The holiday not only came up to expectation but really exceeded it so thank you very much for your hard work. We certainly spread your name around in a positive way while we were there.

Anne & Peter

The Tathams

Many thanks to Judy, Peter, Amy and Jimmy for some great words and photos.

Just to let you know that we have had the most amazing time and thank you so much for all your help and for planning such a wonderful trip. Everything went very smoothly and I will send you the feedback form about the motels shortly.

You started us off magnificently at the Commodores Lodge in Russell, we loved being on the waterfront.

Sunset from Commodores Lodge

Hokianga Harbour

We enjoyed our experience in Stewart Island and the guided tour of Ulva Island with Furhana was fantastic, it makes such a difference when someone explains about the wildlife and trees amd mosses etc. we saw so much more than if we had been walking around on our own. I have to say that the boat trip over was pretty rough and I was sick, despite my vast experience of ferries and taking medication!! So I was quite relieved to be flying back.......the plane was pretty small though, but it only took 15minutes!

The Awatea Beach house was rather large for us, but I think that was because it was late booking....we did find it a bit cold though as there was no heating, but we managed to get the stove going in the living room. I think we are not as tough as the Stewart Islanders!!

Amy and Jimmy also thoroughly enjoyed their week away with us and the cruise on Doubtful Sound was so good, they went out in the kayaks and even went swimming in the rather chilly water afterwards, mind you they had brought their wet suits! The cruise was really worth doing, the staff were so friendly and helpful and the food was amazing. We met all sorts of people (including another set of your clients from Beaconsfield!). We saw dolphins and seals and Amy and Jimmy even got to drive the Navigator on the way back!!

Amy & Jimmy kayaking on Doubtful Sound

We followed the itinerary, except we did a couple of hikes and didn't do the glowworm caves at Te Anau as Amy doesn't like caves!

The internal flights with Air New Zealand were so easy, and we had a great stopover in Singapore with Singapore Airlines (talking to people, it seems to be the best way to get out there).

Lake Marian, Fiordland

All in all we've had some amazing experiences and it will take us a while to come back down to earth and to sort out our hundreds of photos!

Thanks again Paul

New Zealand Family Harrison 2

And here are Sue's very kind words to go with the photos. Thank you Sue, it is such a nice feeling to know that we have played our part in creating some wonderful memories.

New Zealand was everything we had hoped it would be and so much more. We had an unbelievably good time and much of the credit for that lies with Paul at New Zealand In Depth.

Paul took the time to listen carefully to what it was we wanted out of our holiday, he presented a number of options and over the months that preceded our holiday helped us refine the details. It was his attention to detail and local knowledge that ensured this holiday exceeded all our expectations... although I guess the fabulous weather helped.

It is difficult to pick favourites but we have a few. We loved the adventure Queenstown provided, our most memorable experience being body surfing down the Kawarau River. Phil and I are still feeling pretty impressed we did not balk from launching ourselves into the river and remain grateful to the ‘Hand of God’ and his colleagues for rescuing us on many occasions! Swimming with Dolphins was truly special and will stay with us forever. Phil’s favourite place was Doubtful sound whilst mine was the Bay of Islands, although Kaikoura with its glorious scenery is a close rival.

In terms of accommodation Paul got everything just right, particularly Commonage Villas and Hapuku Lodge for Christmas and New Year but we also loved the tranquillity, incredible hospitality and personal attention shown to us by Mark and Pam at The Hollows in Te Anau.

The whole holiday came to an end on Phil' s 50th birthday, New Zealand In Depth liaised with Air NZ to make the day really special, there were treats all the way home...

Thanks for all your help Paul…

New Zealand Family Harrison

A photo testimonial here from Sue, Phil, James and Eleanor. We did get some words as well including "great holiday", "fabulous time" and "time to save for the next trip to NZ because we loved it there so much" but the pictures tell their story pretty well.

Happy clients - Minthia von Wiarda

From the first time I contacted Paul through the New Zealand In Depth website, I received personal, efficient and knowledgeable service. It was an invaluable help for me to be able to rely on Paul's expertise, as I was going to travel on my own.

Paul was very patient in perfecting my itinerary and incorporating all my wishes and did not even flinch when I unexpectedly fell pregnant and required further last minute changes! The holiday was absolutely amazing and Paul's day-by-day itinerary was an invaluable guide.

Whilst I'd love to go back to NZ, it's great to hear that New Zealand In Depth will be expanding to other countries also.….it means I will definitely be back to plan my next dream holiday!

Minthia meets Milford Sound meets the Tasman Sea

Happy clients - Steve and Joe-Anne Nuttall

Steve and Joe-Anne's enjoyment of their holiday is what makes the job so satisfying...

We’ve been back from New Zealand for a few days now, and some sense of normality is beginning to return, so I thought I’d drop you a quick line to thank you for helping us put together the holiday of a lifetime.

The whole trip was fantastic, and we thoroughly enjoyed every part of the itinerary. You don’t need me to tell you what a great country it is, I was expecting a lot but it exceeded expectations. The combination of mountains, lakes, forest, glaciers and beaches is stunning. People were all very friendly and driving was a dream.

It is hard to pick our highlights when there were so many great moments, but truly special moments were the Tongariro Crossing (our guide actually took us to Tongariro summit), Fox Glacier heli-hike, Routeburn Track, and the fiords and forests of South Island generally. The best place to stay (by a short head from the Wilderness Lodges) was Adrift in Golden Bay – as close to perfection as any place I have stayed - but the rest were pretty good too.

The stop-offs in San Francisco, Syndey and Hong Kong were an excellent way to top and tail the main event, and broke up the journey nicely.

We had a slight hiccup for the Tongariro Crossing in that they claimed they did not have details of us when we called them the day before, but Rebecca sorted them out pretty quickly and they discovered we had been misfiled. They delivered a great experience on the day though.

The programme as a whole ticked all the boxes for us, and it all went very smoothly. Air New Zealand have also become my favourite airline, it is a shame I won’t be using them more often. Having said that, we’ll definitely be going back one day.

Thanks again for helping us with this Paul, your ideas and organization certainly created an experience which we will remember for a long time to come. Much appreciated.

All the best

Steve and Joe-Anne

Happy clients - Judy & Peter Farren

Judy and Peter contacted us on return from their holiday in December...

Mount Cook across Lake Pukaki

New Zealand was fabulous, it far exceeded our expectations, warm and sunny everyday but two – even in Doubtful Sound where it was unusually hot, sunny and clear.

Your accommodation choices were spot on, they were all so different, it was very difficult to pick a favourite! The itinerary and particularly the directions you gave were excellent, they took the pressure off even long driving days and we were able to find all of the hotels pretty easily. Occasionally we went ‘off piste’ but swiftly returned to the main highways.

Unfortunately the weather prevented the Mount Cook flight taking off however we did manage the glacier flight which we were really pleased about – landing on and taking off from the glacier was so surreal!

As a finale, Akaroa was a fantastic choice for a wind down at the end of the trip.

Thank you again for the superb itinerary and organisation.

Kind regards

Judy & Peter Farren