New Zealand Adventure Tours – New Zealand Bike Tours – Hiking New Zealand Vacations

 I would say it was a once in a lifetime trip, but it was so good a person should not only experience it once.

- Mike G., (USA) Aug 2009 Winter Rimu

Accommodation

We've spent years finding places to stay that are quaint, out of the way, and comfortable when we take you to the most amazing parts of our country. The bed & breakfasts, farm stays, lodges, motels, and the occasional mountain hut we stay at have been carefully chosen because of their location and local flavour. Many of our clients have said that one of the highlights of their trip was meeting and getting to know the Kiwis who are our hosts when we travel around New Zealand. We strongly believe in the value of a good night's sleep, and our accommodation reflects this. We also like to have somewhere comfortable to relax after the day's activities. You won't have to camp on our scheduled trips, although we'll provide the gear if you'd like to sleep under the stars on the backpacking option in Nelson Lakes National Park or would like to include camping on a custom trip.

Transport

New Zealand is a small country - about 1000 miles from top to bottom, and only about 150 miles wide - but it's not THAT small! We're really focused on ensuring that we spend as little time as possible sitting in vehicles, and that we optimize your time for outdoors-oriented adventure. The average driving time over the period of our Rimu trip is just over two hours a day, and we try to spend us much time as possible in the outdoors. Even so, we prefer you to be comfortable when we do have to drive. We use modern, comfortable minibuses for smaller groups, and purpose-built coaches for larger groups. For instance, we often use one of our spacious, quiet and comfortable 25-seater coaches, even though we generally only take 10-14 people per trip! But make no mistake - our trips are not typical bus tour vacation packages! Our vehicles are fitted with good stereo systems, and we love to play New Zealand music.

We have worked hard to minimize the time spent driving around the countryside. This means our 2-week Rimu and Manuka trips start and end in Christchurch, in the South Island. For our most popular departure dates, we often add a trip that starts and ends in Queenstown. There is a trade-off here - you won't see the North Island on either of these trips, as you will take a short domestic flight between Auckland and Christchurch or Queenstown in the South Island before and after your trip.

The North Island has its own charms (including volcanoes and native Maori culture), and we'll be glad to share them with you on our 5-day Kauri trips if you'd like to stay for another week, but our focus for the Rimu, Winter Rimu, Weka cycling trip, Manuka, Tui, and Kea family trips is on the wildest parts of New Zealand, which are definitely in the South Island.

Meals

Just about all your meals are included when you travel with ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND. We provide a wide variety of cuisine - sometimes we dine out, and sometimes we dine in. Breakfasts when we are starting early generally consist of cereal, yoghurt, fruit, toast, coffee and juice. When we have more time, we whip up pancakes and full cooked breakfasts. Lunches are usually picnic style with sandwiches, salad and fruit, or maybe a barbeque in some beautiful spot. Dinners are usually two or three-course meals, covering a range of styles. We easily cater to vegetarians and people with particular dietary needs.

We have several second guides whose primary responsibility, when they are not guiding, is cooking up great meals. Their cooking skills will astound you, as you enjoy a traditional Kiwi roast dinner at the shearer's quarters, or French toast and sugared bananas at Punakaiki, or one of a score of awesome meals on the road! When we go out to eat, we don't give you a budget or tell you what to order. We just pick a nice restaurant and enjoy a night out. You'll find the meals are a real highlight of your trip!