How we're different
ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND isn't just another tour company. We believe that scenery needs to be experienced, not seen through a bus window. We'll take you to our mountains, rainforests, lagoons, fiords, volcanoes - and we'll walk, cycle and paddle through them. You don't have to be a tri-athlete to come on one of our trips - but you need to be interested in experiencing New Zealand's incredible scenery in an active manner!
We take ordinary people, who may or may not have a great deal of experience in the outdoors, to the most scenic and rewarding parts of New Zealand. Clients on a typical trip will have a range of experience - from folks who have spent a couple of days in the backcountry in their lives, to those who spend most weekends in the hills.
Not your ordinary New Zealand vacation package!
Interested? We have happy clients all over the world who have taken our trips and who'd love to tell you all about it! For referrals, please call or us and we'd be happy to put you in touch with some of our previous clients.
We like to get out off the beaten track - to leave the tour buses and the madding crowd far behind. We offer a variety of trips and every trip is different. Because we are a small company, we have the focus and flexibility to work with you to make sure your trip is the best it can possibly be for you. One of the biggest appeals of traveling with us is that we make sure you have lots of flexibility and plenty of options everywhere you go. We do some activities as a group, but generally there are many opportunities for you to head out and explore on your own as well.
Our small size and local contacts mean we can and will customize our trips to suit you. If you have a particular interest, let us know. You'll be surprised how well we can arrange things to suit your interests. We emphasize variety - we make sure you will experience a wide range of activities, and that you see as much of New Zealand as possible - without rushing. We try to minimize time on the road - the rest of the time we are enjoying all the New Zealand backcountry has to offer.
An ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND trip is not a hiking tour - but you'll do some incredible hikes. It's not a cycling tour - but you can do some great bike rides! It's not a lazy vacation - but you'll finish our trips more rested than if you'd spent two weeks in bed! We like to visit some pretty wild places - on foot, by bike and by sea kayak - but we also like our creature comforts. Our days end with hot showers, sumptuous meals and clean sheets. We even arrange rest days, where you can lounge about with a good book and not get up till dinnertime. Most important of all, our emphasis is on exceeding your expectations. We've worked hard to get where we are, and we intend to keep providing the most amazing New Zealand vacation packages! It's that simple.
In 2001 we took this same concept across the Tasman to Australia, and in 2003 we began running trips in South America as well.
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.
Click here to see a list of some of the places we stay on our trips.
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!
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.
