Boutique self drive tour of New Zealand

Planet

New Zealand is abundant with beautiful National Parks which are protected to preserve native wildlife and plant species. The Department of Conservation manages the largest areas of these, running programmes to restore species and heritage, and provide opportunities for people to engage with nature. They also manage threats to places and species, including fire, biosecurity and climate change. We urge our clients to follow their guidelines for the protection of New Zealand’s national parks, wildlife and marine mammals. Through DOC we can offer a wealth of information including maps, policies, alerts, weather, track information, safety outdoors, litter guidelines, wildlife protection, and care codes. And any money for entrance fees and DOC guides mean we are supporting the ongoing conservation efforts on research and development ideas, and summer scholarship projects, and native species-specific protection programmes.

We offer our expertise on New Zealand with a detailed itinerary of recommendations of forest walking trails and guides on varying ability loop walks within the National Parks and DOC (the Department of Conservation) places. Such as Waipoua Forest, home to the largest and oldest Kauri trees in the country and a five minute loop to view the largest of all the trees -Tane Mahuta. And suggested activities in Aoraki Mt Cook National Park, with New Zealand's tallest mountain Aoraki Mt Cook where you can experience 500 year old icebergs up-close on the Mt Cook terminal lake and native beech forest to a glacier-fed swimming hole.
Also activities in Mount Cook National Park & to Mt Aspiring National Park, and Waitakere Ranges Regional Park where you can enjoy breathtaking views and over 16,000 hectares of native forest and coastline. The park is an incredibly diverse region with over 250km of walking and tramping tracks to explore.

Go on a purpose-built catamaran licensed by DOC for dolphin viewing, looking for common and bottlenose dolphins, whales and other marine life during the cruise. Your expert skipper and a crew with local knowledge and years of experience locating dolphins in the Bay of Island waters which they’re ready to share.

People

As this tour is a self-drive we want to make sure our clients get to experience the real New Zealand and be integrated with its culture and heritage, even though they do not have a tour guide. To do this, and through our knowledgeable local ground agent, we provide information on historic villages, settlements and activities along their route to learn more about places they are visiting. Such as the awarded Te Pa Tu Evening Maori Cultural Experience, with Feast on song, drama, tradition, and native seasonal kai (cuisine). Te Pa Tu shares Maori history, traditions, and cultural aspirations across 4-hours of celebration and feasting.

Other suggestions include Blenheim, home to the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, which houses Peter Jackson's Great War collection, complete with mannequins by Weta Workshop. Wellington Te Papa Museum for a history lesson. Visit historic Bendigo Reserve, one of Otago's original gold mining settlements, and the historic gold mining region of Hokitika. Known for its Greenstone (Pounamu).

In Napier you can go on a 1930s our to learn learn about the history of the city's architecture including the Napier Municipal Theatre, one of the top ten Art Deco Buildings in the world. In the Bay of Island, learn about the culture in historic Waitangi, the site where The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 between the Maori and European settlers dictating the terms by which New Zealand would become a British colony.

We wish for tourism to have a positive effect on the local communities you visit, helping them to thrive by giving revenue directly to the people. To support local cultures through tourism, we are proud to use local companies on the ground which give jobs to people in the area, maintaining the heritage and localised knowledge, as well as supporting families. By using local expert guides, and local producers we can ensure this happens. We also support the Department of Conservation National Parks which provide employment across the country in conservation, research and tourism.

The Maori cultural heritage is an integral part of New Zealand, and we give you the chance to experience it first-hand with visits to craft markets, Maori cultural performances and a traditional hangi feast, giving economic benefits to the community. Examples of which are visiting the township of Tirau, home to a number of bric a brac, art, craft and antique stores. And Hokitika, a great place to explore craft and gifts. The Jade or Greenstone on offer in Hokitika is probably some of the best you will see in the country. Or Kaimai Cheese Company and cafe, where you can sample the speciality cheeses being produced from the local dairy cows.