Amazing New Zealand

		A personal message from founder Sandi Notredame - proud New Zealand citizen…
		Kia ora – as we say down here. Although I am an extremely proud Kiwi (New Zealander), 20 years of my life was spent living overseas! During that time I travelled extensively, often with my young family and husband and have become an expert on all there is to know in tourism through experience. On most of my trips overseas, I always managed to schedule some time in New Zealand, so I became an expert on this country as well. Seeing ones own country through the eyes of a tourist gives a whole different perspective on things and I fell in love with the amazing and varied scenery all over again.
		However, planning our holidays to other countries always took hours and hours of study and planning. We often returned saying "if only we’d known the options, we would have done it differently". Often I met foreigners who had visited New Zealand and every single one of them complained that the itinerary had not been well thought through! It soon became obvious what I needed to do, once we immigrated back to New Zealand – to assist you in your planning to help make this the best vacation ever, so that you will return time and time again!
		The mind blowing scenery around New Zealand can only be fully appreciated by having TIME to swim in that rock-pool under the waterfall, wander that deserted beach or stop at that roadside stall to buy the locally smoked fish! I feel sad knowing that the bulk of the tourists coming to New Zealand never experience the true side of this country as they sit for hours on end driving hundreds of kilometers on an organized bus tour!
		The 24 Days itinerary covers most of our attractions, between Auckland and Queenstown. My itineraries allow realistic time to experience something out of the ordinary everyday – not like every other itinerary advertised. Don’t be misled by other companies that mention for example “Day 3: Wellington – Christchurch, via the world famous wine growing region of Marlborough and along the spectacular coast of Kaikoura…famous for whale watching and swimming with the dolphins”. This is totally misleading, as the inter-island ferry takes three hours, then you’ll be so busy driving from Picton to Christchurch that you’ll barely have enough time to stop in Kaikoura for a quick sandwich and a can of coke, let alone sample a vintage wine in a world renowned cellar or swim with the dolphins! Such itineraries were obviously designed by tour operators not resident in New Zealand and they concern me! If it’s a driving holiday you would like, then you should visit North America or Australia where you can drive for hours without seeing anything. It is not the same here, plus the roads are much more winding....you need to take your time. Can you imagine driving from Amsterdam to Paris, via Brussels in one day....and then saying that you’ve ‘seen’ Holland, Belgium and France! That would be sacrilege! So please don’t ask me to design an itinerary for you if you only have two weeks and want to see “all of New Zealand” – forget it, IT’S NOT POSSIBLE ! But please do ask me to design an itinerary that best suits your time frame. Having local knowledge is invaluable in creating the perfect holiday for you. ^ top of page

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