New Zealand Self Drive Tour Reviews

Hi Shelley,

Well, Sinden and I just got back from our long anticipated trip to your neck of the woods and I just wanted to drop you a line to let you know everything went without a hitch.  All of the transfers were flawless, and we had no delays or issues of any kind.  So kudos to you for setting everything up for us and it working so well!  We never could have done it ourselves.  Here’s a little feedback from our trip:

The Milford Track exceeded our highest expectations!  What an incredible experience, and we had great weather the whole time, including a downpour on the third day of the hike which gave us the grandest waterfalls all around!  I will definitely do it again, perhaps in three years as I’d like to bring my son when he graduates from college.  Only this time I would like to spend more time in NZ, perhaps touring some coastal towns and more of the north island.  But plenty of time to think about it.  The last day in Queenstown we did an unguided bike tour of the Gibbston Valley wineries just outside of Queenstown which was the perfect way for us to spend the day.  We started in the small town of Arrowtown, did some gift shopping, and then biked about 5 miles or so to the Valley, crossing the original bungee jumping bridge in the process.  It was a great day sampling some wonderful wines in a beautiful setting!

The night we spent in Auckland awaiting our flight to Tahiti, we went to the city center for dinner and stumbled across the Grill.  While we didn’t have reservations, they accommodated us after a 20 minute wait, which we spent getting a cocktail at their bar.  Hands down the best steak my wife or I have ever had.  If we ever are in Auckland again, we will definitely return there!  Highly recommended.  Pricey, but worth it in our opinions.

Bottom line – we will definitely be back to NZ!  Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Thanks again for everything!!

Sincerely

Thomas and Sinden Schoedel - USA

We put this trip together very quickly only two months before, thanks to Rhodri’s itinerary suggestions and the arrangements he was able to make for us.  We felt very lucky about this as we were aware we had left it very late.  Rhodri found us good flight connections and great accommodations throughout New Zealand that were beautiful and yet connected to the local people and the surrounding environs.  My husband and I had requested an active trip and Rhodri delivered a variety of experiences for us so that we had a fabulous time.  We travelled for 16 days and did and saw a lot, giving us a very good appreciation for all that New Zealand has to offer.  Highlights include the Glow Worms Cave in Waitomo, hiking the Tongariro Crossing on a perfect sunny day, hiking along the Queen Charlotte Track after a water taxi ride on the Marlborough Sound out to the trail, kayaking both on a river in Havelock as well as on the ocean in Kaikoura, and the days we spent based in Queenstown.  From that beautiful city we did an excellent day trip out to Milford Sound and a day hike on the Routeburn Track, and very much enjoyed a “down day” where we cruised on a beautiful lake to Mt. Nicholas Farm where we learned about sheep farming followed by a 14 km cycle to Walter Peak sheep station where we partook of an incredible barbecue lunch.  All of our day trips were well-arranged for us and we just showed up and enjoyed the activity.  Many activities were guided, but we did a few on our own as well.  We added in a trip to the Redwoods in Rotorua, a stop at Waiotapu for the geothermal area and did some impromptu hikes in other areas including beautiful Akaroa.  Also a stop at a winery for lunch outside of Blenheim.  First Light Travel and Rhodri were so very easy to deal with and created a wonderful memorable trip for us.  When we needed to change the itinerary  to allow one more day, Rhodri was able to quickly do so.  He was very responsive to my emails.  Our flight arrangements were smooth, the accommodations were nicely appointed and well located, and the car rental went well.  It seems that everywhere we showed up, whether for a rental car, activity tour, ferry ride or the bed and breakfasts and small hotels, people were expecting us and made us feel welcome. 

We costed out the trip at the end and our calculations showed that we actually saved a few hundred dollars by booking with First Light Travel, rather than booking things separately ourselves.  My husband and I highly recommend First Light for anyone considering a New Zealand trip.

Maureen Hutson and John Chase - Canada

Flawless trip! First light was recommended by our friends. From the moment we connected with Jo, she was on top of making sure our trip was planned and that we were able to accomplish all of our travel goals. She took careful note of the activities we wanted to do, and gave us great recommendations on activities that she thought we should do. Every day was perfectly planned out, from what time to leave, an accurate description of the activity, and other recommendations to do in our (very little)downline. My Husband and I were only able to visit NZ for 2 weeks and somehow Jo managed to get us to all of our destinations with a couple extra stops along the way. Jo had great communication with us, and did everything she could to stay within our budget (which we thought would be impossible during the Holiday travel!) We have already recommended Jo and First Light to a few family and friends! Thank you for an unforgettable 2 week journey through your beautiful country!!

Mona & Adam  Banes - USA

We wanted to thank you for organizing our travel to New Zealand and Australia and I'll be back! Jo Taylor has selected the itinerary to meet our needs. Also, Jo Taylor was really helpful to reschedule weather related events during our journey.

The journey was great!

Grzegorz Banas & Danuta Rarus-Banas - USA

My wife and I had a great trip to the south for 2 weeks, we enjoyed every bit of it! Big thanks to Dawn, our coordinator, for her fabulous planning for our trip. It was hassle free, packed with variety of activities we get to do and space for us to explore. And the pace was perfect for us. No stress! Thanks for making our trip a pleasant one. We love NZ!

Manson and Tuanhong Koh - Singapore

We traveled to the South Island of New Zealand with another couple and planned to stay 3 weeks to have a good look around. I started Googling what to see in NZ and came across First Light Travel, we didn’t look back. Kasey Yee was very professional and informative and came back promptly with an itinerary. We tweaked it a little until we were happy that our trip would be exceptional. Accommodation was very clean, centrally located and a great variation, from high quality hotels to a magnificent farm stay. Activities were very well thought through and even though we didn’t do anything extreme it suited ours needs. I thoroughly recommend First Light Travel …Kasey in particular, she took away all the stress of booking everything ourselves.

Kym Schwark & Helen Preston - Australia

We loved First Light Travel from the first contact. Shelley was brilliant. All queries were answered promptly. Whilst in New Zealand we had to rearrange something and again Shelley dealt with it very efficiently. We would not hesitate to use first light travel again and have already recommend them to friends.

Robert and Glennis Holmes - United Kingdom

The travel we made through New Zealand was great and all the suggested activities are to be remembered by us. During the cyclone your assistance was great and you really took care of us. This is what service is in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Menkafina Ellerie & Henry Jongeleen - Holland

Our trip to New Zealand was everything we thought it would be and more! The accommodations and tours were exactly what we wanted. From the Hobbiton tour to the Marlborough wine region to hiking in multiple national parks, our varied interested were satisfied. This trip would not have been possible without First Light Travel's assistance. Thank you! We will recommend First Light Travel to everyone!

Jerri Carroll & Rhonda Matini - USA

We were most pleased with your service and particularly that of our consultant, Jo Taylor. Superbly good service in every respect from Jo would be an understatement. She was pleasant to deal with, in fact, most congenial, incredibly efficient, very knowledgeable and thoroughly professional throughout. We cannot say enough good things about Jo. She was a total joy to work with and she did an outstanding job for us in every way. She clearly gets a 5***** platinum rating from us!

Jack Huberman and Gord Boyd - USA