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

Thanks to First Light and especially to Amelia - who guided us in advance and along the journey. It has been the best weeks of the last 20 years. We will come back to NZ and again with First Light as soon as possible!

Michael and Susanne Gruber - Germany

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

Our trip to the north island of New Zealand was amazing!!! We are so happy with First Light’s services—especially our travel agent Christine. She was very prompt and helpful throughout the entire process. We had a couple unforeseen events occur during the trip and she was there to help however she could. The hotels and excursions were on point for what we told Christine we wanted and were interested in. We plan on using First Light again for our next trip to the South Island!

Bethany Lee & Matthew Griffin - United States of America

We have booked our vacation with great pleasure at First Light Travel. Thanks to the knowledge and experience of Judith Pohn we have come to a wonderful travel plan that met all our wishes. The contact also went very quickly and smoothly. If you have plans to go to New Zealand? Then we definitely recommend First Light

Werner Ulrich & Jamie Essed - The Netherlands

My wife and I used Jo at First Light Travel to plan our honeymoon tour of New Zealand. First Light took care of everything, which was fantastic since we were too busy planning our wedding at the time.

They asked us for our likes and interests and planned out an itinerary that suited us quite well. Our tour hit some Lord of the Rings highlights, saw majestic nature in Queenstown and Milford Sound, indulged us with wonderful wine tours, and had some fun river adventures too. We got a bit of luxury, a bit of relaxation, and some adventure. We fell in-love with New Zealand and can't wait to go back. The trip was well organized and gave us plenty of time for travel from place to place. It was such a pleasure to have everything planned; we just showed up and enjoyed.

Philippe Ajoux & Jackie Holland - USA

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

This was the easiest vacation I have ever planned. I left the planning details to the NZ experts and was not disappointed! Fantastic trip, with a detailed itinerary that took out all the stress! Jo made excellent, informed recommendations that let us see as much as we could in the 12 days allotted. The trip went like clockwork!

We felt we got the most of the time we had and, of course, want to return when we have more time - Must come back!

Holly Nelson & Ben Dossett – Texas USA

Chrissy played an important role in ensuring the smooth liaison and planning of our customised trip itinerary, answering the several questions I always had and providing prompt details or alternative suggestions whenever necessary. Thank you for the brilliant accommodation recommendations as well; they definitely exceeded our expectations. Dmitry, our driver and guide, was nothing short of wonderful, always offering interesting information about this beautiful country and ensuring we were well taken care of. We knew we were in great hands! Thank you so much for making our trip an enjoyably memorable one.

Yi Fang & Eileen Lim - Singapore

Shelley was absolutely fantastic from the moment we got in touch. She planned an amazing honeymoon for us touring around beautiful New Zealand, it was fantastic and so stress free knowing that everything was taken care of. All of the accommodation was great and we stayed in some places we’d never have found ourselves. All the tours, trips, and activities were outstanding and everything ran exactly to plan. It’s tough to pick just one highlight, but the Doubtful Sound cruise was just epic. If you’re planning a trip to New Zealand, I couldn’t recommend First Light and Shelley highly enough!

Alexander and Sarah Law – United Kingdom