Hey Deb,
How the heck are ya?
I am just a little behind on my email from December...wanted to say hello and see how you're doing, and thank you finally for the best vacation/trip of our lives. Catriona and I had such a blast in NZ. It seems like an eternity ago, which is sad, but we clutch the memories like gold bullions and scheme often about how to get back there.
First I'll have to pay the second of two speeding tickets I got on the west coast, though. The first was on our way down to the glacier, and I was pulled over in a tiny town where we'd stopped to get some water. The kind officer maintained that I was going 20 km over the limit, which seemed impossible to both of us, as I'd just entered the main road from a small side street and was not even out of third gear, but I paid my $120 and wished the mate well.
I thought all was fine, then received a second ticket by mail three months after we got back, this one for $230 for being caught on camera outside Greylock. I was truly stunned on both counts, because I had thought I was being super cautious with speed limits everywhere we went. In fact, I had wrested control of the vehicle early on the trip from Catriona due to lead foot in the car. She spent the whole trip complaining about how slow I was driving, but I told her it was so that we wouldn't miss any photo opportunities of road kill. We kept taking pictures of dead animals on the road so that we could put together a slideshow of the flora and fauna of NZ. The flora are easy to capture, but the fauna are a lot tougher, esp. the nocturnals like kiwi!
Anyway, I'm not just saying this to absolve myself of responsibility, but I honestly did feel that I was within the posted speed limit 98% of the trip, and we were constantly passed by others for going too slowly.
But I swear I'll be back just as soon as I pay off that second ticket. I understand from a friend, who is Vermont's deputy attorney general, that I won't be allowed back until my record is cleared...It's next on my list of lingering bills, right after I pay for my winter wood!! I wonder if they'd expunge my record in exchange for a terrific slideshow of a bunch of different animals that look like they're napping in the road!
Okay, that was a longwinded tangent. Mostly I just wanted to say hello. I hope all is well with you and the family.
Best,
Dee
Hi Deb
Well we have been back in the UK for a week, and reality is biting!
Just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you so much for planning such a wonderful holiday for us, it really was a holiday of a lifetime and everything went so smoothly. We would not have done half those things without your advice, so we are very grateful.
I have already passed your email address to two groups of friends who are planning holidays in NZ in the next few months, and my mother in law is coming out at Christmas, so will be giving her your details too. As for us, we plan to be back within a couple of years, so expect to hear from us again!
For your records, accommodation worthy of particular praise for being so stunning, was the lodge you put us in at Rotorua, Christchurch (stunning!) Franz Josef (so spacious and modern) and the lovely cottage at Te Anau (The Croft) all of which made the holiday that little bit better.
Well done and thank you once again!
Dan Jan 2005
Dear Debs,
Here we are back home after a wonderful holiday. New Zealand is spectacular, we drove 3000k in all, the space and scenery took our breath away. Thanks for organising everything so well, it went like a dream. The accomodation was excellent, the Luxmore, Princes Gate (I upgraded) and especially Arcadia Lodge (where we were very spoilt, thoroughly recommend it), made the holiday enjoyable. Some special memories; Carol singers in Cathdral Square in Christchurch, Tekapu Lake scenery. On the whole we were very lucky with our weather, a little rain in Dunedin (but the Albatross flew), and we saw the yellow eyed penguins. Super flight over Fiordland from Te Anau, with clear sunny weather. Lots of dolphins on Milford Sound, excellent cruise. Clear flight around Mount Cook & the glaciers & walking round Lake Matheson was beautiful. Bay of Islands scenery, (arrived 3.30pm by the way), very restful but weather not brilliant, a little cloudy & windy. Lovely Island cruise.
The cars were both new automatics, very good. All in all a 10/10 holiday, sorry it has passed so quickly. Wishing you all the best for the New Year, Debs Thanks again for all your organisation.
Cathy and Ian
Dear Deb
Just a note to say we are home safe and sound after a great 16 days. I hope you picked up the car OK - we felt a bit nervous leaving it unlocked but then we are from London not NZ!
The snow could have been a little better on the slopes, but everything else was really wonderful - in fact I can't believe we had such good weather whilst we were touring - it really made it as we were able to properly appreciate the amazing views. We managed a couple of good hikes as well as all the activities you booked for us. Our trip to Milford Sound was very memorable, a beautiful cruise with views of bottlenose dolphin, antarcic seals, ganets and other birdlife followed by a hike up to some of the most fantastic scenery we have ever seen. The accomodation in Wanaka and Te Anau were particularly memorable - great facilities and lovely hosts. We would recommend either to anyone else you have who is planning a similar trip. We were pleasently surprised by the quality of the room in Christchurch last night too.
Thanks for arranging everything so efficiently. The WWW and internet-based travel has really taken a lot of the mystery out of booking holidays these days but the flip side is that it presents so much choice that trying to decide what to do and where to go without prior knowledge is now more daunting than ever. We therefore really valued your input and advice. We couldn't fault your service and we had a great time, however for future reference you may wish to know we found it a bit nerve-racking having to part with the full balance before departure without any paperwork from you. We wondered if the absence of any formal correspondence might deter some more internet-sceptical clients.
It was great to meet you briefly and put your face to a name and series of emails. I trust that you continue to enjoy your job and that we will be watching your son playing for the ABs at some point in the future....?
with thanks and best wishes
Laura and Duncan
Hi Deb,
this is Fernando from Spain.
It was really a fantastic journey down there, you have a marvellous country!!! It was really very nice becouse even being quite few snow, we had four fantastic days skiing but also plenty of time to visit things arround.
Talking to people in new zealand was fantastic, everybody is nice, open and friendly, and helped us a lot to have a better visit to places. The car you rented for us was also very nice, it permitted us to go up some places that in another one would have not be easy...
Just a litle thing, the country is so nice and has so much to visit that we went back to spain a little bit sad, HAVE TO GO BACK.
It was very nice also meeting you there, and everything was really well organiced.
Really nice to meet you and thanks for all the help you gave us,
Fernando.
Deb,
I have just processed the deposit for you.
Thanks for you all help. You may wish to pass onto your boss that the reason that I chose to hire through Acrossnz.com is the personal (not computer generated) and very helpful reply's that I got from you both after my fist enquiry and since I have have confirmed my booking.
I have found (though both my work and wedding planning) that companies try to run an internet based operation and forget to do the personal customer feedback, or your enquiry just gets lost in the system.
Just thought I would pass on my thoughts as we often get the negative feedback but not the positive!
Kind regards Andrea Carter
Dear May and Jack, (referral to another client)
Like you I found AcrossNZ on the net through one of my travel site searches as I was develping our itinerary. I tried severl other travel groups that offered to create itineraries and in the end I ended up with Ravit being the most accessible and responsive. After presenting her with an outline of an itinerary, she and I went back and forth for several months refining it, working on the details, and finally filling in accomodations.
When it came time to send money I had some trepidation but had developed enough of a sense of her responsiveness ---- if she was running a scam she was working quite hard at it-- and also found the technology of their site to be reassuring. In any event, we did provide credit card information.
In exchange, we got a voucher book that turned NZ into a prepaid experience that was quite delightful.
From car rentals, to plane tickets, to boat rides and hotels, all we needed to do was present the voucher. We also found the accomodations that she selected (within a price range/comfort level that we had talked about) to be fine and in some cases magical.
Suzanne and I met her for coffee in Chirstchurch and liked that quite a bit. She later extended herself to meet with our 19 year daughter who is travelling in NZ.
In any event, if yor experience is like ours, you won't be disappointed. I hope this is helpful and reassuring. If you have futher questions about NZ feel free to ask.
Steve Krugman
Deborah,
The trip was wonderful!
We have lots of great memories, the weather was just about perfect, no crowds because it was the off season, New Zealand people are very pleasant, it was a great all around experience. We did end up staying an extra day because of the weather in Queenstown (the airport closed) so we drove up the Christchurch and flew out the next day.
Thanks so much for all you help and suggestions!
Kristina, Greg, Amy and John
Hi, Deb and Ravit,
It was so good to meet the two of you. Thanks for joining Harry and I on our last leg of our journey across New Zealand. What a trip. It was awesome. Your planning was exceptional, and the sights were awesome. It's hard to describe to friends the variety we saw.
The highlights for us were sailing in the Bay of Islands, Milford Sound and meeting so many wonderful people. There isn't much we would have changed.
Sydney capped off our trip although I think we sort of collapsed at the end. It was a day to many in Sydney since we didn't have a car and leave town. We took a private tour of the Opera House, walked the city and were also offered a private tour of the Zoo. that was awesome. For foreigners they offer for $3 a 90 minute private tour and explanation of Australian animals. Our guide was a naturalist and it was just the 3 of us.
We're trying to recoup right now. Our son is moving to Memphis, Tennessee, as of tomorrow, so we're busy cleaning out and then on Sunday, the 10th we fly to Florida where we will spend a month. I guess, back to normal living. Our other son and his wife and 3 year old daughter are joining us in Florida for 10 days. We can hardly wait for that. Sometime when we go thru our notes, I'll give you some tips from what we learned. One I remember right now is that Maui does not have a car park in Picton but there is a wonderful one about 2 blocks from the hotel we stayed at, indoor, overnight parking for just dollars. I have all of that info someplace.
The bill looks right but I need one more time the information on how to pay it. So cheers and have a great winter. Ravit you take care of yourself and let me know if you have a little girl or boy. Deb, you sure know how to plan well.
Thanks much to the two of you.
Betty and Harry
Hi Ravit,
We are crazy about New Zealand.
The services that you provided were outstanding. We had the best time ever and can't wait to return. The itinerary was paced nicely and the Ford Territory was the perfect vehicle for the adventure. I can't imagine seeing any more in an a 10 day tour of the South Island.
From the jet boat to Lord of the Rings Nomad Safari and Milford Sound Cruise everything went well. We loved the farm stay at Te Anau after Milford Sound it was so convenient. The Northridge B&B at Wanaka was exemplary with a fantastic view and Otago Peninsula was in a class of it's own.Don't let anyone come to your beautiful country without the grand finale, a most spectacular trip out to Mt. Cook.
After extensive around the world travels, we have been extremely pleased with the highly personal service you provided.The numerous e-mail and covering the smallest details made our trip one of the best ever. We highly recommend your tour company and please provide our e-mail address to anyone requiring a reference. We will be seeing you and Mark more often when we retire to New Zealand in 2 years.
Thanks for everything.
Best Regards, Neil and Maureen Black
Warwick, RI
USA
Great Mark!
We really couldn't have asked for a better person to plan our trip. We can't thank you enough!
Best Regards,
Kristin
Dear Mark:
Thanks for planning a terrific itinerary for us. Needless to say all went well and we had a great time. We will probably make another trip to NZ within the next couple of years and look forward to working with you again.
Eileen & Stan Shaffran
Hi Mark
We're now safely back in England (and sadly back to work too!) after a lovely 5 days in Rarotonga. But we just wanted to say a really massive thank you to you for organising such a fantastic trip for us. We honestly had an amazing time and absolutely loved all of our accommodation. The whole thing was a highlight so it's impossible to say where our favourite places were! The Abel Tasman NP and Doubtful Sound did stand out particularly though.
I hope you managed to collect the car successfully - we were so worried about leaving it unlocked at the airport! I do apolgise for the state of the car on the outside - we'd been down an unsealed road that morning to do a short walk near Mount Cook and hoped that it would rain before we got back to Christchurch but unfortunately (contrary to weather predictions) it didn't and we didn't see a car wash along the way.
Anyway, a million thanks for all of your help to produce the perfect honeymoon for us.
We would highly recommend you to anybody travelling to NZ - you provided an excellent service and all with such apparent ease!
Best wishes for the future.
Kind regards
Poppy and Stu
Dear Ravit:
Sorry this note is late, but it has taken a few days to catch up! I'm still trying to figure out which side of the road to drive on! We had a great time in both Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, we got to see some old friends, several cities, and the great Barrier Reef. In New Zealand, we got to see the most fabulous country that we have ever seen (and we have seen a few).
Our itinerary that you helped us plan worked out perfectly. We even hit the two days of good weather for our trips to Mt. Cook and Milford Sound. I can highly recommend Aspiring Air--they were very professional. We got to do the T.S.S. Earnslaw, but did not do the sheep farm. On the only day it rained (lightly), we did a wine tour of Central Otago. We loved the Chard Farm Winery . This was very near the Bungy bridge over the Kawarau river gorge. We sent a case of wine home to Wisconsin. We were never able to connect with our friend who is working on a station near Winton. Apparently, the cold and windy weather has caused a crisis in the lambing industry. He will be home in a month or so with many stories.
Some day, we would like to return to spend even more time exploring both islands. We will highly recommend you, and your agency to anyone we know who is travelling there. Thank you again for all of your help and advice.
Sincerely,
Frederick Katz
Mark,
Thanks for all of your help. I feel much better about the whole trip and should have started planning with you in the beginning. I will look for the vouchers when we arrive at the Sebel suites.
Kind regards,
David
Hi Mark,
I’ve just been putting together a scrap book of our trip and came across your card. I don’t think I properly thanked you for putting together such a great trip! We enjoyed every minute and you did a fabulous job making our entire vacation run smoothly.
Thanks.If we’re ever back in your neck of the woods we’ll definitely have you help us again.
Amy and Jeff Zdenek
Hi Ravit!
The trip was wonderful -- I can't say enough about most of the hotels and sights. The Longhouse in Waiheke Island is an incredible place to stay. I would recommend it instantly to anyone. Same goes for Orari House in Christchurch, which, if I could capture its essence in a bottle, I would show to future travel agents for our ideal BnB -- within walking distance of the city center, reasonably priced, well-appointed, and cozy without feeling like you're intruding into someone's home. Whatamonga in Picton was also amazing and we would go again in a heartbeat. The Lofts in Queenstown were great in that they were well-located and also had a washer/dryer, which was key at that point of our trip. Edgewater in Wanaka also had a washer/dryer and it had the benefit of being on a beautiful site with great views and a resort to enjoy. We were really pleased -- I forgot to tell you that they upgraded us from a standard to a suite for free, I think because there was a big tour group there that had taken a lot of the standard rooms (or maybe because they knew it was our honeymoon).
The Te Weheka Inn at Fox was very nice, but felt a little "cookie cutter". But that's a personality thing -- it's very much a corporate-feeling boutique hotel (very similar to the South Beach Marriott, where we got married, in fact!), which many people like a lot. We had a great meal at Cafe Neve at Fox, and we'd recommend that place to anyone.... The Wellingtonian was the only place we didn't adore, but that being said, it was perfectly serviceable and clean -- just not a place we'd want to stay for more than 12 hours or so.... The Abseil Inn at Waitomo was great -- excellent breakfast, good service, a family room with a TV and DVDs available, with a great view of the hills. There's a nice porch where you can have sherry or coffee as the sun goes down. The Grand Chateau at Tongariro was really special -- wonderful views of the volcanoes, a very elegant lobby/downstairs, and in a very picturesque setting. It felt like we were going back in time!
The experiences we had were also great -- we felt a little rushed at the Punakaiki Blowing Rocks, so I think we didn't get as much out of it as we should have, but we weren't bowled over by them, or by the tranzalpine train. You were totally right about the train, but in the end it was good because it saved us a lot of driving (330k from Greymouth to Christchurch). It was also a letdown because we were expecting a nicer train -- in other places where there is a "scenic train", it's usually a picturesque locomotive and you're treated to a small meal or afternoon tea -- sort of the "Victorian train" experience. It was a letdown to show up and find that it's just a normal train with normal seats that happens to pass through some of the most beautiful scenery in NZ. Everything else we would do again in a heartbeat -- canyoning in Wanaka, the Skyride/luge rides in Queenstown, lunch at the SkyTower in Auckland, whalewatching in Kaikoura, Waitomo Caves (though you were right that if choosing b/t Rotorua and Waitomo, the former wins), Tongariro Crossing (with keys in a zippered pocket!), the Marlborough Sounds and a walk on the Queen Charlotte Track, Milford Sound and the Mariner (though if pressed for time, a 2-3 hour day cruise probably would have been OK, except for the fact that you end up driving all morning there and all evening back to do an afternoon cruise). For relaxation, Waiheke, Wanaka, and Marlborough were all fantastic, and we would go there again (we regretted not staying more time in all of them!). I would say those are the places where I'd recommend having a "home base" and exploring the region while relaxing at a nice BnB (as opposed to Queenstown, for example, where the town itself is not very picturesque).
When we go back to NZ (it's only a matter of time!), we'd really like to go to Abel Tasman and to the Bay of Islands, which were the only places we really regretted missing. I would be hard-pressed to pick one highlight, but the Tongariro trek was pretty special, as was the cruise of Milford Sound. Scenery-wise, I loved Waiheke and Marlborough Sounds.... As far as driving, I can't remember driving times precisely, but we probably averaged b/t 80 and 90km every hour. The only times we felt oppressed by the driving time were the drive from Milford to Queenstown (on the way *to* Milford we stopped for lunch and shopping in Te Anau) and from Wellington to Tongariro. I would recommend telling people to adhere closely to the speed limits, since there were so many policemen pulling people over....
In hindsight, I don't think there is a lot we would do differently. We had such a great time (and we'll be paying for it for a long time!!!), and we really enjoyed every bit of it...
Anyway, hope all is well.....
-Juan
Hi Ravit,
Hope you are well.
We have just about settled back into normality in England but after nearly two months trotting around Oz and NZ it's all a bit mundane and we're thinking about our next trip already! This time we'll do some different places in Australia and have a relaxed look again at parts of New Zealand which we particularly enjoyed. Perhaps then going on to Fiji or one of the other islands. So, we'll be in touch again later this year.
We've also got two lots of friends who are planning to visit New Zealand shortly and, if it's OK with you I'll pass your details. I know that they want to do some of the things we did but they are keen on wildlife and may want to spend more time on South Island.
Best regards
Ian
Hi Mark,
I've taken care of the last payment for our trip last month -- the balance on Gunyah Lodge. The refund you requested from the Weirekei Resort came through on our American Express card this month, and I expect the refund from Budget will show up on our next Master Card bill. I'll certainly let you know if it doesn't.
We had a fantastic trip -- thanks so much for all you did to make it such a memorable one. The accommodations everywhere exceeded our expectations and the food was spectacularly good. You also did a very nice job arranging good weather for us as it only rained on Auckland the day we arrived and from then on, only a shower or two at night.
Every day we were in NZ brought bright, glorious sunshine. The golf in New Zealand certainly compared most favorably with golf on American courses. Some of the local courses we saw -- but didn't play -- looked a bit ragged, but not the ones we played, despite the burned out rough. Many US courses in the summer suffer the same conditions. At least, it makes the rough less daunting. Formosa and Terrace Downs were a bit on the windy side, but that's the weather after all.
Again, thanks for everything you did. And, next time you're in NY, let us know in advance. It would be nice to see you again,
Best regards,
Kathy Rae
Hi Mark,
Well I’ve just processed the payment and everything seems to have gone through OK. I can’t thank you enough for all your help and seeing us through to the end. Your help was invaluable.
Please pass on our thanks to Tim who was wonderful. It takes one great guy to know another.
I’ll certainly recommend your services to my friends and acquaintances and stress the convenience of having a NZ based operator rather than an Australian one.
Enjoy your weekend
Take care Jo
Dear Mark:
Just a few words to thank you for all the arrangements in connection with our recent visit to South Island. Everything worked out perfect -- all bookings (hotels and car) were spot-on just the way we had planned.
Everything was so comfortable and easy.Absolutely no hassles anywhere at all. New Zealand was everything we expected and much, much more. In many ways, it is surely God's own country. We are already dreaming about our next journey there and how we can do a longer trip next time around. Am not sure when it will happen though....
In the meantime, thanks again. Do not be surprised at all if you get contacted with requests for travel arrangements from our many friends here who would surely be looking to visit NZ once they have heard our first hand accounts and seen some of our photographs (even if they do very little justice to the real thing).
Best regards from all of us. Sandhya and Raj
Dear Mark,
Just to say thanks very much for organising and planning out holiday intinerary in NZ. We had an absolutely fantastic time though a few more days would have been good. Next time.
We won't hesitate to recommend you to friends who may wish to holiday in NZ.
Best wishes Chris + Claire
Ravit,
Yes we had a wonderful time. Everything went very well. The vineyard accommodation was beautiful and managed by very nice people. Would recommend it for a night to anyone.
No real problems with cars, if we did it again, we would go south-north as it would be so much cheaper. Also, we were given a slightly worse car in the SI, but not a problem.
All in all, NZ rocks. We loved it. People were lovely, scenery stunning and the food really good.
Thanks for helping us have such a great time there.
Will IFC/China Project Development Facility
Hi Mark
Well we arrived home safely last week after an absolutely fantastic trip. Everything went exactly to plan and even the weather was great! We'd just like to say thank you so much for the work you did helping us to plan the holiday. Having all of our accomodation and rental cars etc. prepaid made it so much easier! Especially towards the end of our trip where we had already spent most of our money! Two of the highlights of the trip were places you suggested we stayed.
The first was Lake Tekapo which was unbelievably beautiful. We had a lovely room looking right over the lake. And driving up to Mount Cook in the Mini was great fun! And the standard of accomodation was excellent.
The second place was Punakaiki although we also only stayed there briefly. I think it was one of the more expensive places we stayed but it was a fantastic room looking right over the sea. If you have people heading out near either location you can definitely feel safe suggesting they stay there! New Years at the Chateau was also amazing. Although the tickets to the party sounded expensive it was well worth it as we had as much wine as we could drink, as much amazing food as we could eat and a really great band playing all night. And needless to say the standard of accomodation even in our basic room was fantastic.
We'd also like to say a big thanks for getting the Lord of the Rings marathon tickets for us! It was a great start to our trip seeing all three of them and thankfully the third film was worth the trip. We saw a lot of the locations where they filmed which was fun and it is quite sad that it is now all over! We even got up to the Hobbitton movie set in Matamata which although expensive ($50 each) was a fun couple of hours. Even people there who weren't huge fans of the film seemed to enjoy themselves a lot.
We got lots of great photos and video of the whole trip and it was definitely a once in a lifetime! I'm already planning on coming back again in the next 2 years so if it does end up happening I'll be in contact again!
Thanks for helping to make it such a fantastic trip and I hope you have a great year!
Sincerely, Julie (and Lucy!)
Dear Ravit we are home.
THANKYOU. we have had a wonderful time. everything went to plan. excellent accomodation. we all enjoyed the water sports. EJ broke his arm but we worked round that with a waterproof plaster cast. a quick summary:
purangi garden homestay - excellent spot, isolated, definitely need instructions to find it, very welcoming hosts who provided a great dinner at a ridiculously low cost. house fine for us.....easy access to beach and country, clean and comfortable.
Quarters - need directions and wise to arrive before dark. inpeccable accomadation. what a spot....perched on the side of a cliff...four wheel drive helped. dinner provided on request........fine for us. laundry facilities very useful. Trevs wine tours fron Gisborne - excellent guide and kindly fitted in the key tourist bits of the area. He picked mainly boutique winerys.........great choice. definitley recommend him. Wellington - worth the extra cost, perhaps a little too formal for a family but we were very well behaved and had a superb breakfast provided.
Huntaway - join the family. fantastic own build and children enjoyed the alpaccas. Ika lodge - more self contained, comfortable, ideally situated for activities, the BEST evening meal of our tour - the children still talk about the chicken pie! Kyaking great fun. Whitewater was the better value afternoon, great guides and some excitement.we all felt thet was one of our best family activities
Ariki Lodge - suburban rotorua but right on the lake edge which compensated entirely. very helpful hosts All the places we stayed commented on your attention and prompt payment to them...congratulations. We will be back; we will contact you again...........need to 'do' the south island! again a big thankyou
The Bennetts
Dear Ravit
Many thanks for excellent trip and all your organisational skills just returned to Auckland after seeing the glow worms all stop overs excellent and varied - it was great to have prepaid you received many compliments for communication and effeciency well done!
I was offered dr locum in Wellington along the way! off to Waiheke island now for easter and jazz festival best wishes
Richard & Liz
Thanks Mark.
Everything has worked out very well. Too bad that the weather hasn't been better, but nothing can be done about that. We had a fantastic time in the South Island and we will be turning in our rig tomorrow and flying back to the USA after being gone for 4+ months, tomorrow eve. Thanks for everything, you have done a GREAT service for us. You will be highly recommended by us.
Cheers,
Suzanne Hale
USA
Hello Acrossnz
Well, we are back from our wonderful vacation in NZ and Fiji. Everything was just great and I thank you again for you help in making the arrangements.
I highly recommend both the helicopter flight over Mt. Cook, which was absolutely spectacular, and the kayaking tour of Milford Sound. Our kayaking guide, Matt, was a lot of fun and had so many interesting stories about the area.
Again, thanks for making our trip a total success.
Jeanne
Hello Mark,
Judy and I had a wonderful time in New Zealand and finally returned home from Australia last night (3 December). Your help was greatly appreciated, and all went like clockwork, just as you'd indicated it would. We especially liked our stay at Dorothy's - it was unique and one of the highlights of our trip. We left your travel map and guide book with them, and they said they'd ring you and arrange a pickup. I hope that you've gotten them back by now.
Judy and I will update our actual travel in the next several days. If you want to see what we actually did, and our impressions of NZ and AU, I'd be happy to send you a copy. Overall, we had a superb trip.
Pete & Judy Wehner
Dear Mark,
Thankyou for your e-mail of Wed 6th Nov,'02 with reference to the Maui Spirit 4~4/berth Motorhome. Yes please go ahead and have Maui debit my credit card for the 20%. I sincerely appreciate all you have done to help us, for a while there things were looking fairly bleak. It is six years since I was home in NZ and my sons have never been in summer, only July/Aug so I've been trying really hard to put this together.
Thanks once again,
Regards Clive Lay
Hope you are well.
Just thought I would put you in touch with a work colleague Russ who is planning to come over to NZ in the next few months for a trip. I have said you will point him in the right direction on what do , where to go and what to stay ! I have explained that you sorted out our intinery in March and did a grand job and so have said for him to have chat with you.
Hopefully it won't be too long before we are getting you to sort our next trip out !!
Lucy Spensley
Yeah, we are having quite a bit of fun. We went to the Orakei Korako geothermal area today which was really unique. We took a million photos and will probably post some in a few days. We look forward to meeting you, too. Thanks for setting us up w/ such a great trip...
Ethan and Lalenya
United States April 2002 Hi Mark Sorry we missed you but there has been so little time to do so much ! It has been an absolutely amazing experience, thank you so much for organising what has been an excellant trip. It was a shame that Mount Cook was surrounded in cloud and so we only saw about a couple of hundred feet of the mountain ! Never mind the Chrlaotte Jane has made up for it in every way ! If we come back to NZ we will use you again to organise the trip as you have made this a brillaint holiday ! Many Thanks Mike and Lucy England Jan 2002 When I first thought of going to New Zealand, I browsed the Internet to find interesting things to do, and places to go. Somehow I ended up in your site, which had the unique advantage of offering a customised tour, which was precisely what I needed since I had a time constraint of twelve days and particular interests that would probably not fit in a single package (a rugby game at Carisbrook for example). By that time I had a pretty good idea of the places I wanted to visit and had some activities in mind already (kayak at Milford Sound). I submitted a form in the site with my particular interests, since I had no obligation to pay until I agreed on the itinerary (this is awfully convenient). I had done some researching on hotel prices in New Zealand and I had a number in my head. When , after exchanging mails and agreeing on acitivities and itinerary, Ilooked at the final figure, it was half of what I had come up with. This, of course, looked too good to be true, and because it came from the internet, I had my doubts. Truth is I started to get nervous when I decided to pay a 20% deposit for all bookings(although the site is very organised and has several logos that look trustworthy). When I received the confirmation codes for the hotels and the flight to Queenstown, I was certainly reassured. I actually sent an email to one of the hotels, just to make sure the confirmation codes were correct. At this point I had no doubts that everything was allright. I have to admit that my expectations were exceeded in so many ways. These are some of the examples of incredible customer service that speak out for themselves: The hotels that were booked for me (every single one of them) were incredible! I had the feeling that I was getting away with something, because I usually pay, at least, twice as much as the rates I had for the same luxury in the U.S or in Mexico. Everytime I had to change the car, there was always someone waiting for me at the terminal. One day, I almost didin't make it to the rafting experience and i got a call to see if everything was allright (somehow everyone knew I had been to a rugby game the night before that!!!). I received one or two calls just to check that I was doing allright and that things were working out just fine! This kind of follow up is one of the things I did not expect, simply because it was not listed as part of the bookings!!! Sometimes, we, as customers, expect to get what we pay for, but not more! The truth is that I had a wonderful time in New Zealand: I did so much in so little and was able to enjoy every bit of it. I am sure that if I had chosen a local travel agency in Mexico, I would have been ripped off , paid a fortune, and would have probably not enjoyed it as much as I did. The fact that I "knew" someone in the country was somehow reassuring. Now I know I have to go back and go to all those places I didn't have the time to go, and although I am not sure as when I will be able to return to NZ, I am sure I will write to you!! Thanks again ! Gonzalo January 2000 Hi Mark and co Just a quick note to say thank you, thank you, thank you. You, your fellow kiwis and your lovely country even better than we were led to believe, and that's saying something, because everyone here in the states thinks that New Zealand is the best thing going. Honestly, we enjoyed ourselves immensely, and your services were a tremendous part of the success. Your service is really excellent, and I still can't believe that you followed our progress daily. That is really impressive. Just want to say thanks. We really appreciate all you did. I guess the most sincere way to say thanks is to recommend your services, and we will do just that. We have friends planning to go to NZ, or at least thinking about it, and I will make sure they contact you if they do. Honestly, we enjoyed ourselves immensely, and your services were a tremendous part of the success. Your service is really excellent, and I still can't believe that you followed our progress daily. That is really impressive. Just want to say thanks. We really appreciate all you did. I guess the most sincere way to say thanks is to recommend your services, and we will do just that. We have friends planning to go to NZ, or at least thinking about it, and I will make sure they contact you if they do. Jonny and Sharon California jonnygowland@hotmail.com "We've had so much fun sharing our NZ experience with our friends and we have you to thank for the concentrated itinerary - We saw more with your guidance than could ever have been achieved otherwise and had a fantastic time. Feel free to put us down as a reference as I believe our experience was truly worthy of that...We know we touched on so little but are glad we have a lot left to experience in NZ. Thanks Again!" Ben and Eva Slovakia bennybobo@hotmail.com
How the heck are ya?
I am just a little behind on my email from December...wanted to say hello and see how you're doing, and thank you finally for the best vacation/trip of our lives. Catriona and I had such a blast in NZ. It seems like an eternity ago, which is sad, but we clutch the memories like gold bullions and scheme often about how to get back there.
First I'll have to pay the second of two speeding tickets I got on the west coast, though. The first was on our way down to the glacier, and I was pulled over in a tiny town where we'd stopped to get some water. The kind officer maintained that I was going 20 km over the limit, which seemed impossible to both of us, as I'd just entered the main road from a small side street and was not even out of third gear, but I paid my $120 and wished the mate well.
I thought all was fine, then received a second ticket by mail three months after we got back, this one for $230 for being caught on camera outside Greylock. I was truly stunned on both counts, because I had thought I was being super cautious with speed limits everywhere we went. In fact, I had wrested control of the vehicle early on the trip from Catriona due to lead foot in the car. She spent the whole trip complaining about how slow I was driving, but I told her it was so that we wouldn't miss any photo opportunities of road kill. We kept taking pictures of dead animals on the road so that we could put together a slideshow of the flora and fauna of NZ. The flora are easy to capture, but the fauna are a lot tougher, esp. the nocturnals like kiwi!
Anyway, I'm not just saying this to absolve myself of responsibility, but I honestly did feel that I was within the posted speed limit 98% of the trip, and we were constantly passed by others for going too slowly.
But I swear I'll be back just as soon as I pay off that second ticket. I understand from a friend, who is Vermont's deputy attorney general, that I won't be allowed back until my record is cleared...It's next on my list of lingering bills, right after I pay for my winter wood!! I wonder if they'd expunge my record in exchange for a terrific slideshow of a bunch of different animals that look like they're napping in the road!
Okay, that was a longwinded tangent. Mostly I just wanted to say hello. I hope all is well with you and the family.
Best,
Dee
Hi Deb
Well we have been back in the UK for a week, and reality is biting!
Just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you so much for planning such a wonderful holiday for us, it really was a holiday of a lifetime and everything went so smoothly. We would not have done half those things without your advice, so we are very grateful.
I have already passed your email address to two groups of friends who are planning holidays in NZ in the next few months, and my mother in law is coming out at Christmas, so will be giving her your details too. As for us, we plan to be back within a couple of years, so expect to hear from us again!
For your records, accommodation worthy of particular praise for being so stunning, was the lodge you put us in at Rotorua, Christchurch (stunning!) Franz Josef (so spacious and modern) and the lovely cottage at Te Anau (The Croft) all of which made the holiday that little bit better.
Well done and thank you once again!
Dan Jan 2005
Dear Debs,
Here we are back home after a wonderful holiday. New Zealand is spectacular, we drove 3000k in all, the space and scenery took our breath away. Thanks for organising everything so well, it went like a dream. The accomodation was excellent, the Luxmore, Princes Gate (I upgraded) and especially Arcadia Lodge (where we were very spoilt, thoroughly recommend it), made the holiday enjoyable. Some special memories; Carol singers in Cathdral Square in Christchurch, Tekapu Lake scenery. On the whole we were very lucky with our weather, a little rain in Dunedin (but the Albatross flew), and we saw the yellow eyed penguins. Super flight over Fiordland from Te Anau, with clear sunny weather. Lots of dolphins on Milford Sound, excellent cruise. Clear flight around Mount Cook & the glaciers & walking round Lake Matheson was beautiful. Bay of Islands scenery, (arrived 3.30pm by the way), very restful but weather not brilliant, a little cloudy & windy. Lovely Island cruise.
The cars were both new automatics, very good. All in all a 10/10 holiday, sorry it has passed so quickly. Wishing you all the best for the New Year, Debs Thanks again for all your organisation.
Cathy and Ian
Dear Deb
Just a note to say we are home safe and sound after a great 16 days. I hope you picked up the car OK - we felt a bit nervous leaving it unlocked but then we are from London not NZ!
The snow could have been a little better on the slopes, but everything else was really wonderful - in fact I can't believe we had such good weather whilst we were touring - it really made it as we were able to properly appreciate the amazing views. We managed a couple of good hikes as well as all the activities you booked for us. Our trip to Milford Sound was very memorable, a beautiful cruise with views of bottlenose dolphin, antarcic seals, ganets and other birdlife followed by a hike up to some of the most fantastic scenery we have ever seen. The accomodation in Wanaka and Te Anau were particularly memorable - great facilities and lovely hosts. We would recommend either to anyone else you have who is planning a similar trip. We were pleasently surprised by the quality of the room in Christchurch last night too.
Thanks for arranging everything so efficiently. The WWW and internet-based travel has really taken a lot of the mystery out of booking holidays these days but the flip side is that it presents so much choice that trying to decide what to do and where to go without prior knowledge is now more daunting than ever. We therefore really valued your input and advice. We couldn't fault your service and we had a great time, however for future reference you may wish to know we found it a bit nerve-racking having to part with the full balance before departure without any paperwork from you. We wondered if the absence of any formal correspondence might deter some more internet-sceptical clients.
It was great to meet you briefly and put your face to a name and series of emails. I trust that you continue to enjoy your job and that we will be watching your son playing for the ABs at some point in the future....?
with thanks and best wishes
Laura and Duncan
Hi Deb,
this is Fernando from Spain.
It was really a fantastic journey down there, you have a marvellous country!!! It was really very nice becouse even being quite few snow, we had four fantastic days skiing but also plenty of time to visit things arround.
Talking to people in new zealand was fantastic, everybody is nice, open and friendly, and helped us a lot to have a better visit to places. The car you rented for us was also very nice, it permitted us to go up some places that in another one would have not be easy...
Just a litle thing, the country is so nice and has so much to visit that we went back to spain a little bit sad, HAVE TO GO BACK.
It was very nice also meeting you there, and everything was really well organiced.
Really nice to meet you and thanks for all the help you gave us,
Fernando.
Deb,
I have just processed the deposit for you.
Thanks for you all help. You may wish to pass onto your boss that the reason that I chose to hire through Acrossnz.com is the personal (not computer generated) and very helpful reply's that I got from you both after my fist enquiry and since I have have confirmed my booking.
I have found (though both my work and wedding planning) that companies try to run an internet based operation and forget to do the personal customer feedback, or your enquiry just gets lost in the system.
Just thought I would pass on my thoughts as we often get the negative feedback but not the positive!
Kind regards Andrea Carter
Dear May and Jack, (referral to another client)
Like you I found AcrossNZ on the net through one of my travel site searches as I was develping our itinerary. I tried severl other travel groups that offered to create itineraries and in the end I ended up with Ravit being the most accessible and responsive. After presenting her with an outline of an itinerary, she and I went back and forth for several months refining it, working on the details, and finally filling in accomodations.
When it came time to send money I had some trepidation but had developed enough of a sense of her responsiveness ---- if she was running a scam she was working quite hard at it-- and also found the technology of their site to be reassuring. In any event, we did provide credit card information.
In exchange, we got a voucher book that turned NZ into a prepaid experience that was quite delightful.
From car rentals, to plane tickets, to boat rides and hotels, all we needed to do was present the voucher. We also found the accomodations that she selected (within a price range/comfort level that we had talked about) to be fine and in some cases magical.
Suzanne and I met her for coffee in Chirstchurch and liked that quite a bit. She later extended herself to meet with our 19 year daughter who is travelling in NZ.
In any event, if yor experience is like ours, you won't be disappointed. I hope this is helpful and reassuring. If you have futher questions about NZ feel free to ask.
Steve Krugman
Deborah,
The trip was wonderful!
We have lots of great memories, the weather was just about perfect, no crowds because it was the off season, New Zealand people are very pleasant, it was a great all around experience. We did end up staying an extra day because of the weather in Queenstown (the airport closed) so we drove up the Christchurch and flew out the next day.
Thanks so much for all you help and suggestions!
Kristina, Greg, Amy and John
Hi, Deb and Ravit,
It was so good to meet the two of you. Thanks for joining Harry and I on our last leg of our journey across New Zealand. What a trip. It was awesome. Your planning was exceptional, and the sights were awesome. It's hard to describe to friends the variety we saw.
The highlights for us were sailing in the Bay of Islands, Milford Sound and meeting so many wonderful people. There isn't much we would have changed.
Sydney capped off our trip although I think we sort of collapsed at the end. It was a day to many in Sydney since we didn't have a car and leave town. We took a private tour of the Opera House, walked the city and were also offered a private tour of the Zoo. that was awesome. For foreigners they offer for $3 a 90 minute private tour and explanation of Australian animals. Our guide was a naturalist and it was just the 3 of us.
We're trying to recoup right now. Our son is moving to Memphis, Tennessee, as of tomorrow, so we're busy cleaning out and then on Sunday, the 10th we fly to Florida where we will spend a month. I guess, back to normal living. Our other son and his wife and 3 year old daughter are joining us in Florida for 10 days. We can hardly wait for that. Sometime when we go thru our notes, I'll give you some tips from what we learned. One I remember right now is that Maui does not have a car park in Picton but there is a wonderful one about 2 blocks from the hotel we stayed at, indoor, overnight parking for just dollars. I have all of that info someplace.
The bill looks right but I need one more time the information on how to pay it. So cheers and have a great winter. Ravit you take care of yourself and let me know if you have a little girl or boy. Deb, you sure know how to plan well.
Thanks much to the two of you.
Betty and Harry
Hi Ravit,
We are crazy about New Zealand.
The services that you provided were outstanding. We had the best time ever and can't wait to return. The itinerary was paced nicely and the Ford Territory was the perfect vehicle for the adventure. I can't imagine seeing any more in an a 10 day tour of the South Island.
From the jet boat to Lord of the Rings Nomad Safari and Milford Sound Cruise everything went well. We loved the farm stay at Te Anau after Milford Sound it was so convenient. The Northridge B&B at Wanaka was exemplary with a fantastic view and Otago Peninsula was in a class of it's own.Don't let anyone come to your beautiful country without the grand finale, a most spectacular trip out to Mt. Cook.
After extensive around the world travels, we have been extremely pleased with the highly personal service you provided.The numerous e-mail and covering the smallest details made our trip one of the best ever. We highly recommend your tour company and please provide our e-mail address to anyone requiring a reference. We will be seeing you and Mark more often when we retire to New Zealand in 2 years.
Thanks for everything.
Best Regards, Neil and Maureen Black
Warwick, RI
USA
Great Mark!
We really couldn't have asked for a better person to plan our trip. We can't thank you enough!
Best Regards,
Kristin
Dear Mark:
Thanks for planning a terrific itinerary for us. Needless to say all went well and we had a great time. We will probably make another trip to NZ within the next couple of years and look forward to working with you again.
Eileen & Stan Shaffran
Hi Mark
We're now safely back in England (and sadly back to work too!) after a lovely 5 days in Rarotonga. But we just wanted to say a really massive thank you to you for organising such a fantastic trip for us. We honestly had an amazing time and absolutely loved all of our accommodation. The whole thing was a highlight so it's impossible to say where our favourite places were! The Abel Tasman NP and Doubtful Sound did stand out particularly though.
I hope you managed to collect the car successfully - we were so worried about leaving it unlocked at the airport! I do apolgise for the state of the car on the outside - we'd been down an unsealed road that morning to do a short walk near Mount Cook and hoped that it would rain before we got back to Christchurch but unfortunately (contrary to weather predictions) it didn't and we didn't see a car wash along the way.
Anyway, a million thanks for all of your help to produce the perfect honeymoon for us.
We would highly recommend you to anybody travelling to NZ - you provided an excellent service and all with such apparent ease!
Best wishes for the future.
Kind regards
Poppy and Stu
Dear Ravit:
Sorry this note is late, but it has taken a few days to catch up! I'm still trying to figure out which side of the road to drive on! We had a great time in both Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, we got to see some old friends, several cities, and the great Barrier Reef. In New Zealand, we got to see the most fabulous country that we have ever seen (and we have seen a few).
Our itinerary that you helped us plan worked out perfectly. We even hit the two days of good weather for our trips to Mt. Cook and Milford Sound. I can highly recommend Aspiring Air--they were very professional. We got to do the T.S.S. Earnslaw, but did not do the sheep farm. On the only day it rained (lightly), we did a wine tour of Central Otago. We loved the Chard Farm Winery . This was very near the Bungy bridge over the Kawarau river gorge. We sent a case of wine home to Wisconsin. We were never able to connect with our friend who is working on a station near Winton. Apparently, the cold and windy weather has caused a crisis in the lambing industry. He will be home in a month or so with many stories.
Some day, we would like to return to spend even more time exploring both islands. We will highly recommend you, and your agency to anyone we know who is travelling there. Thank you again for all of your help and advice.
Sincerely,
Frederick Katz
Mark,
Thanks for all of your help. I feel much better about the whole trip and should have started planning with you in the beginning. I will look for the vouchers when we arrive at the Sebel suites.
Kind regards,
David
Hi Mark,
I’ve just been putting together a scrap book of our trip and came across your card. I don’t think I properly thanked you for putting together such a great trip! We enjoyed every minute and you did a fabulous job making our entire vacation run smoothly.
Thanks.If we’re ever back in your neck of the woods we’ll definitely have you help us again.
Amy and Jeff Zdenek
Hi Ravit!
The trip was wonderful -- I can't say enough about most of the hotels and sights. The Longhouse in Waiheke Island is an incredible place to stay. I would recommend it instantly to anyone. Same goes for Orari House in Christchurch, which, if I could capture its essence in a bottle, I would show to future travel agents for our ideal BnB -- within walking distance of the city center, reasonably priced, well-appointed, and cozy without feeling like you're intruding into someone's home. Whatamonga in Picton was also amazing and we would go again in a heartbeat. The Lofts in Queenstown were great in that they were well-located and also had a washer/dryer, which was key at that point of our trip. Edgewater in Wanaka also had a washer/dryer and it had the benefit of being on a beautiful site with great views and a resort to enjoy. We were really pleased -- I forgot to tell you that they upgraded us from a standard to a suite for free, I think because there was a big tour group there that had taken a lot of the standard rooms (or maybe because they knew it was our honeymoon).
The Te Weheka Inn at Fox was very nice, but felt a little "cookie cutter". But that's a personality thing -- it's very much a corporate-feeling boutique hotel (very similar to the South Beach Marriott, where we got married, in fact!), which many people like a lot. We had a great meal at Cafe Neve at Fox, and we'd recommend that place to anyone.... The Wellingtonian was the only place we didn't adore, but that being said, it was perfectly serviceable and clean -- just not a place we'd want to stay for more than 12 hours or so.... The Abseil Inn at Waitomo was great -- excellent breakfast, good service, a family room with a TV and DVDs available, with a great view of the hills. There's a nice porch where you can have sherry or coffee as the sun goes down. The Grand Chateau at Tongariro was really special -- wonderful views of the volcanoes, a very elegant lobby/downstairs, and in a very picturesque setting. It felt like we were going back in time!
The experiences we had were also great -- we felt a little rushed at the Punakaiki Blowing Rocks, so I think we didn't get as much out of it as we should have, but we weren't bowled over by them, or by the tranzalpine train. You were totally right about the train, but in the end it was good because it saved us a lot of driving (330k from Greymouth to Christchurch). It was also a letdown because we were expecting a nicer train -- in other places where there is a "scenic train", it's usually a picturesque locomotive and you're treated to a small meal or afternoon tea -- sort of the "Victorian train" experience. It was a letdown to show up and find that it's just a normal train with normal seats that happens to pass through some of the most beautiful scenery in NZ. Everything else we would do again in a heartbeat -- canyoning in Wanaka, the Skyride/luge rides in Queenstown, lunch at the SkyTower in Auckland, whalewatching in Kaikoura, Waitomo Caves (though you were right that if choosing b/t Rotorua and Waitomo, the former wins), Tongariro Crossing (with keys in a zippered pocket!), the Marlborough Sounds and a walk on the Queen Charlotte Track, Milford Sound and the Mariner (though if pressed for time, a 2-3 hour day cruise probably would have been OK, except for the fact that you end up driving all morning there and all evening back to do an afternoon cruise). For relaxation, Waiheke, Wanaka, and Marlborough were all fantastic, and we would go there again (we regretted not staying more time in all of them!). I would say those are the places where I'd recommend having a "home base" and exploring the region while relaxing at a nice BnB (as opposed to Queenstown, for example, where the town itself is not very picturesque).
When we go back to NZ (it's only a matter of time!), we'd really like to go to Abel Tasman and to the Bay of Islands, which were the only places we really regretted missing. I would be hard-pressed to pick one highlight, but the Tongariro trek was pretty special, as was the cruise of Milford Sound. Scenery-wise, I loved Waiheke and Marlborough Sounds.... As far as driving, I can't remember driving times precisely, but we probably averaged b/t 80 and 90km every hour. The only times we felt oppressed by the driving time were the drive from Milford to Queenstown (on the way *to* Milford we stopped for lunch and shopping in Te Anau) and from Wellington to Tongariro. I would recommend telling people to adhere closely to the speed limits, since there were so many policemen pulling people over....
In hindsight, I don't think there is a lot we would do differently. We had such a great time (and we'll be paying for it for a long time!!!), and we really enjoyed every bit of it...
Anyway, hope all is well.....
-Juan
Hi Ravit,
Hope you are well.
We have just about settled back into normality in England but after nearly two months trotting around Oz and NZ it's all a bit mundane and we're thinking about our next trip already! This time we'll do some different places in Australia and have a relaxed look again at parts of New Zealand which we particularly enjoyed. Perhaps then going on to Fiji or one of the other islands. So, we'll be in touch again later this year.
We've also got two lots of friends who are planning to visit New Zealand shortly and, if it's OK with you I'll pass your details. I know that they want to do some of the things we did but they are keen on wildlife and may want to spend more time on South Island.
Best regards
Ian
Hi Mark,
I've taken care of the last payment for our trip last month -- the balance on Gunyah Lodge. The refund you requested from the Weirekei Resort came through on our American Express card this month, and I expect the refund from Budget will show up on our next Master Card bill. I'll certainly let you know if it doesn't.
We had a fantastic trip -- thanks so much for all you did to make it such a memorable one. The accommodations everywhere exceeded our expectations and the food was spectacularly good. You also did a very nice job arranging good weather for us as it only rained on Auckland the day we arrived and from then on, only a shower or two at night.
Every day we were in NZ brought bright, glorious sunshine. The golf in New Zealand certainly compared most favorably with golf on American courses. Some of the local courses we saw -- but didn't play -- looked a bit ragged, but not the ones we played, despite the burned out rough. Many US courses in the summer suffer the same conditions. At least, it makes the rough less daunting. Formosa and Terrace Downs were a bit on the windy side, but that's the weather after all.
Again, thanks for everything you did. And, next time you're in NY, let us know in advance. It would be nice to see you again,
Best regards,
Kathy Rae
Hi Mark,
Well I’ve just processed the payment and everything seems to have gone through OK. I can’t thank you enough for all your help and seeing us through to the end. Your help was invaluable.
Please pass on our thanks to Tim who was wonderful. It takes one great guy to know another.
I’ll certainly recommend your services to my friends and acquaintances and stress the convenience of having a NZ based operator rather than an Australian one.
Enjoy your weekend
Take care Jo
Dear Mark:
Just a few words to thank you for all the arrangements in connection with our recent visit to South Island. Everything worked out perfect -- all bookings (hotels and car) were spot-on just the way we had planned.
Everything was so comfortable and easy.Absolutely no hassles anywhere at all. New Zealand was everything we expected and much, much more. In many ways, it is surely God's own country. We are already dreaming about our next journey there and how we can do a longer trip next time around. Am not sure when it will happen though....
In the meantime, thanks again. Do not be surprised at all if you get contacted with requests for travel arrangements from our many friends here who would surely be looking to visit NZ once they have heard our first hand accounts and seen some of our photographs (even if they do very little justice to the real thing).
Best regards from all of us. Sandhya and Raj
Dear Mark,
Just to say thanks very much for organising and planning out holiday intinerary in NZ. We had an absolutely fantastic time though a few more days would have been good. Next time.
We won't hesitate to recommend you to friends who may wish to holiday in NZ.
Best wishes Chris + Claire
Ravit,
Yes we had a wonderful time. Everything went very well. The vineyard accommodation was beautiful and managed by very nice people. Would recommend it for a night to anyone.
No real problems with cars, if we did it again, we would go south-north as it would be so much cheaper. Also, we were given a slightly worse car in the SI, but not a problem.
All in all, NZ rocks. We loved it. People were lovely, scenery stunning and the food really good.
Thanks for helping us have such a great time there.
Will IFC/China Project Development Facility
Hi Mark
Well we arrived home safely last week after an absolutely fantastic trip. Everything went exactly to plan and even the weather was great! We'd just like to say thank you so much for the work you did helping us to plan the holiday. Having all of our accomodation and rental cars etc. prepaid made it so much easier! Especially towards the end of our trip where we had already spent most of our money! Two of the highlights of the trip were places you suggested we stayed.
The first was Lake Tekapo which was unbelievably beautiful. We had a lovely room looking right over the lake. And driving up to Mount Cook in the Mini was great fun! And the standard of accomodation was excellent.
The second place was Punakaiki although we also only stayed there briefly. I think it was one of the more expensive places we stayed but it was a fantastic room looking right over the sea. If you have people heading out near either location you can definitely feel safe suggesting they stay there! New Years at the Chateau was also amazing. Although the tickets to the party sounded expensive it was well worth it as we had as much wine as we could drink, as much amazing food as we could eat and a really great band playing all night. And needless to say the standard of accomodation even in our basic room was fantastic.
We'd also like to say a big thanks for getting the Lord of the Rings marathon tickets for us! It was a great start to our trip seeing all three of them and thankfully the third film was worth the trip. We saw a lot of the locations where they filmed which was fun and it is quite sad that it is now all over! We even got up to the Hobbitton movie set in Matamata which although expensive ($50 each) was a fun couple of hours. Even people there who weren't huge fans of the film seemed to enjoy themselves a lot.
We got lots of great photos and video of the whole trip and it was definitely a once in a lifetime! I'm already planning on coming back again in the next 2 years so if it does end up happening I'll be in contact again!
Thanks for helping to make it such a fantastic trip and I hope you have a great year!
Sincerely, Julie (and Lucy!)
Dear Ravit we are home.
THANKYOU. we have had a wonderful time. everything went to plan. excellent accomodation. we all enjoyed the water sports. EJ broke his arm but we worked round that with a waterproof plaster cast. a quick summary:
purangi garden homestay - excellent spot, isolated, definitely need instructions to find it, very welcoming hosts who provided a great dinner at a ridiculously low cost. house fine for us.....easy access to beach and country, clean and comfortable.
Quarters - need directions and wise to arrive before dark. inpeccable accomadation. what a spot....perched on the side of a cliff...four wheel drive helped. dinner provided on request........fine for us. laundry facilities very useful. Trevs wine tours fron Gisborne - excellent guide and kindly fitted in the key tourist bits of the area. He picked mainly boutique winerys.........great choice. definitley recommend him. Wellington - worth the extra cost, perhaps a little too formal for a family but we were very well behaved and had a superb breakfast provided.
Huntaway - join the family. fantastic own build and children enjoyed the alpaccas. Ika lodge - more self contained, comfortable, ideally situated for activities, the BEST evening meal of our tour - the children still talk about the chicken pie! Kyaking great fun. Whitewater was the better value afternoon, great guides and some excitement.we all felt thet was one of our best family activities
Ariki Lodge - suburban rotorua but right on the lake edge which compensated entirely. very helpful hosts All the places we stayed commented on your attention and prompt payment to them...congratulations. We will be back; we will contact you again...........need to 'do' the south island! again a big thankyou
The Bennetts
Dear Ravit
Many thanks for excellent trip and all your organisational skills just returned to Auckland after seeing the glow worms all stop overs excellent and varied - it was great to have prepaid you received many compliments for communication and effeciency well done!
I was offered dr locum in Wellington along the way! off to Waiheke island now for easter and jazz festival best wishes
Richard & Liz
Thanks Mark.
Everything has worked out very well. Too bad that the weather hasn't been better, but nothing can be done about that. We had a fantastic time in the South Island and we will be turning in our rig tomorrow and flying back to the USA after being gone for 4+ months, tomorrow eve. Thanks for everything, you have done a GREAT service for us. You will be highly recommended by us.
Cheers,
Suzanne Hale
USA
Hello Acrossnz
Well, we are back from our wonderful vacation in NZ and Fiji. Everything was just great and I thank you again for you help in making the arrangements.
I highly recommend both the helicopter flight over Mt. Cook, which was absolutely spectacular, and the kayaking tour of Milford Sound. Our kayaking guide, Matt, was a lot of fun and had so many interesting stories about the area.
Again, thanks for making our trip a total success.
Jeanne
Hello Mark,
Judy and I had a wonderful time in New Zealand and finally returned home from Australia last night (3 December). Your help was greatly appreciated, and all went like clockwork, just as you'd indicated it would. We especially liked our stay at Dorothy's - it was unique and one of the highlights of our trip. We left your travel map and guide book with them, and they said they'd ring you and arrange a pickup. I hope that you've gotten them back by now.
Judy and I will update our actual travel in the next several days. If you want to see what we actually did, and our impressions of NZ and AU, I'd be happy to send you a copy. Overall, we had a superb trip.
Pete & Judy Wehner
Dear Mark,
Thankyou for your e-mail of Wed 6th Nov,'02 with reference to the Maui Spirit 4~4/berth Motorhome. Yes please go ahead and have Maui debit my credit card for the 20%. I sincerely appreciate all you have done to help us, for a while there things were looking fairly bleak. It is six years since I was home in NZ and my sons have never been in summer, only July/Aug so I've been trying really hard to put this together.
Thanks once again,
Regards Clive Lay
Hope you are well.
Just thought I would put you in touch with a work colleague Russ who is planning to come over to NZ in the next few months for a trip. I have said you will point him in the right direction on what do , where to go and what to stay ! I have explained that you sorted out our intinery in March and did a grand job and so have said for him to have chat with you.
Hopefully it won't be too long before we are getting you to sort our next trip out !!
Lucy Spensley
Yeah, we are having quite a bit of fun. We went to the Orakei Korako geothermal area today which was really unique. We took a million photos and will probably post some in a few days. We look forward to meeting you, too. Thanks for setting us up w/ such a great trip...
Ethan and Lalenya
United States April 2002 Hi Mark Sorry we missed you but there has been so little time to do so much ! It has been an absolutely amazing experience, thank you so much for organising what has been an excellant trip. It was a shame that Mount Cook was surrounded in cloud and so we only saw about a couple of hundred feet of the mountain ! Never mind the Chrlaotte Jane has made up for it in every way ! If we come back to NZ we will use you again to organise the trip as you have made this a brillaint holiday ! Many Thanks Mike and Lucy England Jan 2002 When I first thought of going to New Zealand, I browsed the Internet to find interesting things to do, and places to go. Somehow I ended up in your site, which had the unique advantage of offering a customised tour, which was precisely what I needed since I had a time constraint of twelve days and particular interests that would probably not fit in a single package (a rugby game at Carisbrook for example). By that time I had a pretty good idea of the places I wanted to visit and had some activities in mind already (kayak at Milford Sound). I submitted a form in the site with my particular interests, since I had no obligation to pay until I agreed on the itinerary (this is awfully convenient). I had done some researching on hotel prices in New Zealand and I had a number in my head. When , after exchanging mails and agreeing on acitivities and itinerary, Ilooked at the final figure, it was half of what I had come up with. This, of course, looked too good to be true, and because it came from the internet, I had my doubts. Truth is I started to get nervous when I decided to pay a 20% deposit for all bookings(although the site is very organised and has several logos that look trustworthy). When I received the confirmation codes for the hotels and the flight to Queenstown, I was certainly reassured. I actually sent an email to one of the hotels, just to make sure the confirmation codes were correct. At this point I had no doubts that everything was allright. I have to admit that my expectations were exceeded in so many ways. These are some of the examples of incredible customer service that speak out for themselves: The hotels that were booked for me (every single one of them) were incredible! I had the feeling that I was getting away with something, because I usually pay, at least, twice as much as the rates I had for the same luxury in the U.S or in Mexico. Everytime I had to change the car, there was always someone waiting for me at the terminal. One day, I almost didin't make it to the rafting experience and i got a call to see if everything was allright (somehow everyone knew I had been to a rugby game the night before that!!!). I received one or two calls just to check that I was doing allright and that things were working out just fine! This kind of follow up is one of the things I did not expect, simply because it was not listed as part of the bookings!!! Sometimes, we, as customers, expect to get what we pay for, but not more! The truth is that I had a wonderful time in New Zealand: I did so much in so little and was able to enjoy every bit of it. I am sure that if I had chosen a local travel agency in Mexico, I would have been ripped off , paid a fortune, and would have probably not enjoyed it as much as I did. The fact that I "knew" someone in the country was somehow reassuring. Now I know I have to go back and go to all those places I didn't have the time to go, and although I am not sure as when I will be able to return to NZ, I am sure I will write to you!! Thanks again ! Gonzalo January 2000 Hi Mark and co Just a quick note to say thank you, thank you, thank you. You, your fellow kiwis and your lovely country even better than we were led to believe, and that's saying something, because everyone here in the states thinks that New Zealand is the best thing going. Honestly, we enjoyed ourselves immensely, and your services were a tremendous part of the success. Your service is really excellent, and I still can't believe that you followed our progress daily. That is really impressive. Just want to say thanks. We really appreciate all you did. I guess the most sincere way to say thanks is to recommend your services, and we will do just that. We have friends planning to go to NZ, or at least thinking about it, and I will make sure they contact you if they do. Honestly, we enjoyed ourselves immensely, and your services were a tremendous part of the success. Your service is really excellent, and I still can't believe that you followed our progress daily. That is really impressive. Just want to say thanks. We really appreciate all you did. I guess the most sincere way to say thanks is to recommend your services, and we will do just that. We have friends planning to go to NZ, or at least thinking about it, and I will make sure they contact you if they do. Jonny and Sharon California jonnygowland@hotmail.com "We've had so much fun sharing our NZ experience with our friends and we have you to thank for the concentrated itinerary - We saw more with your guidance than could ever have been achieved otherwise and had a fantastic time. Feel free to put us down as a reference as I believe our experience was truly worthy of that...We know we touched on so little but are glad we have a lot left to experience in NZ. Thanks Again!" Ben and Eva Slovakia bennybobo@hotmail.com