Hi Mark
We wanted to thank you for all your kind help booking.
We had the most amazing trip.
Thank you.
Kind regards,

Dear Mark,

We arrived home safely last night. Thank you for arranging everything for us. We were indeed mesmerized with what New Zealand has to offer. Fantastic accommodation especially the Hilton in Queenstown and Mt Cook – we should have two nites there instead next time cos we arrived very late like 10pm.

We truly enjoyed the gracefulness and  hospitality of Ann and husband Brian at the Nokomai farm even tough were lost in getting it there – not much of a signage.

Overall we enjoyed our holiday – one thing for you to advise people who visit New Zealand when they are driving is the challenges in finding a parking and understanding what is actually stated on the board of the parking – it can be confused at times.

We even paid NZD45 for a 4 hrs parking in Auckland during our Skytower visit! And to inform in advance that parking at the hotel is chargeable especially he city like Auckland.

 Thanks and will recommend your services to any of my friends or relatives who are planning to visit New Zealand.

Mark – just wanted to say thanks.  We had an incredible time in NZ, everything went off without any problems, and we had a blast.  We’ll be going back someday, hopefully sooner than later.

Thanks again

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

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,

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

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…..

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 well definitely have you help us again.

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,

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,