Profile
Theta
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Paihia ▷
Paihia Dive
I dove with Paihia Dive HQ 2 days.
Very underrated dive spot, knowledgeable and fun crew. I saw much more diversity of aquatic life than I expected, everything from a John Dory, to a white urchin at the reef dive. The Canterbury wreck was very cool, just starting to become encrusted with life. Good chance of seeing dolphins in the area. Missed seeing the Rainbow Warrior wreck because of the weather. No nitrox available, as with everywhere else in NZ. No snacks, and the paid lunch is quite small, pack your own.
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North Island ▷ Waikato ▷ Waitomo ▷
Black Water Rafting Labyrinth Tour
I did the "Black Abyss" abseilling and black water rafting tour.
Absolutely amazing glow worms and cave formations. Very cool tour. Knowledgeable and experienced guides give you lot of information and commentary. The term black water rafting is a bit misleading though, you lay in a tube and drift along a gentle stream.
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South Island ▷ Queenstown Region ▷ Queenstown Township ▷
AJ Hackett Nevis Bungy
If you're going to do a bungy jump in NZ, this is the place to do it.
It is the tallest in NZ and 4th tallest in the world. As it was my first time ever doing bungy, I was very concerned about the stress on my knees. I've had both my ACL's reconstructed, but the force on your body is very mild, no problems at all. Only downside is that it's a ways out of the city and will take up a good chunk of your day.
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North Island ▷ Auckland Region ▷ Auckland ▷
Auckland Wine Trail Tours
Decent tour if you are short on time, but not a good value.
We paid $235/pp for the east coast tour. We visited 4 wineries at around $5 each, a main course lunch at one of the winery restaurants. It probably would have cost us around $50 pp to do it on our own. Also included 4 free stops. Most of the places were just off the MWY 1. Choose one of the cheaper alternatives or drive the wineries yourself.
Reply: I remember distinctly the cost of 1 winery was $5, one was $4 and one was $5 or free with a purchase. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on the 4th and assume it was $10. The tour in now way included any luxury tastings or food. I don't doubt the guides knowledge in wine, though he was somewhat snobby, and no more knowledgeable when it came to local information and history than other guides I've had. The tour was not 8 hours either, we were back at the hotel an hour early and wondered where our last hour went. I found the description provided on your website to be rather misleading, and ultimately I was disappointed. I expect I would have been happier with one of the other tours available from the numerous companies in the Auckland region for a much cheaper price.
Well I guess this proves these reviews are genuine!
No "luxury tastings" are mentioned on my site and lunch is included...
Sorry for taking up so much of your time.
“Theta”, thanks for taking the time to send in your review... my first ‘bad one’.
Very sorry you didn’t see the value in having a guide with 30+ years wine knowledge offer you door to door service, information, history, personal advice on an 8 hour tour. As you say we went to 8 attractions, but only 2 (not most) could be described as being ‘just off SHW 1’, as you claim. Most are way out in the country and would be quite difficult to find. Wine tastings are all included in the tour price and vary from $5 up to $10 which you probably didn’t notice. I would estimate if you hired a reasonable car with tourist insurance, petrol, tastings, lunch... you could try and do it yourself for between $190 - $210... but how would you find all the places to visit?
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North Island ▷ Hawkes Bay ▷ Napier ▷
Odyssey NZ wine tours
I did the afternoon tour for 75pp.
We toured 4 wineries and got a large food platter to share between 2 of us at the last winery. The wineries were excellent as was the food. Knowledgeable and friendly guide. Good tour, great value.
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North Island ▷ Ruapehu ▷ Tongariro / National Park Village ▷
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Great experience, the highlight of my trip to New Zealand.
If you are a Lord of the Rings fan this is a must see. The Mt Nagahoe (Mt Doom) side trek was grueling, but well worth it. Some fitness needed.
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North Island ▷ Manawatu - Wanganui ▷ Taihape ▷
River Valley Rafting
Very cool trip, gorgeous scenery.
No rapids as gnarly as the 7M drop in Rotorua, but probably more fun overall. Included some cliff jumping. You finish right outside the River Valley lodge, very convenient. One of the highlights of NZ.
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South Island ▷ Fiordland ▷ Milford Sound - Fiordland National Park ▷
Tawaki Adventures
Great crew, beautiful dive site, small groups.
If dolphins or seals are spotted they will take the boat right up alongside them. The guide Alex was fun and friendly. They take you to many of the sites the cruise boats visit. Drawbacks; the dives are rather short to accommodate people driving back over the mountain same day, and they don't do tours every day.
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North Island ▷ Northland ▷ Tutukaka ▷
Dive Tutukaka
First class dive company.
I dove with them five days and they made an effort to take me to a different site every day, although some sites were better than others. Make sure you see blue maomao arch. Lots of color commentary on the islands, I learned something new every day. One day included a detour to see dolphins in the area. They only do the wreck dives if enough people sign up and I didn't get to go. No nitrox available. No snacks included and the paid lunch is rather small, bring your own.
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South Island ▷ West Coast ▷ Buller Gorge ▷
Buller Adventure Tours
Really atrocious tour.
The guides had no idea what they were doing. They led the group down a steep, muddy embankment and got a girl bucked off within the first 5 minutes. The horses were improperly tacked up, the saddles were loose and mine ended up spinning around. There was no commentary and no instruction. The ride lasted a little over an hour and we moved at a snails pace. I could've walked the route faster on foot. There was nothing on the route worth seeing.