Michelle Srzich

Michelle was most excellent at planning for our group of 8 and all our requests.
Wonderful vacation experiencing a bit of New Zealand from North to South.
Our transportation, sleeping arrangements and activities were all well chosen and timed.
Excellent shuttle drivers as well.

Michelle did a fantastic job organizing our trip!
We had a family of 8 at the start in Auckland. All of our transportation, accommodations, and tours were arranged for us.
As we traveled south some of the family had to go back home, but the fun kept on coming!
In Rotorua we went to the Maori cultural center, Hobbiton, kayaking, and a visit to hot springs and spa.
Napier was another fantastic place as well as Windy Wellington.
The arrangements were made for one of the couples to leave from Wellington while the rest of us crossed to the southern island and then by train to Christchurch.
Michelle made all these arrangements for an easy transfer to our destinations.
Our accommodations were beautiful and in easy walking distance into the city center.
We did food walking tours and the International Antarctic center in Christchurch.
From there we went down to 4 of us.
This is where Michelle had arranged for us to rent and drive a car south to Lake Tekapo. We went on a small plane over the southern Alps and Mt. Cook. We stayed at an absolutely beautiful home overlooking the lake.
We then drove to Queenstown and stayed a couple of blocks from the city center.
We went to a sheep farm on the lake and learned a lot about the farm and its residents (sheep).
From Queenstown 2 of us took a shuttle, boat,shuttle, and finally another boat to Doubtful sound. Absolutely stunning!
We stayed overnight on the boat and were treated to delicious food and great accommodations.
It was a full days travel back to Queenstown but we have some great memories. Our captain Sean and Chef Juanita did a great job of filling our bellies.
We left Queenstown the next day and stayed one more night in Auckland. Michelle arranged our transportation to and from our airport needs. The hotel was so perfect for ending our New Zealand adventure.
Thank you for a great trip!
Laura Hirth

Hotel Reviews

Adina CityLife Wellington

Wellington

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very dated

Orari & Orari Apartments

Christchurch

Beautiful and amazing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lake Tekapo Holiday Homes - various properties

Lake Tekapo

This was a home overlooking the lake.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise - Southern Secret

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Captain Sean and Chef Juanita did a great job!

Cleanliness & Comfort

M Social

Auckland

Perfect location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Additional private taxi transfer from airport to hotel or vice versa for second group on same day (Corporate Cabs)

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Shiva in Auckland was great. Highly recommend! Nigel in Queenstown went out of his way to get us to where we needed to go.

Transport

Aucky Walky Food Tour - private

Auckland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked.

Redwoods treewalk by day including glow-worm cave

Rotorua

This blew me away! Beautiful and well maintained.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Steaming cliffs Waimangu Valley Nature Walk & Kayaking - private group

Rotorua

So much fun!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cycle the Hawkes Bay wineries (self guided bike ride, includes transport)

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hobbiton Movie Set Tour

New Zealand

So much fun!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Historic Steamship Cruise to Walter Peak Farm + Lunch BBQ

Queenstown (NZ)

Quality of Experience

Food

The service and food were very good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Polynesian Spa

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Te Pā Tū - Maori Cultural Experience

Rotorua

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Progressive Māori Dinner Tour (kai safari)

Christchurch

Delicious international food.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ashley was a great tour guide.

Scenic Flight over Mt Cook and glaciers by plane from Tekapo - The Grand Traverse (Tekapo Air Safaris)

New Zealand

This was such a highlight!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our pilot Justin was very informed and a great pilot.

Transport

Jet Boat the Shotover River

Queenstown (NZ)

That was so much fun!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise - small group onboard Southern Secret (Fiordland Cruises) Self-drive to Manapouri

New Zealand

Great trip!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manapouri to Queenstown

New Zealand

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Michelle provided a great itinerary for us which ultimately reflected our desires perfectly. I was unclear about what we really wanted and she was wonderful with information and recommendations that were a significant improvement over my ‘ google’ knowledge. Communication before and during the trip was seamless. We had some problems with a rental car which required a hastily changed itinerary; she was available and very helpful. This was my first experience with a travel planner- very positive overall!

Hotel Reviews

Queenstown Park Boutique Hotel

Queenstown

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fiordland Jewel

Milford Sound

A very special experience- first class and a unique way to see the fjord. Our Captain has an intimate history and experience in the sound and his presentation was truly superb

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Milford Sound overnight Cruise - Fiordland Jewel

Milford Sound

This was the perfect way to see the Sound

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Amazing itinerary! Michelle was professional and always customer-focused. Highly recommended.

We worked with Michelle to plan our trip to New Zealand; the trip was beyond our expectations --it was simply fabulous! We have planned most of trips in the past, but opted to use kimkim for this trip as we had no knowledge of what to visit in New Zealand. We are so happy we made this decision as we would have never been able to plan a trip with the kinds of experiences that Michelle booked for us. We thoroughly enjoyed the variety of experiences Michelle booked for us, from visiting Doubtful Sound, to the 4 x 4 trip on a Station, to the kayak trip at the blue penguin sanctuary, to the Geo-thermal park and the experience at the Dark Sky Reserve. As fabulous as those experiences were, our absolute favorite experience was our stay at the Te Karaka Lodge. Whoa! Whoa x 10. We received such lovely pampered attention while enjoying exquisite accommodations and personalized attention from the two incredible chefs. I'm glad that you suggested that we added one more day to our trip to accommodate that extra night. The tour of the farm the next day by James, the farming manager, was informative and allowed us to better understand the life of farming professionals. That stay was THE perfect way to end our trip in your warm and beautiful country. Also, you allowed us enough free time for us to make a couple of our own side trips on our travel days; we made note of the suggested towns along the way and stopped at several during our car rides; they were charming. T
Finally, we don't have enough words to express how much the NZ culture and way of living made an impression on us. We were fortunate to be in your harmonious country during the Middle East crisis; the cultures of our two nations are remarkably different and New Zealand was our tonic to sooth our weary brains and hearts.... Thanks again, Michelle, for helping have such a memorable experience.

This trip was incredible. Michelle put together exactly what we hoped for after listening to what we wanted. Every aspect of the trip from pre planning ,lodging, trips, transfers, guides and adventures was perfect. Thanks for making this a trip of a lifetime!

Michelle planned a fantastic trip! We loved New Zealand! Everyone has heard about the spectacular natural beauty - it is that and much more! In every corner of the country there are more awe inspiring views, fascinating microclimates to explore, gorgeous and well designed paths and treks (tracks), reserves and parks and open space, rural beauty with sheep - so many cute sheep! - and cows and horses, and rare protected species, - it makes your heart sing. What you may not know as much about are the people - their quality of life, the collective commitment to and appreciation of all the native flora and fauna . The steps they keep taking to more fully respect and integrate and honor the Maori. The pace is slow. People are patient, kind, easy going, generous. Your nervous system slows down. You realize it's possible to find a place where people live by different values and are proud of where they come from. Four 60-somethings, with two us celebrating our 70th. 3 weeks so we could see north and south islands. Our only regret - we should have planned a month. A few highlight places and excursions, thanks to Michelle. Milford sound. Stargazing in the hot springs of Lake Tekapo/Wanaka.. Farm and off-road tours. Hiking in Abel Tasman Natl Park and Mt. Cook. The Queenstown House B&B. Newton Heights B&B., visit to Flea Bay. The Te Papa Museum in Wellington. Te Karaka Lodge in Waikato. Kaikoura. And great food and wine everywhere. Thank you KimKIm, Michelle and the people of New Zealand for an uplifting adventure.

My wife and I went to New Zealand to celebrate our fortieth wedding anniversary and we had a fantastic trip! Michele was able to listen to what places and activities we were looking to experience and she was integral in helping us to accomplish those goals. The hotels were clean with friendly staff and transfers between locations went smoothly. We especially enjoyed biking through the wineries outside of Queenstown and the wine tasting trip via ferry to Waiheke Island. The overnight cruise in the Doubtful Sound was spectacular with great food and hospitality. Kayaking on Tasman Lake in the Mt Cook area and chipping and chewing on one -thousand year ice was sweet! I had beautiful day fly-fishing catching brown trout outside of Nelson. These were just a few of the amazing experiences we had traversing the countryside of New Zealand
We would certainly utilize Michele and KimKim's services for future trips and would highly recommend them!

Michelle was a delight to work with. She listened to our wants for the trip and then arranged some wonderful excursions. All of our hotel accommodations were well located and of top quality. We had one glitch in our first hotel in Queenstown, but the KimKim team was able to get it satisfactorily resolved.

Hotel Reviews

Queenstown Park Boutique Hotel

Queenstown

We arrived and learned that our reservation had been erroneously canceled. The staff at the hotel could not have been nicer in working with us to try to get suitable accommodations. In their facility. Plus overall the staff went out of their way to make us feel at home including the cocktails in the evening and the absolutely spectacular breakfasts. This is definitely the place to stay in Queenstown.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to town.

Staff

Absolutely great staff. Very personable.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room accommodations were top notch.

Rainforest Retreat

Franz Josef Glacier

Very unique rooms literally said in a rainforest. The big draw for our room was the hot tub.

Authenticity & Character

It is special because it is in a rainforest.

Location

Reasonably close to town.

Staff

We didn’t have much interaction with the staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

We had a large two bedroom suite with hot tub. Very comfortable.

The Mayfair

Christchurch

Beautiful Hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Scenic flight and cruise – Queenstown to Milford Sound

New Zealand

Great experience! A highlight of our trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scenic Flight Twin Glaciers in a Helicopter

New Zealand

Once in a lifetime experience. The glacier is spectacular. He will not get closer than you do on this trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Scenic cruise on Lake Mapourika

Franz Josef Glacier

A very peaceful boat trip with a small boat of only 12 passengers. Lots of birds and interesting plants to see. You actually get very close to the shoreline. Great commentary by the guides.

Quality of Experience

The quality of the guides really added to the value of this trip.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See above.

Transport

Glacier Region - Greymouth - Christchurch

New Zealand

A very nice train ride on a beautiful train.