Unbelievable - trip of a lifetime

New Zealand | Dec 23 - Jan 6, 2024

The hotel was in a good location of the city with plenty of things available in walking distance. The breakfast selection was excellent. We did have a bit of trouble checking in when we arrived late at night - that was sorted by the morning. We were there for 3 nights (well technically 2 and a half) but did not have a turn down service at all whilst we were there.

Great location for access to the main area For the main activities (canopy tour & thermal wonderland) we still had to drive. but in general it is a great location for accessing the town itself. booking all good breakfast was absolutely fine

great location for everything staff were lovely during check in we had a turn down service breakfast was disappointing

great location from the airport and also good location - just outside of the main centre but not too far to walk. room was fantastic, breakfast was good we had a turn down service each day we had an issue with breakfast nit being on our booking and had to remind them each day as they never made a note.

great room, location a little off the main drag but for us a walkable distance appreciate it was a motel but breakfast was disappointing.

fab location in the area - ease of access to a lot of things where we were room was fab breakfast was disaapointing

good location, room was good breakfast was good - although there was an issue with it 'apparently' not being booked on their system

the weather was a bit of a let down which meant most of the time was spent below deck. the boat wasn't what i expected and equally the way we were eating our food was not as expected after seeing other boats in the harbour that looked more suited. staff were helpful in providing water coats to help keep us dry.

caves were absolutely amazing, the staff were great and their knowledge was fantastic

it was very warm. able to view everything at your own pace the scenery was great and the information on the boards provided for you to read was great there was an issue when we went to get our tickets as they had no knowledge of our booking on their list we still got in but we had to write down the information provided to us from you and i presume they made further checks

absolutely amazing experience the guides were fab and they made the whole experience even better along with the zip lines, we learnt a lot about the forest and also the wildlife and support systems in place which was an added bonus. in future - when booking for people, ask them which option they want as i would have loved to have done the 'ultimate' canopy tour but we were only booked on the original one

the whole experience was amazing the information and history provided by the bus driver both on the way there and back was extensive and really interesting. the experience and knowledge gained from the people in the village was great and it was such an amazing thing to watch when they were performing. really enjoyed getting involved in all of the activities the only let down was the food - whilst it was amazing and delicious, the quantity was limited and i expected more of a buffet style as there were only small portions available (1 each) because i only eat chicken, i ate very little that night

the driver was fab - very knowledgeable and good humour, keeping us entertained throughout the journey the weather was not on our side so we did not get the full effect of the size of the gorge. however, we saw some amazing waterfalls instead the boat trip was wet and windy but good fun and the lunch provided was suitable. the let down (because of the weather) was that we did not get to take our plane ride back to queenstown. we were going to try for the helicopter option instead - but that was also unavailable when we returned from the boat.

absolutely amazing experience from start to finish the communication from the team in prep for waivers and also updates on weather was good safety briefings were very good and the quality of transport to the drop zone was decent the staff were very helpful and made sure that everything was ok. the tandem master was great fun and made you fee at ease throughout the whole experience

the whole experience was great the steamer was great fun and the information provided whilst on board was fab the farm was just out of this world. the best food we had all holiday - unbelievable. the fun parts after food with the farmer were an added bonus - sheep shearing and herding everything about this night was fab

absolutely awesome easy to find - a nice drive out to Glenorchy the staff were great and spoke really well about the area and the adventure. made the experience so much fun, got involved with the guests in terms of conversing and provided opportunities for photos etc

it was disappointing that no where in Oamaru was open prior to this activity. however, the experience was so much fun it was great to see these animals in their natural habitat. the staff were very knowledgeable and also answered any questions that you had. it was great to see some fur seals as well

magical to see something like that was just out of this world. as well as the main glacier there were some icebergs on the lake as well that we were able to get close to and touch. the staff were very good at making sure that both sides of the boat got the experience and they spoke very well about the history of the glacier as well as provided some great information about whats happening and what will continue to happen

save the best til last this experience was amazing - i was not quite expecting what happened. i thought maybe 3 or 4 dolphins. but to enter the water and see that many - so close up to me... UNREAL to be able to swim with these amazing animals in their own habitat was just so precious and i am so glad that i did this. i wasn't that confident in snorkeling but the staff were supportive and gave some great guidance for both that and how to interact with the dolphins

suzuki swift - north island took a long time to get the car but all was fine with it once we had it. GPS system worked fine and the car did what we needed it to do south island we were supposed to get a mitsibushi but ended up with another suzuki (similar size as planned) car drove fine and got us where we needed the GPS / sound system was an issue throughout our time and we were fortunate that Matt's was able to use his mobile phone. the system kept on disconnecting and restarting which meant that the GPS system was not working for most of the time we needed it. we informed the depot when we returned the keys and they will check it out