New Zealand Travel Review: Rotorua, Rangitoto Island, Auckland, Lake Taupo, Maori Tour, Waitomo Cave Tour

Review by traveler

Diana S.

1.14.2019

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

New Zealand

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

Our travel broker, listened well and asked the right questions to create a wonderful week's journey in New Zealand. I felt that she had terrific suggestions, which I relayed to other family members, and we were able to hone our schedule from a variety of choices. The travel panner responded in a timely and cheerful manner to any email or phone inquiries I had over the several month period between when we first asked for information right up until we returned from our trip. Everything on the ground was organized flawlessly and we received a fantastic binder with itinerary and a local NZ contact number at the airport when our driver picked us up. The travel planner's experience and commitment to service is so appreciated!

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

In Rotorua, we enjoyed the Ziplining and Canopy Tour both because it was a fun adventure and because the guides educated us with useful ecological information and their efforts to restore the forest.

Also in Rotorua, the Maori tour, celebration and dinner was incredible. The meal was absolutely phenomenal (save room for dessert)! My nephew enjoyed being on the stage and learning part of the Haka.

Lake Taupo was beautiful. The winds were too fierce for the boat ride to take us all the way to the Maori carvings but the boat ride was relaxing.

We enjoyed the Waitomo Cave tour. There are many caves in the area and several ways by which to tour them. My 75 year old dad is not a swimmer so we asked for a walking tour. I loved that the travel planner picked a smaller company because we received personal attention due to the small size of our group. Our guide was local to the area and gave us plenty of time to experience the cave features and the glow worms before making incredible tea from the KawaKawa tree.

Aukland was a fun city to visit. The Rangitoto Island trip was informative (we had a guided tour around the island) and the ferry ride was quite lovely, serene....both looking toward the numerous islands and back toward the city.

Hobbiton was a great side trip as well.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

Our family visited Australia (booked through my sister's travel broker) and New Zealand (booked through Zicasso/South Pacific) for a total of 3 weeks. I think if I could do it all over again, I'd spend a week on Tasmania and two weeks in New Zealand and skip mainland Australia (I love the outdoor adventure possibilities). We used our week wisely on the North Island and had a free day to do whatever we wanted so we drove to Ohope Beach during the day and then walked the Canopy Tour at the Redwood Forest at night. I'd love to return and visit the black sand beaches and see South Island as well.

As a side note: There was a remarkable difference in the quality of service for the Australia and New Zealand Portions of the trip. The New Zealand trip felt effortless and easy while there were a couple of kinks in the Australia portion. I'm grateful for my friend who referred me to Zicasso!

Photos

New Zealand Travel Review: Rotorua, Rangitoto Island, Auckland, Lake Taupo, Maori Tour, Waitomo Cave Tour

General Info

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

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