Hiking New Zealand

Hiking New Zealand did a fantastic job with this 13 day tour of both islands. The guides: Justin, Martin, Eva and Andre were excellent as was the accommodations and meals: especially the home made salads at lunch. There was a nice balance of rigourous hiking, rests and driving. This was a "tasting menu" of the diversity of NZ: I'll be back!
Fran from Canada

An excellent holiday over both islands. Exceptional leaders in Cath (North Island) and Jeremy (South Island). They were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, encouraging and intelligent, fun leaders. They were very keen on making sure we had a good experience. Would heartedly recommend.

We completed the 13 day uncut tour of both N.Z.'s north and south islands this past April and had the most amazing experiences which helped us fall in love with beautiful N.Z. This tour provided an up close and personal encounter with the diverse landscape of both islands through day hikes and drives, as well as a few novel experiences like the Waitomo glowworm caves and Mitai Maori centre.
Their website description was pretty accurate and Magan, in the office was so helpful and prompt in answering questions and allaying any concerns. Our north island guides, Justin and Martin, and south island guides, Andre and Eva, were exceptional, full of knowledge, humour and warmth. I was touched by Justin lending me his sunhat for the alpine crossing, which meant that he went without. The guides were organized and always positive. Our accommodations were just what we needed at the end of a physical day and the food was always excellent, plenty and accommodating of dietary needs.
It's helpful to review their website to get all the info and be relatively fit for the hikes. Also, bring the clothing items suggested in preparation for alpine crossings and inclement weather.
I would highly recommend this tour company and would certainly tour again with them!!

So where do I start? I chose the Southern Slice 8-day hiking tour which started on the 16th of April in Nelson. My initial enquiry and BOOKING experience with Hiking New Zealand was easy and simple. Big thanks to Magan who made the process enjoyable and confusion free. Even though the website has all the information you’ll need, her quick, friendly and helpful responses to my questions were much appreciated. Thanks Magan!

The TOUR itself was nothing short of amazing. If you’ve never been to NZ before, then this tour is a great taster to see, feel and understand what NZ is all about. An outdoor playground, ready to be explored and experienced. The tour started in Nelson and then made its way down to Queenstown covering some unforgettable scenery in the South Island, which admittedly left me speechless. My highlights included Kahurangi National Park, Lake Tekapo, Aoraki Mt Cook National Park (Tasman Glacier lake boat ride was a game changer!), Castle Hill, all the small quirky towns we visited and the natural flames in Murchison! Plus, the pit stop at Fairlie for pies and sausage rolls was beaut (it’s making me drool thinking about it). Wait was that everything on the tour?!

The FOOD provided on the tour was A+++. I’m pretty sure I had two servings of food at almost every meal and I’m not even sorry about it. They were delicious, varied and plentiful. The snacks of fruit and granola bars before and after hiking was much appreciated too. However the real winner was the beetroot chutney. If only I can get my hands on that in Sydney!

The HOTELS we stayed at were lush. I don’t think I found a fault in any of the places we stayed at. They were clean, cosy and comfortable. I would definitely stay in those places again.

The HIKES weren’t difficult but provided enough challenges to make the experience memorable. Make sure you bring enough memory card storage as the landscape views will surely fill it to the brim. It was the first time my GoPro was almost full of videos!

Last but not least, big big big thanks to our HIKING GUIDES for the trip, ‘Dr Dre’ Andre and ‘Weather Witch’ Eva. My experience of NZ wouldn’t have been as incredible if it wasn’t for these two. Their knowledge about the country, history, flora and fauna and the landscapes were so appreciated (Plant and Fun Fact Of The Day!). It’s evident that not only are they good at what they do but unmistakeably passionate about NZ and sharing that with us. And for that, I’m grateful. They were organised, helpful and professional without being overbearing. Thanks Andre and Eva! Hopefully I’ll see you guys in the near future.

In summary, I could have easily chosen to book with the big tour companies such as Contiki, TopDeck, Intrepid, GAdventures etc but as a big advocate for local businesses, I definitely recommend Hiking New Zealand. Sure, the tour is a little pricey, but you definitely get what you paid for and much more. It’s clear from what I’ve written above how great my experience has been. I would be happy to book again with them! If a tour can make a customer say ‘I can’t wait to come back!’ at the end of their trip, then you know it’s done its job right.

We did the New Zealand Uncut 13 day hike of the north and south islands in February. We were tentative about doing a group tour, but we experienced a great adventure with like minded people. We were escorted by some very talented people. Not only were they excellent guides, but also naturalists, and entertainers (Justin). The food and accommodation were everything we needed and the snacks outstanding (thank you Eva). The variation in terrain was well planned and provided ample opportunities to hike at different levels. New Zealand's natural beauty combined volcanoes, beautiful coastal hikes and rugged mountains topped by glacial waterfalls. A once in a lifetime trip - that should be done more than once !!! We would not go with anyone else but Hiking New Zealand.

We just completed a 9-day Hiking New Zealand tour with six friends and couldn’t be more pleased with our trip. Our trip coordinator Magan was helpful, flexible, and creative in designing a tour to accommodate the requests of eight different travelers. Not an easy task! As to our guide Martin, he was knowledgeable, friendly, and a true gentleman with a quiet sense of humor. We were all sorry to have to say goodbye to him when our trip was over, he was that endearing. The trip itself on the South Island was beautiful and comprehensive. Our accommodations were clean and comfortable and high quality. Restaurants were all good and some were even amazing. If you’re looking to tour New Zealand, we feel you can’t go wrong with Magan, Martin, and Hiking New Zealand.

Our group of eight friends was looking for an itinerary that combined the best sight-seeing and some basic hiking opportunities on the South Island. We worked with Hiking New Zealand, who delivered a custom itinerary that was perfect. All of us had input into what we wanted to see and do, and Hiking New Zealand was able to work it all into a brilliant tour made just for us. Our guide, Martin shared a wealth of knowledge about the areas we visited. It was virtually impossible to "stump the guide" and we peppered him with questions throughout the trip. He handled all of the logistics smoothly and was able to keep us on our timetable. We had a perfect blend of easy hikes that took us to/through amazing scenery, and experiences such as whale watching, jet boating up a remote river (without all the crowds that you see at Shotover River), wine tasting (many excellent vineyards in NZ), visiting the glow worm caves, bird sanctuary and some fun stops in small towns. If you haven't visited New Zealand, GO! Hiking New Zealand shows great resourcefulness in combining experiences, lodging and meals to meet your needs.

22 awesome days on the North and South Islands! Great guides! Well planned hikes in beautiful locations, often on less traveled trails. The pace was varied, well balanced with travel time. The hikes hit the sweet-spot between rigorous/ challenging treks, and short hikes. Choices were provided for daily hikes. The Kiwi guides all had superior knowledge of the natural environment, history, culture, and geology of NZ. The passion they displayed for their country made for a truly authentic experience.

Get your adrenaline and endorphins rolling with a daily hike. Not sure which one of the hundreds of hikes to pick? Let Hiking New Zealand's experienced guides do it for you. We had a fabulous 8 days, were very lucky with the weather, delighted with the guides, both challenged and gratified with the hikes, charmed by our hiking companions, happy with the accommodations, impressed with the food and even managed to pull in a visit to a vineyard. Go for it!

NZ has been on our bucket list and so we booked these folks to show us around. We were traveling with another couple. We chose the Uncut Tour as we wanted to see both islands. Their itinerary, reviews, and price helped make the choice for us. We could not have been more pleased with this outfit. Our guides were fantastic, accommodations and meals were all great, and they delivered on the hikes.....absolutely stunning landscapes at every turn. One of the owners and a photographer were with us for a few days and this turned out to be an added bonus as Anne and James were delightful to travel with and were always attentive to our needs. Several of the hikes were a bit difficult but were described well so no one was surprised. Easier options were always available. Justin, John, and Eva (aka mom), were some of the best guides we have ever had. They were all super knowledgeable about all aspects of the locations we visited and each had their own style of sharing that information. We found them all to be quite engaging and felt quite safe in their care. We have taken numerous small group tours over the years. This was our first with these folks and they exceeded our expectations. If we are ever fortunate enough to go back, I would for sure rebook with Hiking New Zealand. Thanks guys for a wonderful vacation!!