My group of 8 senior citizens have just finished an entirely fun-filled and awe-inspiring 10-day Southern National Parks Tour, tailor-made for us by New Zealand’s Fine Tours Group.
Arriving in...
Read moreMy group of 8 senior citizens have just finished an entirely fun-filled and awe-inspiring 10-day Southern National Parks Tour, tailor-made for us by New Zealand’s Fine Tours Group.
Arriving in Christchurch and subsequently concluding our tour in the same city, we journeyed through the amazing Aoraki-Mt. Cook, Hooker Valley, Tasman lake, Queenstown, Franz Josef, Milford Sound and many charming small towns, having experience of a lifetime.
Between the Southern Alps and stunning mountain ranges, stargazing, placid lakes, 600-year-old icebergs, wild rivers, lush green landscape, rough coastlines, numerous waterfalls, cool drizzles, glacier views, forest walks, cruises... at points we had to wonder if we were in a dream or if it was all real! It was nature at its best and purest form... the South Island, with its unique landscape, flora and fauna, introduced us to a world we have not seen before…
During our Milford Sound journey, we stopped by the rain forest to taste fresh and pure water directly from the river for the first time in our lives. We were also fortunate to have spotted a couple of rare Kea birds that crossed our path there. A fitting climax to the tour was at the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch, where we had the rare opportunity to sight 3 Kiwi birds housed in a dim forest like enclosure. There are so many other instances I could mention here, but no words could convey the out of the world wonderful experience we've had. Only a visit would do justice to the South Island, which truly has to be seen to be believed!
A big thanks to Fine Tours Group New Zealand, as well as our tour agent Jessica Dryden and her ever helpful and friendly team for putting together the itinerary and organising the successful tour for us. The tour app they provided was handy - it helped us to keep track of our daily activities and gave us an easy way of keeping in touch for assistance and support the whole way through. They helped us manage a couple of lost and found incidents very efficiently while we were on the move. The items lost were identified quickly, recovered and delivered to us in the next or the last place of stay, avoiding delays and anxiety. Kudos to the entire team from Fine Tours Group!
Sharing some pictures of our tour - magnificent, and yet they don't do justice to the real thing!