The following letter and photos were sent to us by a recent client. Kai Xin and the family took a 13 day South Island tour with our guide Alex. Thanks so much to Kai and the family! It was a pleasure having you all and we hope you can visit again soon!
My family’s very first trip to NZ – South Island! It was just one month before the trip that I started planning for the trip but I was wrong, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be! One point to note was that we are not driving, thus making it even more challenging to plan. Was just trying my luck to see if there are private tour services in NZ since I haven’t heard of any before! And ta-dah, The Road Trip appeared first when I searched! Tried my luck and thankfully they were very responsive! It was just a month before our trip, so I was kinda worried that they would not be able to arrange a private tour for us! Chris first contacted us to check out our preferences (i.e. places to visit, accommodation, farmstay) and provided us a detailed explanation of their services. Thumbs up for the professionalism, giving me much assurance needed. Chris was really patient with all my requests and queries, and that he had to changed our itinerary thrice! He replied promptly and we got our itinerary confirmed within a week!
I am not sure is it because of the tight timeline, but The Road Trip were really quick to arrange for booking of what-nots and payments! Another thumbs up for The Road Trip because Amy and Janelle were equally prompt with their response when I had queries regarding the accommodation or issue with my payment! I really like how organized The Road Trip was, where they had the different teams responsible for different tasks. Some people might find it confusing when all the different e-mails come in, but it was really good for me as I can track easily.
Just a side note on the accommodations that they had booked, they were really well facilitated, spacious and clean! The owners were very helpful and friendly too! Oh and they had also booked a farmstay for us with the Dobbs family! They were a lovely bunch of people showing us around their farm! It’s really nice! Something that we would never get to see in Singapore! Breakfast and dinner by Julie were so yummy that I had cravings for it when I went back to Singapore! I even asked for the recipe of one of the dessert she baked! Haha! Thank you to the Dobbs family for being such an amazing host!
Hokitika Gorge
So… moving on to our adventure in NZ! Truly no regrets choosing to go on a private tour! Alex, our tour guide/driver, was more than just awesome! He was very punctual, understanding, flexible, knowledgeable, observant, helpful and a great driver!
Observant – He made the effort to understand what are our interest (i.e. sightseeing) right from the beginning and he brought us to many secret scenic spots! To be honest, those secret scenic spots were so breathtakingly beautiful! I only know these places exist after visiting them and Google about it!
Understanding & flexible – Certain treks we required more time (we were not as physically fit as him haha), he was really understanding to wait for us and cater in more buffer time! There were times when we spent more time in a place than planned or when the weather wasn’t on our side, he would switch around the itinerary here and there.
Crown Range, Otago
Knowledgeable – He make it a point to explain to us on certain places and he was even able to answer almost all our questions we have! He was really enthusiastic about his country! Not only he is knowledgeable about his country, but the food as well! He brought us to many nice food places, either he have been there and think that it’s really good or he would have at least search on the net first!
Punctual – Either he was earlier or on the dot! Never late!
Helpful – He went the extra mile to contact the paragliding office to arrange for our flight when I believe we could’ve done it ourselves! There was another time when we couldn’t make up our mind if we want to go for the Shotover Jet, he had actually contacted them to book a slot for us! And when we decided to, he already told us he have booked for us just in case!
Great driver – We were really impressed how well he knows his route! South Island is so huge and he did it without GPS! In addition, he maneuvers well especially around mountainous terrain. Plus point, we really love how safe he is when it comes to driving! He really follows all traffic rules!
Of course, I can go on and on about him! Haha! My family kept singing praises of him!
Crown Range, Otago
NZ is really gorgeous and the places that The Road Trip had planned out has definitely bring out the best of South Island! If I were to pick any highlights of the trip, I really can’t! I mean, every places that we’ve been to it’s a beauty on its own!
And I think we were really lucky to catch a double rainbow! It was rainy and sunny the whole day! We do see rainbows in Singapore but they were not as bright and the colours were not as distinctive as the one we caught in NZ! We even got to witness the farmers moving the sheep to a different piece of land and that we had to give way to them! Haha!
I could go on and on about my NZ trip but I guess this is getting too long… So before I end this, just a shout out to everyone in The Road Trip, thank you for all that you have done for making this trip a wonderful one for my family and I! We are coming back for sure! There are so much more that we have yet to explore! Looking forward to the next time we engage The Road Trip again! Till then, take care!
I will strongly recommend The Road Trip to my relatives and friends! And for anyone who’s reading this and considering a private tour, hesitate no more!
Kai Xin
Xin Family in The Crown Ranges
