We believe that New Zealand is without question, one of the most
beautiful countries to be found on the planet. From the North Island's Bay of Islands to the
Fjord lands of the South Island, every turn
in the road offers the visitor another wonderful scenic vista. New
Zealand is truly a magical, peaceful experience which lacks
nothing, except possibly people! Many would say that's what
makes the country so special!
There are many extremes of landscape to experience from barren
mountain landscapes to lush green meadows and valleys; from the
magnificent pine forests of the North Island, to the hot springs of
Rotorua; from beautiful wide flowing rivers
and stunning lakes, to the lovingly tendered vine yards that are to
be found throughout the country. Wine is now one of the most
exported commodities from New Zealand, overtaking wool, dairy
products and meat, and many vineyards offer tastings and tours to
the visitors.
The first recorded visit to New Zealand by a European was by the
Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642, who named the islands. He
was followed 127 years later by Capt. Cook, and many others
since! Sadly, very little of the Maori history and
culture has been preserved so there is not a great deal for the
visitor to experience of the islands' very early history, but
happily there is a growing revival of Maori culture, which is
adding to the visitors unique experience.
The early European settlers' history is mainly limited to
the trading and whaling activities that took place around the
coastline of both islands in the late 1700's and early 1800's,
and the gold mining that happened around Otago in the South Island
in the mid to late 1800's. European settlers did not
arrive in any numbers until the early 1800's, when more
immigrants came from England, Scotland and other European
countries, and soon New Zealand was claimed for the British
Empire
New Zealand's climate is a mild temperate climate, with yearly
average daytime temperatures ranging from 10°C in the south to
16°C in the north. Although the seasons are reversed from the
UK, they are similar, with cooler, wetter winters and warmer, drier
summers, but in general, the weather is warmer and sunnier than the
UK.
We offer a range of pre-planned and booked tours that
you can select from, which can be taken by car, coach or air, plus
we offer a wide range of motorhomes and Car hire for
those clients who want to be totally independent. A visit to New
Zealand will be a truly memorable experience one which we believe
you will wish to repeat, as one visit is not enough.
Collectively, members of our reservations team
have visited New Zealand on eleven occasions, so
along with our colleagues based in Christchurch, we have
a great depth of knowledge to call on to fine
tune your own independent, tailor made tour of New
Zealand. If required we can combine your visit
to New Zealand with any of the other islands in the
South Pacific, to really make it a trip of a lifetime!
So call our reservations department or contact your
prefered Travel Agent to discuss your special requirements, no
itinerary is too difficult, for us to arrange.
The prices are all based on the UK Pound to the NZ$
exchange rate as of the 1st August 2011, but the
exchange rates are changing on an almost daily
basis, which means the prices could be slightly lower or higher
than we have quoted in our pricing tables.
To try and give you as accurate a cost as possible for each
property, we have devised what we feel is a simple way
of correcting the price on a daily basis, without us
having to change every price on the site each time the exchange
rates change, which would be an impossible task.
So, for every £25, or part of cost, to find today's price,
you just add or subtract the amount displayed in the
COSTING VARIANCE table below, from the price shown in each
property's pricing grid:
| COSTING |
VARIANCE |
| As from the |
21st November 11 |
please deduct |
£1.75 |
per £25 or part there of cost |
As an example, if the cost shown for a room is £160 per
night, that will be 6 x 25 (giving £150)plus the extra £10 for
the total of £160, making 7 parts. So you calculate 7 x
£1.75 = £12.25, and then deduct the £12.25
from the £160. making todays price for the room to
be £147.75 per night.
If you have any queries with regard to
your preferred properties price or any of our other
pricing, please do not hesitate to contact us for
Currently the vast majority of British passport
holders, travelling to New Zealand for less than 6 months,
will not need a Visa for tourist travel. For more
information, check out the NZ website, www.immigration.govt.nz
or give us a call
Information and photos on the following pages by kind courtesy
of, and with grateful thanks to 'mcaretaker' and 'theboywiththethorninhisside' on Flickr,
'www.citypictures.org', Wikipedia, Wikimedia, New Zealand
Tourism Board and their photographers, Ben
Crawford, David Wall,
Peter Morath, Chris
Sisarich, Rob Suisted and Ian
Trafford, various town tourism agencies and town and city
councils in New Zealand.