If you go to New Zealand, book with this company and ask for Sam as your expedition leader. He blew us away with his vast knowledge and enthusiasm. He was incredibly organized and thoughtful. And when we went to him with issues, he quickly addressed them and made sure those issues were not a problem again during the rest of the trip.
For this vacation, I booked a 12-day NZ adventure of the South Island via NatHab, WWF partners since 2003. For this area, they partner with local guides and drivers from Elite & Personal Tours (EPT). We had a group of 10, all 50+ years old (3 couples, 4 solos) + EPT's Sam and Casey on this trip.
I'll review NatHab separately, but I really wanted to give a shout out to the EPT Team who made our trip seamless and really enjoyable. But having said that, if I was to do it again, I'd book directly with EPT and customize it with extra time with the kiwis and penguins, and more remote hikes.
- Sam, our expedition leader was fabulous!! Definitely the best (non-safari) guide I've ever had - seriously, this guy is a rock star - he managed everything while herding us cats, guiding us on hikes, spotting wildlife, taking pictures to share, and really, really taking excellent care of us. In addition to all that, every night he:
- shared a whiteboard with the next day's timing and events, temperatures, tips;
- uploaded fabulous pictures/videos (579 total) which he took with his professional camera to a shared NatHab site; and
- emailed us a diary for that day...of things we did, wildlife we saw, links to additional information, videos. ...we have no idea where he found the time and energy...
Food: For those with specific diets or preferences, he'd clear the more limited prix fixe menus with us in advance. When a vendor put butter on our packed sandwiches, which two of us don't like, Sam ensured that all future sandwiches didn't have any added butter (even when it wasn't listed on the ingredient list provided by the vendor). One guest didn't mention he was lactose intolerant in advance, so Sam didn't know to pick up anything other than milk for our cereal. Sam got the guy something even though we only had one more morning on the island (and there was other cooked and continental food available)
Lodging: Most were really good, but when I wasn't comfortable with my assigned ground-level end-room with a walkway wrapping around the bedroom that eliminated any privacy (or forced me to close the curtains and lose the view) - and had a running toilet, Sam got me three different room options after the lodge manager lied to me and said there weren't any other rooms available.
Activities: One morning we had the option to kayak, but you couldn't go it alone - however, it was rainy - not a lot of interest. Despite that, Sam hung out in the common area to be 100% available to us. Similarly, on a couple hikes I was the only one interested and Sam kept the hikes on the schedule.
For harder hikes, Sam encouraged all to still join us - and as for me, I often fall back from the group to get clean audio/video (YT channel/UC5j2t1En0-h5wG1VestXgwg) and in both cases Sam kept an eye on us without hovering or holding back the group. And he was always there with a hand to help everyone through the mud, crossing the creeks.
When NatHab removed a 'glacier' stop from the itinerary after I booked, Sam coordinated an optional helo ride over them. Additionally, if someone showed interest in an activity or subject he'd try to incorporate it - for instance, a lot of us asked about buying NZ manuka honey, and he gave us the option to leave the hotel 30min earlier to stop at a local supermarket where it would be cheaper.
This trip covered a lot of highlights over a long distance. Sam kept the drives interesting and covered a diverse number of topics.
Over the years, I've spent a lot of money on expensive dream trips and often had horrible, disappointing service on the ground - so I am extremely thankful EPT delivered 100% and for Sam repeatedly going above and beyond, and providing exceptional service that other companies only promise you - and he's a really nice person to boot.
- Casey was our fabulous and very safe driver - he has decades of experience and handled the curvy mountain roads in bad weather like it was nothing. He kept the luxury van clean between stops, and even washed the windows so we could enjoy the amazing views 24/7. He's an interesting guy you'd like to have a beer with - but he's extremely responsible and doesn't drink on the job even during his own down time.
- Paula (director/manager) was the home base and worked behind the scenes with the itinerary, securing reservations and made everything extremely efficient. She was extremely helpful changing my airport transfer when I missed a local flight due to delays, and again at the end of the trip when I switched flight times home.
So again, ngā mihi nui a big thanks to the EPT Team-can't wait to return! read more