Our family vacation on the South Island was fabulous! Here are some specifics:

The itinerary was well-thought-out, as we drove in "Bill" the bus for only relatively short spells at a time before arriving at an interesting spot to hike, explore, picnic, etc. Never was there a spell where we sat for more than 1.5 hours or so.

"Bill" the bus was a very comfortable ride, by the way, allowing us to sit with a variety of people or even alone. The bus held 20 or so, and we were only 12 in number plus our two guides. The windows are large, allowing for expansive views of the beautiful New Zealand landscape. We towed a trailer behind us for all of our luggage and food, so we were not sitting amongst or climbing over luggage or supplies.

Our guide Claire was an excellent driver, and we felt very safe with her at the wheel.

The variety of experiences was exceptional! We visited four national parks. We hiked 10 miles roundtrip to a glacial lake at Aoraki/Mt. Cook National Park. We hiked amongst sheep and cows (within just a few feet of us!) at Mt. Aspiring National Park and stayed overnight in a classic NZ "hut." We visited a wildlife preserve where we saw the nocturnal kiwi, we saw Fox Glacier; we spent several days in lovely Queenstown, canyoning, luging, and river rafting; we visited Puzzling World and found our way out of a very puzzling wooden maze. Our guides engaged our children in the building of a driftwood fort on a beach on the Tasman Sea. Our youthful, energetic guides also engaged all of us in playing "Go Home, Stay Home" amongst giant boulders and bravely accompanied our children into the cold water of a cave, where the children spied an eel! We also visited a sheep farm, where the kids took their turn trying to herd the sheep into a corral, learned about sheep farming and the dog's commands, and tried their hand at shearing a sheep.

The food was delicious, fresh and plentiful. Whether prepared for us by our guides Claire and Mel, or served to us at a restaurant where reservations had been made and service was quick, the food was uniformly excellent. Snacks were always available on the bus. We were very well-fed!

Our guides Claire and Mel were EXTRAORDINARY. We also were joined by a guide Steve for our hike in Mt. Aspiring, and he was equally AWESOME! Their sense of fun, their youthful energy, and their competence in managing the vehicles, preparing food, mobilizing the group, keeping to a schedule, etc. impressed us daily. Their knowledge of all things NZ, their ability to engage our children in fun, tossing a rugby ball or playing hangman with dry erase markers on the windows of the bus, made our trip the success that it was. We LOVED them!!!!

| January 1970