text: 5 Stars An absolutely brilliant three weeks in the most wonderful country. Everything as described in the trip notes, and more. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Difficult to decide, but some of the highlights were the trip up to Abel Tasman NP, including camping on the beach - watching the sun set across the water, then seeing the southern night sky in all its glory; the helicopter flight in Mt Aspiring NP and the next day a very welcome lift back down the final stretch of river by jet boat, after a 7 hour hike; the stupendous scenery around Mt Cook; and paragliding from 1400m up in Queenstown. And not forgetting rainforests, thermal springs, kiwis, active volcanoes, glaciers and fjords... What did you think of your group leader? On North Island leader Kath - what a character! Really knowledgeable and upbeat even in the face of 50mph winds, hail, sleet and snow on the Tongariro crossing.
  Chris - great guy too. Arranged for the sun to shine the entire two weeks on South Island and even managed to produce home made scones when we arrived! Do you have any advice for potential travellers? UK citizens need an ESTA visa if transitting via the US (return flight was via Los Angeles) - the Exodus office didn't know this for sure. Anyway it's easy to obtain online - I did it while in NZ.
  The weather in NZ (see earlier comment above) really can be "all four seasons in a day" - temperatures we encountered varied from freezing to 30 degrees - pack accordingly but try to travel as light as possible as you'll constantly be packing and repacking. Is there anything else you would like to add? Despite the long walks I don't think I lost weight - the Kiwis like to serve generous portions of food. Great bunch of people in our group - we even won the Mt Cook pub quiz! At the beginning, I did wonder what I'd got myself into when I found out I was sharing with a guy who'd bagged all the Monros in Scotland and been up Everest (hi Pete!) but, as a not particularly fit 54 year old, I had a blast.
  In conclusion, if you are at all considering this trip, just go for it! See all 11 reviews Exodus insights