Fiordland Trips & Tramps — Local services in Fiordland Community

Aloha. My wife and I are on holiday in New Zealand from Maui for 4 weeks. After driving around Te Waipounamu for most of our holiday in our camper van, it was AMAZING to be picked up from Te Anau and have Tara do the driving so I could relax and look at the sites. Tara was prompt and picked us up at exactly the posted meet time of 0800. She was welcoming and knowledgable and put ourselves and our fellow explorers at ease with conversation and introductions. We discovered that in our group was us "the americans", 2 dutch women and a french woman all whom made a wonderful and friendly group dynamic. Along the way to Milford Tara was our layperson naturalist, introducing us to wildlife found around Te Waipounamu. We were fortunate enough to come across Kereru and Tui along the way. But the highlight for my wife and I were the Kea which were high on our list to see. Tara found 12! We also stopped and photographed at Mirror lakes and water falls and rivers with spectacular views. When we arrived in Milford Sound, Tara handed us our packed lunches which consisted of chicken wraps, apples and sweet desserts. She then obtained our cruise tickets for us and told us where and when to be for the boat departure and that she would meet us back "here" when we got back. What a beautiful boat tour/ cruise of waterfalls, glaciers, birds, dolphins and Fiordland Crested Penguins! Upon disembarking the boat, sure enough Tara was waiting for us. While we were gone, she had checked in on the locations of our walkabouts that were part of the tour. After leaving Milford Sound with fond memories and photos we began our drive back; but also stopped for a beautiful walk about through the rain forrest with the local flora and fauna. It was breath taking! Tara asked if everyone were "fast walkers" my wife and I said "sure". We learned really quickly that we are those that saunter, as the Dutch women and the French woman left us in the dust as they began their trek. We had to stop and take photos of everything. I believe that Tara knew that this would happen as she had a plan with multiple redundancies planned with a time and location to meet back at the car park at such and such a time, but "no later than...." sure enough, we all met back at the car park before the "no later time", although the Americans (us) just made it. Tara then began the drive back home; as we all sat in the van recounting our day and the different experiences and view points that we had. We learned a little bit about each other and our different cultures, including Tara whom was/ is an adventure sport racer. Take a day off. Let someone do the hard part. Enjoy yourself! Let "Trips and Tramps" pamper you for your day of Milford Sound! I am SO glad that I did! High- five...

This was simply a wonderful day out experiencing this amazing part of New Zealand. It's a great way to get a taste of the world famous Milford Track, without having to walk for three days, climb mountains or camp. There's a short cruise across the Sound and up one tributary to the very end of the track, then a walk for just under 2 hours to the Giant Gate Waterfall for a hot drink, then you turn around and head back. There are sensational views, especially on the short cruise, and the waterfall is a spectacular end. Along the entre route guides stop to explain the hstory of the track and point out trees, plant and birds. Each group is around a dozen people, and ours ranged from an elderly woman, to a young couple who had booked this after missing out on getting a spot on the full track. The guide made sure the trip kept pace with everyone, but also got us back to the us in time to ensure those taking the additional cruise were not late. This was the only guided walk we did in NZ, as it was the only one we could see no way to do without some form of transport but it was well worth it. As you are walking from the end of the track, you don't meet any other hikers until close to the turnaround point, and even then, in peak season, we only crossed paths with a few other people the entire walk. We drove to MIlford Sound from Te Anau and met the guide at the visitor terminal - it was a little chaotic as they rounded up people from various groups amidst crowds arriving and departing on dozens of cruises and tours. Some signage or specific pick up point would have made this easier as this termianl is huge. (Warning note - this terminal bizarrely has no cafe, just toilets, and 2 vending machines, so, don't spend any more time here than you have to. If you need food or coffee stop at the main cafe on your way, or bring your own). Also, if driving yourself be aware new parking rules mean unless you want to spend a fortune, you'll need to stop at the long stay park, which is about 20 minutes walk or wait for the shuttle which doesn't start until 8am. Even the expensive paid parking is still a good 10 minutes walk from...

The short answer: this guided tour was nothing short of excellent.

A lot of stuff in the southern/south western part of NZ can lose some of its personal touch. It's a popular tourist area and this kind of thing can happen anywhere. You still enjoy it, but some of it can feel like it lacks soul. This is most certainly not the case for the trips and tramps tour bus.

A lot of the quality of this tour rests squarely on the shoulders of Geoff, who made this trip so memorable. From the moment you are picked up, Geoff is welcoming, knowledgeable and delivers an authenticity that just can't be beat. A local for a good part of his life, Geoff knows all the spots, local lore and dad jokes that culminate in the best tour you can go on here. It is one thing to just drive through and observe all these amazing sights — which are unique and stunning in their own right, yes — but Geoff peppers in SO much information that you simply would not have been aware of if he wasn't there. Even talking about where we were travelling to after the tour in other parts of south island, he had advice to impart, all of which was really helpful!

This was my first guided tour I've been on and I'm seriously worried that I did the best one out there first, and that others I try in the future might not hold a candle to what we experienced. If you are reading this review: do not waste time going from Queenstown or something like that. I would bet money on it every time that you'll get a better experience with trips and tramps instead. You'll go on a tour that has the luxury of a little bit of extra time to stop and truly...