Adrift Tongariro — Local services in North Island

My wife and I joined the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Guided Walk on 17 June 2022 with a guide named Hiro.

To be fair, it was mostly well executed but certain actions taken by the guide could be improved for a better customer experience. I will try to give my feedback as objectively as I can.

Hiro turned my wife and I back about 5km into the track while he took the rest of the group the rest of the way up. Hiro's given reason for turning us back was because I "didn't look so good" and that I was displaying "heavy breathing".

Firstly, I'm not saying the guide can't turn me back; he has the right to do so. I just have an issue with how he did it. I appreciate that the guide was looking out for my safety and health, but I feel that this could have been handled in a better way. The way that he came to the decision and the manner in which he explained it to us could definitely be improved.

I believe that Hiro did not conduct an adequate health assessment before turning me back. Heavy breathing is typical for any vigorous activity and the mere look on a person's face is insufficient by itself as a health assessment. As it is, I am normally pale-faced but that's just how I look. Hiro did not ask me typical health assessment questions such as if I was feeling any pain, if I was feeling light-headed, if I was dizzy, if I was cold, if I was feeling feverish, if I was short of breath, if I was feeling any palpitations, if I felt I was at my limit, etc.

Hiro also did not physically examine me for any fever, irregular pulse, low body temperature, etc. What he did was to take a quick look at me and immediately decided that I was unfit to continue.

My suggestion is for the guide to ask more questions in the future, not only to get a better picture of what is happening to the customer but also to show the customer that he is being professional and caring.

Hiro did ask me a few times along the trek if I was fine, to which I all replied yes. I did reveal to Hiro during the trek that I had a bout of motion sickness the day before while kayaking. However, I was not holding the group back in any way and kept up with the group's pace at all times. I did not once ask Hiro to stop or slow down, nor did I indicate at any time that I was unable to continue.

After the walk, Hiro deferred us to the company director, Stewart, for any feedback. Unfortunately, I sent Stewart an email a few weeks ago on 17 June and have yet to receive a reply.

Secondly, I believe our safety could have been better prioritised during the return journey.

My wife and I were unaccompanied along the return journey down the mountain for at least 3 hours which I believe is a rather serious safety issue. Given my alleged poor physical condition, it would have been safer if Hiro accompanied my wife and I back down the track to ensure we returned safely.

Hiro did ask me to text him once I got back down to a certain hut near the start. He did call me twice after we had arrived back at the van but I did not bring my phone with me on the hike. My bad I admit. But I believe a phone call would probably not be as helpful as being physically there to help me. My wife would not have been able to physically handle me due to her small stature and her unfamiliarity with the terrain.

As an aside, Hiro did inform us back at their office after the guided walk that he actually requested for 2 guides to be attached to our group of 8 due to the rainy weather but their other staff insisted that Hiro take our group all by himself, which he reluctantly did. It is regrettable that Hiro had to struggle to lead our group on his own without sufficient support.

Customers pay a lot of money for these tours and it is disappointing when the service is not perceived to be as good as it could be. Because overall, Hiro was friendly and helpful for most of the trip and we do appreciate his service. So if he could improve on a few simple things to make his service even better, I don't see why not.

I do hope both he and the company could take my sincere feedback...

I've booked for 200$ and it was a thorough disappointment. We turned back in the south crater because of winds (and I'd say because a few of the people that booked weren't fit at all). Unless you're a complete couch potato to whom "sports" is a swear word, you don't need a guide (I was the only one there below 30, I believe). It was indeed windy up there, gusts up to 50 kph, but basically the only person in our group who had noticeable trouble was an elderly lady who seemed she was persuaded to attend by her kids/grandkids and who didn't seem she wanted to be there.. (yeah ....) Of the guided tour, I've spent a looong time in line behind others waiting for them to move, at a very leisurely pace (there was about 15 people with me which was too many IMO, basically a traffic jam). We even had a minute-long lecture by the guides about what is ice, what it looks like and that it is slippery. That all was very upsetting, but foreshadowed what the focus group of this tour is and what was about to come (the turning back). Also, the guided tour had a 10-15 minute snack break every ~40 minutes, which was especially annoying (by the 4 hr mark on our way back already, we had about 8-10 snack/take-a-breath breaks already, I had to split off to at least see the Soda springs which we missed on the way there, although they are a 10 minute there-and-back detour, but with the group we had, it would have taken 30 minutes I assume). I'm no athlete, in fact, I used to do sports up until 7/8 months ago when I had a knee injury. I haven't done literally anything physically demanding since. Three months ago I had trouble walking down a flight of stairs, I still cannot jump or sit with my knee bent for extended periods of time. Still, I was among the fittest of the group that partook the guided tour.

Also, the ice pick that is given out to everyone is a liability, none of the people on the tour (except for the guides, I suppose) knew how to use them, people seemed more likely to hurt themselves (or others) when they were told to get them out on our descent (200 m from the south crater towards the red crater, our point of return). To me personally it was a nuisance since it was poking into my back all the way and we certainly didn't need them at all, I felt like they were just for show. The mini crampons were nice, but only a very minor improvement in the snow over my cheap 80€ (130 nzd) hiking boots I'd say.

If your physical fitness is comparable to a guy below 55 doing sports once a week (not golf...), I'd say you don't need a guide, you'll make it unless there is a thunderstorm or something.

Anyway, the guides were good, if I were to be responsible for such a bunch, I would have turned us back as well (the only extra star is for them, although I'm certainly angry that they didn't turn back the least fit at the very start). Unfortunately, they don't assess the abilities of participants beforehand (to turn them back before the trip so that they are not a liability to others would mean refunds, I suppose...) to ensure you can actually cross it. Given the cautionary description on the website about the fitness levels of participants, I'd say it's a major sell out from them to allow anyone who they know will hold others back.

This is not a guided hike for those who have occasionally hiked before, this is for couch potatoes who want to see if they can achieve something (or families with children).

Unfortunately, I haven't found any place that would provide just the transports in winter, so I thought a guided crossing will be fine (pricey, but thought it would provide the extra comfort if anything goes bad). I certainly didn't expect them to fail, especially since it was a nice day with no rain. I understand it was a bit windy, but I have cycled in stronger winds (not colder though, to be fair, but that's what the jacket's for)... Basically, I bought a 200$ bus ride to the starting...

This was one of the few outfitters operating in the low season, and they seem to have quality rental gear and local Maori guides (hence the two stars and not one). However, my experience was a complete disappointment. I had booked them in case there were true winter conditions during my hike day and I needed snow gear, but as it was I didn't need any of their gear. It was a high wind/foggy day, and one of the people in the group I joined did not feel comfortable going through the pass, so the whole group had to turn around within 300 meters of the summit at half way because of that (and miss the most well known parts of the trail). So I ended up walking the same amount of hours without completing the trek I signed up for, and even paid double for the privilege (I had a friend drop out within their two week no refund period because of a medical emergency). I was not allowed to continue with other independent hikers (even though I felt comfortable doing so and no one else turned around that day, so it was very much doable) for liability reasons for the company. In the end, I paid NZD700 for nothing.

I understand the company does not control the weather, and there are days where it's just impossible to do the crossing (and hiker safety is critical of course), but this was not such a case - it was a case of risk aversion/discomfort on the part of one party in the group that was clearly inexperienced with alpine crossings. I was offered no sympathy, apology or even partial refund from the company management, who just responded with "at least you're alive". Yes, as well as every other hiker who actually completed the trail that day. I found that to be patronizing and not customer oriented.

For more experienced hikers, I would strongly recommend looking for an alternative shop or considering hiring a private guide instead (though for Adrift that is an exorbitant price).

For Adrift, I would recommend adding at least one more guide in cases of groups with more than one party booking. I have seen this done in many other hike guide operations around the world, where the labor cost (by the guide's own admission) is merely a fraction of the total price we pay. That allows for a group to split in case someone sprains their ankle, gets altitude sickness, etc, and needs to cut things short, without ruining the experience for...