Pure Glenorchy Scenic Lord of the Rings Tours, Queenstown — Local services in South Island

We recently Oct '19 made a trip to NZ for our 5th wedding anniversary with hopes of a magical stay. Thus far all of our dreams were reached save one. We had booked multiple other tours around Queenstown and saved one day for whimsical exploration. We were convinced by one of our other trusted tour guides that the Pure Glenorchy tour was right up our alley. So we went on limb and booked the tour with less than 48hrs lead time to begin with or so we thought. We attempted to book a tour on sat but the site was a little difficult to navigate so we booked Sun by accident. We called in when 5 min past our pickup time had passed on sat and found a nice but new associate who tried to assist us. She confirmed that we had booked the wrong day but Kate was out of the office and she did not know if a refund was possible. She promised to reach out to the owners to see what could be done in the way of a refund but even though we made an honest mistake and called to let them know as soon as we realized she was not sure the policy would allow for such a refund. It is finally Wed morning and i have just heard back fron Kate apologizing but they are a small family run company and they could not refund our small family our money as they had a driver to pay. So in fact this was not our first communication with Kate as 5 min after our initial booking she replied by email to say they could not come and pick us up at our hotel( the Hilton, which every other tour group was able to do.). She was so quick to respond to us to let us know that they could not come to our hotel on a weekend day at 0745 in the morning because the heavy traffic would disrupt the entire day, but it took her over 4 days to let me know there was nothing they could do to help us out. To be honest we weren't able to take the tour and it came with a high recommendation. This review is specifically about the owners and their treatment of us. They made no attempt to meet us at any turn along the way. They're dealings with us were kurt and borderline unprofessional. We believed we entered into this agreement in good faith and were not met with the same consideration. Literally everyone else in this country has met us with. I offer this as a caution to be careful making your reservation because mistakes will be handled with the cold mannor I would expect from a major corporation instead of a small family run business. I hope this helps you make your decision and enjoy this beautiful country and its mostly...

The 4 hour tour was great. Even if you wanted to go just to get out in nature and do some beautiful, easy hiking/walking in the woods, it would be worth it. We stopped for many LOTR filming locations. Solly was very knowledgeable about the LOTR information, but also shared the behind the scenes information about the filming and even some of the actual history of the area. Stopped for a little break for a snack and bought some reasonably priced LOTR items. We bought the ONE RING to rule them all.

We were picked up and dropped off right im front of our hotel. We asked, and Solly let us off close to the Kiwi Park so we didn't have to wall as far. That was really great. During the tour, we even got to see the set of a current moving being filmed - A Brad Pitt movie called Heart of the Beast. It was fun to see all of the trailers, etc.

Solly had some extra bonuses of some audio histories he had recorded of the local history as we traveled. And most amazing of all, Solly is a musician by profession and sang two songs for us as we traveled to the different locations. That was a highlight for sure.

We also were able to dress up with some props and costumes in the woods where the magic of LOTR really happened. Just by happenstance, there were 9 of us - our own Fellowship of the Ring.

It was a pretty amazing experience for the price. A real bargain for sure. Without Solly, the tour would not have been as good. He added so many little touches like the music that just gave that extra something amazing. Great job! Loved it....

This tour was the highlight of our time in Queenstown, which to be fair was already epic, so this is really saying something!

Joel took our family (including two kids aged 11 and 8) to the most beautiful places. To call them film set locations is an understatement - this is paradise on earth. The glorious views of the mountains and lakes, coupled with Joel's extensive knowledge of the area and its history was, to say the least, truly impressive.

Joel was extremely knowledgeable about the film set locations and has enabled exclusive access to one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen - this is unique to this tour. My family of LOTR fans found it magical to see the real locations where these movies were filmed, and understand more about how they were filmed, connecting the reality of these incredible locations with the fantasy in the movies. My kids will never forget this day. My 11yo girl says "it was totally awesome! I loved seeing sting, but luckily there weren't any orc nearby", my 8yo boy says "it was epic! I loved being Frodo!".

This is a small, family-owned business. Impacted hugely by covid-19, but Joel and Kate are absolute legends, bringing personal touches, along with professional knowledge and experience to their business. I would wholeheartedly recommend this tour to anyone seeking to see these beautiful locations and understand more about the area in general, but especially LOTR fans.

Many thanks to Joel and Kate - this meant so much to our...