It begins with a conversation. We'll want to understand how you like to travel, what you're hoping to feel rather than simply see, who's coming with you, and what your budget looks like. From there we'll put together a draft itinerary for you to react to. Most journeys go through two or three rounds of refinement before they're right. Once you're happy, we take a deposit, secure the bookings, and hand you a finished itinerary with every detail confirmed.
Your proposal lists exactly what's included, line by line, so there are no surprises later. As a rule that means your private guide and vehicle, all pre-booked activities and experiences, accommodation where we've arranged it, and any meals specified in your itinerary. It does not include international flights, travel insurance, visas and the New Zealand visitor levy, meals not listed, alcohol unless stated, or gratuities. All prices are in New Zealand dollars and include GST. If anything is optional or payable locally, we'll say so plainly rather than let you discover it on the day.
For a multi-day journey we ask for a deposit of 50% to confirm your booking, which lets us secure your guides, lodges and activities before someone else takes them; the balance is due 30 days before you travel. For a day tour, payment in full is due 14 days beforehand. If you need to cancel, our principle is simple — we keep only what we've genuinely lost, and we return the rest. Cancelling a multi-day journey more than 30 days out means we refund what you've paid, less any costs we've already committed on your behalf and can't recover. Full details, including day tours and the terms of the lodges and operators we book for you, are set out in our Terms & Conditions.
