A. Mullins
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South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Banks Peninsula ▷
Pohatu Penguins
4.5/5
The evening walk: Pohatu thoroughly prioritises the penguins.
A whole-hearted conservation effort that is making a difference. Their monetary input comes solely from tourists. It’s a gorgeous set-up. See the penguin houses, some of which have penguins in them. The roofs are lifted so that they can be monitored for food status and hydration. As a tourist, this means you get to see them tucked up and snuggling in together. Binoculars are provided to view them coasting in groups together, waiting for night to fall so they can come up on the beach. We could not see them come on to the beach , as our presence would have disrupted them too much, ad they were catching our scent on the wind. A brilliant tour, with guides that thoroughly respect the penguins, as well as a great cause. Support the penguins by supporting this group!
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South Island ▷ Mount Cook - MacKenzie ▷ Lake Tekapo ▷
Alpine Recreation
5.0/5
Caroline Hut Winter Hiking Skills Course, in July 2020: A challenging, rewarding, thoroughly enabling, food-filled, skill-gaining and beautiful trip.
We were so satisfied with ourselves at the end of the day. We did this trip to learn skills that would allow us to go on a wider variety of treks and feel safe about it! We got that, with the opportunity to lead the day treks through the snow, learning how to scout the land with instant feedback. It was a great way to learn.
We had not expected the trip to be so soul-nourishing also. Good exercise, with the most beautiful views. I’ve never been anywhere so silent and so still.
Our wonderful guide, Jane, was phenomenal. She was a force to be reckoned with; incredibly skilled, and amazing teacher mixed with terrific kindness, encouragement and cooking skills! Such a joy! She asked us what we wanted to learn, and then catered to that.
The company were so accomodating, taking into consideration our lack of experience and lack of a car!