Like many others, my wife and I came to Red Carpet because we liked Lord of the Rings.

You could spend months researching where all the locations are, and then driving yourself around New Zealand - but why bother when Red Carpet do it all for you? We're quite shy people and were apprehensive about joining a 'tour group', but we had nothing to worry about. By the second day everyone is like a big family out on a road trip.

You travel there not really sure of what you're going to see or do... and then you see and do wondrous things you never could have imagined. Make no mistake - even if you aren't into LotR, this is an incredible tour of NZ, taking in both islands and all their environments, from volcanic mudpools to lofty mountains.

Vic and Raewyn must be some of the best tour guides anywhere. They think of everything. They have every day planned out so that there's never a dull moment.

And much later, after you come home, you realise that this was no ordinary holiday, and that some part of yourself was left behind in New Zealand, calling you to return.

Reviewed almost 16 years ago