Tours and Tickets
12 Day Southern Explorer Haka Plus Tour

12 Day Southern Explorer Haka Plus Tour

By Haka Tours
About
Welcome to the 12 Day Southern Explorer Haka Plus Tour! This tour kicks off in Wellington and wraps up 12 days later in Christchurch. Over the course of your week and a half in Aotearoa New Zealand, you’ll travel through some of the most magical scenery you could hope to see in your lifetime. National Parks, rainforests, mountain ranges, UNESCO World Heritage Areas… everywhere you turn, there’s something different to behold. You’ll have the opportunity to swim, kayak, surf, jet boat, bungy jump, quad bike, skydive, canyon swing, hike, heli hike, bike, luge, horse ride, see kiwis (and whales, dolphins and albatrosses), relax in hot pools, eat and drink like a local, and more! But only if you want to; this is your trip. It’s designed to be flexible – we include some absolute essentials, but let you make the call on what kind of activities appeal to you. You can pre-book the things you are certain you want to do before the trip starts – and then add more on while you’re on tour.

Ages 18-89, max of 11 per group
Duration: 12 days
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More


  • Breakfast
  • Breakfast
  • Breakfast
  • Breakfast
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner
  • Stay each night in twin-share 3–4 star accommodation: ensuite guaranteed
  • Ride one of the most scenic ferry journeys in the world, the Cook Strait Interislander
  • Take in the stunning Southern Alps and the vast Canterbury Plains aboard the TranzAlpine.
  • Taste some of the world’s best sauvignon blanc at a Marlborough wine tasting.
  • Cycle and cruise your way through Queenstown’s Mt Nicholas and Walter Peak Stations.
  • Carve your own pounamu (jade) pendant in Franz Josef.
  • Comfortable and air-conditioned bus transport
  • Orientation tour of each and every location
  • Small groups of maximum 16 people
What's not included
  • Additional activities such as horse riding
  • Meals are at own expenses unless specified

Start:
  • Wellington, New Zealand
    Meet us at the lobby of Mercure Wellington Abel Tasman, at 6PM for a pre tour briefing **Reverse itinerary available on certain dates - please contact info@hakatours.com for more info**
End:
  • Christchurch, New Zealand
    Your tour ends at Hotel 115, right at the city center Christchurch, after breakfast on Day 12

  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 108513P17

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not recommended for travellers with back problems
  • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
  • Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 11 travellers

  • All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.

If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 108513P17

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Itinerary
Overview
Full Map
20 stops
Day 1
Wellington
Day 2
Wellington to Kaikōura
Day 3
Kaikōura to Christchurch
Day 4
Christchurch to Lake Ohau (via...
Day 5
Ohau to Queenstown
Day 6
Queenstown
Day 7
Queenstown to Wanaka
Day 8
Wanaka
Day 9
Wanaka to Franz Josef
Day 10
Franz Josef
Day 11
Franz Josef to Christchurch
Day 12
Christchurch - Post tour debrief
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
  • Haka Tours
    229
    New Zealand
    Joined in August 2017
  • Ian G
    0 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amplified Tour January 2024
    We have just completed the Amplified Tour of New Zealand. The trip on the whole was everything we expected and more. We met some great travel friends. The Tour bus never let us down. Our guide Mike tried to keep us entertained. Mostly the hostels were great, though we did upgrade to a private room. All the activities offered were so enjoyable, do as much as you can. It was easy to book more activities on the go via the Guide. My one and only disappointment was the Māori experience. No welcoming haka, no traditional clothing, traditional dinner cooked by a couple of backpackers and a video in the classroom until 10pm. Then a double room with bunk beds for the night?? Not sure what went wrong, although the lady was nice explaining the history. Overall, well done HAKA Tours. We will use you again
    Written 7 February 2024
  • 549lilliana
    0 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Best trip ever
    What an amazing trip! There was a wide range of activities from cultural to adventure activities and a few surprises, which we absolute gems, up the tour guide's sleeves. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and helped everyone in every way he could. He made us all feel comfortable and it was amazing to see how much of a family we all became so quickly. I have travelled a fair bit around the world but this was the first time I have booked a tour. This was my second trip to New Zealand but I learnt so much. I will definitely be booking with the company in the future to do the South Island. The only criticism I have is that what is included and the additional activities on offer were different on different websites. My friend and I booked through Backpacker Deals, then when we went on the Haka Tours website we realised we had to contact the company to book stuff that wasn't on the other website.
    Written 30 January 2024
  • elizabethhC5624JH
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent tour
    Wonderful tour of the South Island of New Zealand. It started in Christchurch and encompassed many of the most scenic and beautiful sites of the island, including Christchurch, Ohau, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Wanaka and Franz Josef, and wonderful lakes and mountains in between. I will definitely plan on returning to this lovely country. Tour leader Adam was amazing at ensuring everyone had a good time. Some of the activities were weather dependent, but Adam did his utmost to try to get everyone as many activities as he could. Our traveling group was exceptional - I believe we all had a good time. Some travelers were more adventurous, and this tour provided activities for everyone - bungy jumping, skydiving, kayaking, hiking, sightseeing tours, exploring, etc. Accommodations were fine - perfect for the kind of trip where you don’t stay very long in the rooms, but very comfortable for sleeping. All in all, I thought this tour was an excellent introduction to New Zealand.
    Written 14 January 2024
  • 816thibaultd
    0 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beware Haka Tour
    By far the worst travel experience of our entire lives. Since the pandemic this company does not have the bandwidth to deal with the returning tourists and offers guides and provides you with mere drivers or mentally unstable people, none of whom are accredited guides. Very poor preparedness overall, the "guides" arrives late, the van was leaking water from the roof, half the activities got cancelled, our guide abandonned the group mid trip because she had a personal mental crisis. THe group refused to replaced the guide....A complete, utter, and appalling disaster. It s a shame, because New Zealand is an absolute gorgeous country. Note that this trip was booked through Traverse Journeys, who got caught in the middle as they decided to partner with Haka Tour. Traverse Journeys has made reasonable efforts to remedy the situation, but the whole trip was so botched by Haka that nothing could be salvaged out of it.
    Written 13 January 2024
  • hdbichkoff
    0 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Traverse Journey’s review and Haka tour review
    We booked a tour of both New Zealand islands called a New Zealand Fantasy with Traverse Journeys almost a year ago.It turned out to be a New Zealand nightmare. It was the worst travel experience of our lives. We’ve travelled extensively with several companies and have had mostly good experiences. Nothing comes close to the travesty we had with Traverse Journeys and Haka tours. We only had a total of 4 people (their minimum) in the tour. The owner of Traverse later told us that this is not profitable as they usually do larger tours. She contracted our tour to a company called Haka Tours who threw together last minute and untrained tour guides. The guide in the North Island was a nice person but hadn’t been to some of the areas we visited in over 30 years. He was more of a driver than a trained guide. We missed some of the key selling points from the Traverse Journeys advertising due to his lack of familiarity. The trip has very little leisure time and the ads are misleading. Most of the time is traveling in vans and rushing to the next location. The South Island guide was an absolute disaster. Her name was Deann Loader. She was extremely unprofessional. She disappeared for a day and a half and screamed at my wife when asked why she wasn’t around. She threatened to leave us with the other couple after her first meltdown. Two days later, the other couple had a medical issue with a pregnancy before we were to leave for the day’s events. They were a few minutes late at the van and Ms. Loader lost it. She showed no empathy or concern for the wife’s medical condition and actually brought her to tears. Worse yet, Ms. Loader locked the van and flew home after a verbal exchange with the husband. She left the four of us in rural New Zealand ( a pregnant woman and us in our mid sixties). Haka was irresponsible and not at all helpful when their guide abandoned us. David Coles from Haka told us they didn’t have the resources to replace the guide.. He also didn’t know when he could get us a driver as we were left in a remote location. He was more interested in our not giving Haka a negative review than finding us a ride. We rented a van and finished the trip ourselves. We later learned that the van shouldn’t have been rented as the brakes were failing. This NZ fantasy also included driving the faulty van on the other side of the road through treacherous mountain roads to parts unknown. We demanded a full refund from Ashley Blake, CEO of Traverse Journeys. She was sympathetic and offered us a modest refund. We settled for a fifty percent refund after we had to put in a claim with the credit card company. I would look elsewhere and steer clear from both of these organizations since long distance travel is hard enough.
    Written 27 December 2023
  • samantha933
    0 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Overall, great way to see New Zealand in a short amount of time!
    Overall, this was a really good tour. However, there are some pro's and con's to be aware of. This tour was a great value for the cost. Fairly cheap but with a lot included. The additional excursions were fairly cheap as well but really fun. I feel like we saw and did so much within a one week span of time. The cultural Maori experience was particularly special. My partner and I are in our late 30's and we were worried we would be the oldest people by far but we were not. Many people on the tour were our age or right around our age. Most of the accommodations were centrally located. Some of the cons- Expect your typical hostel accommodations. Nothing special. We did the private room which was nicer. I was surprised that the free breakfasts that were included on this tour were basically the tour operator purchasing breakfast foods from the grocery (i.e. cereals, bread, e.t.c.) and transporting them to the hostels. Tours I had been on in the past included meals usually meant through the hotels or restaurants or something. Our tour guide didn't seem particularly enthused or upbeat during the entire tour.
    Written 12 November 2023
  • emilieb833
    0 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    It was my first guided experience and it was incredible
    First because of the guide. Connor was enthusiastic, funny and empathetic. He was always happy to share about some of his favourite places and fun facts with us. He was really organised, and was incredible in finding new ways for us to be entertained when events or activities were cancelled due to forecast reasons. He knew how to advise when in doubt of which activity to choose from but always let us be responsible for our own actions. I loved the Bay of Island, Hobbiton 😍, swimming with Dolphins. I LOVED all the activities we did regarding the Maori culture. Carving our own Pounamu and paddling a Waka are some of the highlights of my trip. I fell in love with this culture, with Aotearoa and I can't wait to come back. Spending the night in Kohutapu Lodge and eating the Maori traditional food was also amazing. Thank you for all this. I met incredible people and can't wait for my next trip!
    Written 4 March 2023
  • JCLangley
    0 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    Go with another Tour
    This tour company overpromises and underdelivers. Transportation was not as represented - the bus was old, filthy, with no sound system and malfunctioning AC. Hostels were basic, not like photos, and primarily for 6-10 people rather than the 4-6 represented. One hostel smelled terrible and at the hostel in Christchurch, UrbanZ, the manager put us in a 10-person dorm of mixed sexes. And told our guide "Tom" from HQ had authorized it. Choose another company. It's a long way to travel and life is too short.
    Written 1 March 2023
  • JuneHelenT
    0 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    New Zealand Uncovered
    We did this tour in Jan 23, just got back. First 2 weeks was excellent. Great group of eclectic, insane, funny and lovely people. Runty our tour guide went to great lengths to ensure he accommodated our every need despite little support or guidance from Hakka. He bent over backwards to please us and provide alternative activities when planned ones were cancelled. Cancelling the glamping was super disappointing and totally inappropriate of Hakka especially as it had been sold as a highlight of the trip. The compensation offered was insulting but Runty took it upon himself to try to make things better. The second 2 weeks of the trip was a disaster weather wise, we didn’t get to do the planned activities so very disappointing. No one’s fault but again Runty tried to make the best of our trip offering alternatives he personally knew about. Hakka was calling on him for advice to advise other trip leaders. Overall Hakkas administration of the tour was poor, the bus itself was a banger, not good enough to transport people on a tour that cost as much as this and the accommodation was not consistent. I believe Runtys resourcefulness saved the day for us all but probably wouldn’t book with a company that sub contracts to Hakka again.
    Written 11 February 2023
  • sO4909JK
    0 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Where is my promised refund?
    ​Hello team at Haka Tours, It has been over a month since our last correspondence and we are still awaiting our FULL refund of: * 20% of the original tour price ($3999 for each person which would equal $799.80NZ refund per person) PLUS * the refund we are both owed for the Heli Hikes at Franz Josef that did not occur due to the weather conditions, fully pre-paid (a refund of $499NZ per person) Reference code: HKT-66066398-FA3 Please refund the 2x(799.80) + 2x($499) = $2597.6 TOTAL (minus $749) directly to the original credit card used for payment IMMEDIATELY OR LEGAL ACTION WILL COMMENCE.
    Written 11 February 2023
  • Travellingqueenie92
    0 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Excellent Trip, Tour Guide and Country, needs improvement in areas
    I had a fantastic 24 days in New Zealand, but it was the tour guide Ollie Crooks, the group, the land itself and the activities I did that made it sensational. I booked my trip 9 months prior to departure. Initially the booking process was seamless. However as we approached closer to departure date I did find the office at Haka Tours to be rather slow in response and oftentimes when I'd ask multiple questions the responses would only have answered half of them or give generic replies/links to find the answer myself. A few weeks prior to my trip we got added to added to a facebook group however the admins at Haka didn't talk on there so neither did the group. Upon landing in Auckland at 2am, I checked into my private en-suite double room to find that I'd been put into a dormitory which I wasn't very impressed with considering after a 32 hour flight I wanted to shower, sleep and get ready for our tour that started at 8am. However I was refunded for this at the end of the trip. Now the trip started and we had a great group. The tour guide Ollie Crooks. I cannot fault him. In fact he was incredible and as a seasoned traveller who books on tour groups often. He is the best guide I've ever come across and had the privilege to spend time with. Throughout the duration of the trip, he was knowledgeable and gave facts and interesting nuggets of info about Maori culture, the land, the people etc. He was very conscious of the groups needs and ensured we made ample rest stops, snack stops & photo opportunities. He made extra effort to get to know every individual in the group and ensure everyone was included and generally was a breath of fresh air. The whole group adored him! He also constantly went above and beyond his job to ensure all the mistakes made within the itinerary were rectified. However, the group collectively felt sorry for him. As unfortunately headoffice had constantly made mistakes with regards to booking (or not booking) activities, accommodation, one guest even got told the wrong arrival time and missed the first few days of his trip, gave zero support with someone who's luggage got lost at the airport etc. They weren't very helpful or accessible and there were continuous issues. We even had 3 buses throughout the course of the 24 days due to them being rather old and breaking down. But throughout all these issues, Ollie was continuously fire-fighting. He went above and beyond to ensure everything was seamless and managed to keep the positivity within the group so that we would still get to do everything we wanted. So when the bus broke down and us die-hard LOTR fans were going to miss Hobbiton. He managed to re-arrange the schedule to ensure we could go another day and I cannot thank him enough for that. So, a huge shout-out to the Tour Guide of a lifetime for making our trip incredible. The trip itself was a great itinerary. However I do think there's some places I would've preferred to have spent more than just one night at. For example Taupo, Wellington, Christchurch & Tekapo. And I do think an extra few nights in the North Island would've been great too. I pretty much booked an activity every single day of the trip where I could and I got to do pretty much all of them except the last 4/5 days due to the Heavy Rains that hit us after Franz Josef. The ones I lost out on I got full refunds for after the trip concluded which was pretty good too. We definitely got lucky with the weather as everyone's activities barring those last few days went ahead. The buses were all dated, uncomfortable and a bit hot and smelly. They also don't have fridges on, charging ports or shelves so they're rather cramped - especially if you have a pretty full group. Luckily, I upgraded to a private room so I had better nights sleeps than the rest of the group who were in dorms. Which if you're not planning to upgrade, please note that these dorms are mixed dorms, no ensuite, and incredibly cramped and small. Some were better than others but whatever your expectation is - lower it. I think the FAQs and packing list needs to be updated as if you're thinking of bringing spending money which Haka recommends to be 20-60 NZD a day. Double it. NZ is very expensive and if you want to enjoy yourself and have a good time you definitely spend a LOT more than that per day. Also by not having a fridge, you have to buy food regularly as it goes off very quickly due to the heat of sitting stagnant on a hot bus for 12 hours before we can get to a hostel fridge. One thing to note, is you're constantly on the go and there's a lot of 5am/6am starts. I survived on 5 hours sleep a night and a lot of coffee. We were constantly on the go, hiking, activities etc and I came back positively exhausted. So I would ensure you can survive on little sleep and are reasonably fit. Due to all these early starts and staying in one location for one night we very rarely got to go out as a group and enjoy ourselves in these great cities as everyone was worried about the early start the following morning. So somewhere like wellington, 2 nights would've been great so the group could've had a night out together without fear of oversleeping. New Zealand is a beautiful country, the Maori culture is incredible and I loved experiencing it and learning about it. This tour was great and the activities I did were unforgettable. It honestly is a trip of a lifetime. If you get Ollie Crooks as a guide you're super lucky as he is really incredible (and talented to boot). I should probably add at this point that Ollie did have to leave the tour and we got a new tour guide for the second leg, Grant. Sadly, the energy and vibe we got from Grant was poor in comparison to what we had for the first half of the trip. I'm not going to go too into it. But thankfully our group was great and we'd already had time together to bond so we carried eachother and continued the good atmosphere. But I've never known someone to appear like they hate their job as a tour guide and also hate people as much as Grant did. I think he needs a career change as it's not for him and the group despised him as much as he despised us. It was incredibly uncomfortable and awkward at times and I would not recommend him as a guide for these trips ever! All in all, he also brought the rating down as it seems that Haka are so desperate for staff they threw someone in without a personality test or proper training. I do think that after the acquisition of Haka Tours by Intrepid. They have a lot of kinks to work out internally as they weren't singing from the same hymn sheet and still seemed to be working as separate entitities. So they have a lot to work on internally to make the pre-work and planning/booking of the tours, activities and comms to the guests a bit more seamless. As the reason you got a 5 was because your internal Head Office Team were poor. The country, activities and the guide were the only things that carried everything. So Haka, do better. You have a great product, some great staff and a huge opportunity to out perform your competitors but you do need to look at your internal processes, training process & upgrade those buses if you want to be exceptional. That being said, I had the best month of my life. Which would've been better had Haka been more seamless. Thanks Gang & Thanks Ollie - you made my time unforgettable!
    Written 10 February 2023
  • mariarV4829KG
    0 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    I would NOT recommend anyone pay for a premium ‘Haka Plus Tour.’  
    I would NOT recommend anyone pay for a premium ‘Haka Plus Tour.’   I attended the 10 Day Haka Plus - Southern Pioneer Tour. The tour was incredibly disappointing as Haka did not provide the premium experiences they advertised. On Day 1 of our tour we were informed that we would be traveling in a “downgraded bus” as all the luxurious buses (usually reserved for Haka Plus Tours) were unavailable.  Haka advertised on their website that we would “stay in trendy hotels, boutique motels, lodges, and rainforest retreats - no backpackers and no dorm rooms” however when we arrived in Wanaka we were taken to the YHA Backpackers hostel. We had paid for private rooms but were put in group dorms with shared utilities and bathrooms. It was odorous with old and worn furnishings. Feeling unsafe and unclean in this unhygienic Backpackers accommodation I paid over $400 out of my own pocket for my own accommodation (just so I could have the standard of care that was promised and advertised). Interestingly, when checking into my own accommodation the hotel owner spoke negatively about Haka Tours and advised that I was not the first person he had encountered who had left a Hostel to come to stay at his hotel. On Christmas Day I had paid and booked for activities in Queenstown but apparently Haka was unaware that none of the companies were open. Consequently, all of these activities had to be cancelled. No-one was pre-warned that the restaurants/cafes would be closed and the tour group ended up eating at a bus stop on the side of the road. Haka should have pre-empted this and acted accordingly. Our tour guide did not present as a “passionate and knowledgeable local Kiwi guide” as stated on the Haka tours website. He repeatedly used expletives when speaking, spoke about getting ‘sh*tfaced’ and drinking and listened to heavy metal rock music in the bus where swearing was featured constantly. Vaping was a constant activity on his part and care was not taken to avoid exposure of the tour participants to the nicotine vapours. On one occasion he asked me “where’s my drugs?” and when I questioned what he meant he advised that he was looking for his vape. He also made comments about how he was a “tradie” and had not done a tour in a while and didn’t know the answers to our questions. It felt incredibly unprofessional for what was advertised as a premium tour. The Haka website boasts that Haka Plus tours feature a selection of included activities that their classic adventure tours do not. I was promised a guided e-bike tour. On the day of the ride, the tour guide announced that the ride was self guided and would occur in the middle of the very hot and sunny 35 degree day. There was no flexibility with timing. During the morning, half the tour group had participated in an unsheltered 3 hour outdoor activity (that had been booked through Haka). We had heatstroke and nothing to eat before the bikes were abruptly presented to us. Being very fatigued and hungry, we would have been unable to ride in an enjoyable or relaxing way but were not offered any other opportunity to complete this activity despite being very keen to delay the bike ride to later in the day. There has been no refund offered for this. Continental breakfasts were supposedly provided as part of the tour but with a number of people with dietary requirements the breakfasts at Queenstown Blue Peaks accommodation consisted of 2 pieces of bread (non gluten-free) with 2 boxes of cereal (non gluten-free), milk, yoghurt and a serving of diced fruit in juice. There was no real attempt at Queenstown at catering for individuals who had gluten and dairy requirements despite Haka being pre-warned of these requirements. It has been a week since I have returned from my trip and I am still awaiting for a refund for the Heli Hike Tour that understandably did not go ahead at Franz Josef Glacier due to unsuitable weather conditions ($499 x 2 people that were already paid for and booked months in advance). Overall, Haka Tours made my New Zealand experience very disappointing. Understandably, there have been many Covid related difficulties in the industry however there was not enough done by Haka to ensure the tour participants were satisfied and received what they paid for.
    Written 10 January 2023
  • G2572PLvincenzor
    0 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY
    absolutely terrible company. pretty much agree with the most recent 1 star reviews. disorganised, lack of any sense of responsibility and proper logistics. Lack of proper tour guides that actually knows NZ and gives you an authentic taste of NZ rather than just glorified bus drivers who can’t keep a proper timetable, either leaving too early or arriving at destination too late so you barely have time to explore anything people’s private room accomodation and pre-booked activities either gets mixed up or straight up never happened as haka did not even bother to take public holiday dates into their logistics. yet you still offer 23 day tours during the xmas and new year period some of the included activities are absolutely a waste of time and requires long drive to get there, time that could be used to get to destinations faster or explore more of the hidden spots in NZ expect to get bed bugs, tiny crammed room without any ventilation (enjoy the smell of your roommates body odour in high humidity night, and various types of human body fluids in your “high end hostel accomodation” or alternatively you can stay at a hostel in a loud street littered with junkies and the most civilised humans of society deep into the evening many activities are also marked up from booking directly with the local provider (no those local prices were not on sale, they were just the standard pricing) which haka will deny, but hey ripping people off to make an extra few bucks always trumps integrity, money talks. Many days we missed out on included activities due to poor scheduling and guiding. no proper hygiene measures was taken at anytime during the trip Also after all this mess haka still has the audacity to put a surcharge on card transactions. Please don’t bother with the “i’m sorry this isn’t our usual haka tour experience” reply and blaming everyone else but yourself. Drop that fragile ego and accept responsibility for once because as far as haka tours being the “top rated tour on tripadvisor”, that may be true for the old haka tour years ago before it was sold and now no one from the old haka tour company even works for the new company. Haka tours is the equivalent of going to italy to eat authentic italian cooked by Donald Trump trained in a high school cafeteria. If you want to go to NZ, then go with other companies like kiwi-experience or G-adventures Avoid at all cost and don’t be mislead by their past 5 star reviews and their damage control responses.
    Written 9 January 2023
  • Turkey_Gobbles
    0 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Poor experience, wouldn't recommend
    I was a part of the PREMIUM NEW ZEALAND GUIDED TOUR- SOUTHERN PIONEER from December 23, 2022 to Jan 1 2023, paying $NZ 3,599. Advertised: You’ll stay in trendy hotels, boutique motels, lodges, and rainforest retreats - no backpackers and no dorm rooms". Unfortunately, this certainly was not the case. We were to be provided “A Night of Glamping Under Southern Stars: Luxury camping experience on a historic farm surrounded by . We were advised by email a week beforehand by Haka tours, that instead of staying at Premium accommodation at the Oasis Yurts for two nights, “Unfortunately, we have recently been informed that our main glamping accommodation provider has had to decline some of our groups due to unforeseen maintenance needs to the property. We have tried to find an alternative Glamping solution but sadly were unable to get space during this peak season with other providers. The alternative accommodation provided was completely unacceptable. Instead of twin share accommodation in a comfortable, hygienic setting with a private bathroom, we were presented with a rooms in the YHA Backpackers hostel with unclean shared bathrooms- toothpaste had been left in the sink; odorous dorm rooms with old and worn furnishings, and wifi unavailable in the rooms. Feeling unsafe being in this unhygienic Backpackers accommodation setting with no privacy or cleanliness, we paid $450 out of our own pocket for these two nights for accommodation in Wanaka of the standard that was promised- NOT BACKPACKERS & DORM ROOMS- as stated on the website regarding Haka Plus Tours. We were promised Twin-share hotel style accommodation and this was not provided. This is unacceptable, underhanded and dishonest behaviour on behalf of the tour guide and shows a complete lack of responsibility or care for the wellbeing of the tour group participants. As stated on the Haka tours website: “ All these New Zealand escorted tours come with an experienced and knowledgeable driver guide who is extremely passionate about showing off New Zealand. In their safe hands you will be sure to fall in love with the gorgeous country that we at Haka Tours call our home.” On the whole, the behaviour of our tour group leader was very flippant and juvenile; and he seemed disorganised and disinterested in giving us information or providing tour participants an educational as well as enjoyable experience. For example, when asked if the tour group members were staying at the YHA Backpackers Hostel Accommodation at Wanaka, he refused to answer the question and said that he would talk about that issue later, constantly deferring and deflecting when asked for information. He also repeatedly used expletives when speaking, spoke about getting ‘sh*tfaced’ and drinking- where his favourite drinking holes were and listened to heavy metal rock music in the bus where swearing was featured constantly. There were mature ladies in their 50s and 60s as part of the tour group. Vaping was a constant activity on his part and care was not taken to avoid exposure of the tour participants to the nicotine vapours. He certainly did not present as a “Passionate and knowledgeable local Kiwi guide” as stated on the Haka tours website. We had Adventure activities booked for Christmas Day but apparently Haka Tours was unaware of the fact that none of the Adventure Activity Companies were open and available for the Public Holiday. All these activities had to be cancelled. Continental breakfasts were supposedly provided as part of the tour but with a number of people with Coeliac Disease and Gluten intolerance, the breakfasts at Queenstown Blue Peaks accommodation consisted of 2 pieces of bread (non gluten-free) with 2 boxes of cereal (non gluten-free), milk, yoghurt and a serving of diced fruit in juice. There was no real attempt at Queenstown at catering for the guests who were unable to tolerate Gluten. “Comfortable and air-conditioned bus transport” was to be provided but our tour group was given a standard van with basic amenities and were told that the usual more luxurious bus for Haka Plus Tours was unavailable. I was very disappointed by the standard of care, consideration and planning that were shown as part of this Haka Plus Tour of New Zealand and would not recommend using this company. Sadly, this has been the worst experience of using Holiday Tours and Guides over the past decade and although understandably there have been many Covid- related difficulties in the industry, there was not enough done by the company to ensure tour participants were safe, comfortable and satisfied- especially as an experience sold as a ‘premium’ product. Yours sincerely, Dr C
    Written 8 January 2023
  • anitah902
    0 contributions
    1.0 of 5 bubbles
    Extremely disorganised tour & disappointment apart from when in queenstown Sam has joined and did his best! He was great
    My tour has come to the end and I would like to write to you how disappointed I'm. It was not my first tour with your company but I'm not sure if I will book with you again. I have booked tour via intrepid but it was run by Haka. I have paid for the trip with the tour guide which we only had last few days. We had 3 tour guides - which one of them was only a bus driver who didn't know anything about NZ. We had missed so much during our trip that I can't even express how much this is disappointing. Only when we got Sam (on New Year's Eve which he should not be then with us, but he realised how much mess we have and tried his best to turn things around and make our trip memorable - which he absolutely did, but it was just only last few days). Prior to him we didn't even have things which were included in the price - like city orientation, we didn't have time for activities which should be planned as included). Also - I paid for my private room, and in Mauri village I didn't get one (despite there was lots available) unless I was willing to pay extra. The biggest disappointment was that when I was booking trip, I was informed that I have new tour in Australia starting on the 5th January but been told me that I cannot fly out until the 7.01 which was so untrue. The tour has finished on the 5.01 in the evening which would allow me to fly out . Also, I had to find my own accommodation on last night as it was not included!!!! Which comes that I missed 3 days of my next tour and extra costs for the accommodation or even breakfast! Tour was during Xmas and nye time - I have been told me I don't need to pre-book activities but when it came to the reality most of the things were sold out and I couldn't do what I really wanted to!! Standards of some hostels were horrible - not as per your description 'high standards hostels'.
    Written 7 January 2023
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12 Day Southern Explorer Haka Plus Tour provided by Haka Tours