Tom prepared I a wonderful experience for my daughter and I with the full day Lord of the Rings tour. His was both witty and knowledgeable of not only the lord of the rings but of the culture and community of his city of Wellington and it’s architectural fabric. Was truly a highlight of our trip and would highly recommend any of the many tours with Kaewa!

Kaewa Tours exceeded all expectations and was one of the best tours we’ve ever experienced around the world. Tom & Jill reached out soon after our booking with a warm email greeting and offer to zoom with us to personalize our trip. We appreciated their genuine authenticity, kindness and professionalism. Tom made some great suggestions for our drive from Christchurch to Picton. They met us at the Wellington ferry and escorted us to drop off our rental car and take us to our hotel. The following morning Tom shared his love and knowledge in a full-day of fun, fantastic sights, good food, conversation & thoroughly experiencing Wellington. Going above and beyond, Tom took us to Te Papa and checked us in for our flight home. Tom genuinely cared about our enjoyment and experience. It is exceedingly rare to achieve the quality of relationship as quickly as we did, and we parted as friends. We highly recommend Kaewa Tours.

Our private tour with Kaewa Tours from Wellington to Martinborough was truly unforgettable! The real highlight, though, was Tom himself. There are tour guides and tour operators, and then there’s Tom and Kaewa Tours. Tom feels more like a friend showing his visiting relatives around his hometown than a traditional tour guide. His humor, knowledge, and dedication to making every tour memorable are why I couldn’t recommend Kaewa Tours highly enough!

Tom met us at our hotel and, on a rainy, blowy, Sunday afternoon, gave us a delightful tour of Wellington. He was knowledgeable and considerate, and from our conversations, was able to distill our very different interests…no small feat .. thus providing us with a most pleasant afternoon. So many anecdotes , so much information…capped it off with a beer at a local brewery . What a treasure he is. Go with Tom.

My husband and Ispent a wonderful day with Tom Collier. After picking us up at our hotel in Wellington, we began our drive over the mountains into Martinborough, stopping first at the Rimutaka Memorial which commemorates 60,000 New Zealand troops who made the crossing between 1915 and 1919. We then visited Poppie's Winery, enjoying some fine wines and a delicious lunch. On to Greytown Honey where we donned our beekeeping suits and learned all about harvesting honey. We were able to taste their several different levels of manuka honeys. We then drove into Greytown and stopped at Schoc Chocolates, tasting too many (!) of their 60 different flavors. On the way back into Wellington, Tom made an unscheduled stop to one of the filming sites of the Lord of the Rings movies, where we were able to take a short hike and walk off some of the day's many delights. I would highly recommend this tour for anyone looking to sample some of New Zealand's finest offerings. Thanks Tom!!!

This tour was outstanding. Our guide, Tom, was patient, kind, funny and knowledgable. We fell in love with the city largely due to our experience with Kaewa Tours. We saw everything we could ever want to see in Wellington, and it was such a pleasure to learn from Tom through his anecdotes and expertise. Could not recommend more highly.

Wellington was a great city to visit. Although the weather was not very favorable that day, but our tour guide Tom from Kaewa Tours made it very special. He was very accommodating, gracious, friendly and informative. We had a bunch of awesome pictures which he took by himself and compiled for us. He accommodated our request to change the itinerary for that day due to heavy rains, and he made it possible and made sure that we enjoyed. If you happen to visit Wellington, I strongly recommend Kaewa Tours to handle your tour and prepare the itinerary for you. We viewed Te Papa and the QT Hotel and marvelled how the QT Hotel was moved on rails to make way for Te Papa to be built. Waterfront walk where we put ourselves for "I" in the WELL_NGTON sign, viewed the city from virtual sculpture – now you have Halos! Lambton Quay: On the left-hand side of the Quay was the original shoreline in January 1855. An 8.2 earthquake resulted in the land being uplifted. Parliament Buildings and Grounds: We viewed the iconic ‘Beehive’, Houses of Parliament and the Parliamentary Library building. Old St Pauls where Paddy took us on a guided tour through Wellington’s first Anglican Cathedral which was built in 1866. Here the American and Marine Corp flags have proudly hung since World War 2. We drove past the official Prime Ministers residence on Tinakori Road, Thorndon – Premier House. We drove down Bolton Street where the motorway went through the original settlers cemetery - Bolton Cemetery requiring the relocation of over 3,000 graves. We attempted to visit Space Place adjacent to the Cable Car but unfortunately it was closed for maintenance. We visited national museum, Te Papa.

We had an awesome day out, great food, great coffee and great gin. Pickup and drop off from our Hotel in Wellington. Tom was an informative host with good information, a thoroughly enjoyable day. It's the second tour we have undertaken with Tom and would be happy to recommend it.

Highly recommend Kaewa Tours! We were visiting the area for the first time from the US and needed a private driver. Tom setup a Zoom to meet us live and review our needs. He setup a customized daily itinerary for the family ensuring that we got to our destinations timely and incorporated several tours along the way. He was prompt, flexible, professional, knowledgeable, knew everyone and most importantly had a great sense of humor. He became just an extension of our family. We thoroughly enjoyed New Zealand and were lucky enough to have Tom guiding us.

Tom was an excellent guide. We covered the city with photo opportunities at all of the viewpoints. He also took pictures from some special places. It was a great day.

We had an unforgettable day with Andrew / most likely the best way to visit Wellington surroundings. We used his deep knowledge to discover hidden spots and used his full flexibility to tailor the day with our wishes. Great experience. Many thanks. Philippe and Nathalie.

The tour was great! I had a lot of fun seeing Wellington, visiting the great sights, and Tom was fantastic providing details and history along the way. Recommended!

My husband and I had the pleasure of a free lance Kaewa Tour and we jumped at the opportunity. I have had the pleasure of a Foodie Tour in the past with my best friend and this time I took my husband. We stayed in Martinborough at another good friends business (exquisite) and this allowed for multiple local wine tours, a visit to the Honey Farm, Olive farm and a gin tasting. I noted there was a few companies doing similar jobs around the town that were offering a good (driver service) which had me feeling like I chose the best in the region. Tom and Jill were amazing hosts that were with us each step of the way. Incredibly well known and loved by all staff of all businesses we visited and we got some pretty good purchase deals along the way due to these established relationships. Absolute next level service, don't book anyone else. These guys are your one stop shop for local knowledge, care and engagement. Loved the whole weekend and we will be back again. Third time is the ultimate charm right? 😁

The whole day was amazing despite the slight drizzle. We were collected from home and driven to Kapiti where we did quite a few activities. Cider tasting and ice cream made from foraged plants was an amazing experience. Roasting our own coffee was a highlight. Sitting on heated concrete seats while eating lunch was so warming while we sipped on wine and had a lovely lunch. Tom was informative and very entertaining. I would recommend this trip with Tom as he was a great host. Thank you.

We had an amazing private tour during our honeymoon with Tom! Tom and I emailed back and forth to come up with a somewhat custom tour to visit the Cape Palliser seal colony and then we added in some fantastic stops along the way. He picked us up at the cruise port and took us across the Rimutaka Crossing to Martinborough to Poppies for a delicious wine tasting and the best charcuterie board we have ever had. Then he drove us out to Cape Palliser to see the lighthouse and the seal colony. He even made time to stop by Kaitoke Regional Park where they filmed Rivendell in the Lord of the Rings. Tom even brought his camera to make sure he got some great photos of us during our experiences. We highly recommend taking a tour with Tom!!