Great Taste Trail & Beyond - Bike, Hike & Sail

Well planed and executed trip. There was a great variety of activities and still enough downtime in between. The guides were outstanding, engaging, encouraging and adapting the trip to the participants and the weather. I appreciate the focus on waste minimization including one of the guides even providing re-usable bags for snacks or keeping phones dry. The walk / sail in Able Tasman had the best weather so that was a standout, the visit to Nelson and WOW was much better than expected, really enjoyed that and the hostess at Villa Maria was really excellent.

Fiona and Will were our hosts for the trip. Fiona is the experienced one and Will was the new guy on the block. Fiona is a wealth of info about NZ and its history. Will was learning as we went along and I think it was his first trip, but I didn't know that right away. He jumped right in and seemed like an experienced trip leader from the start. I would personally like to thank both of them for the whole experience! One thing I like about the trip is the diversity of activities. I'm a cyclist, so I wanted to do this for that reason and the wine tastings intrigued me also. The tracks and boat rides mixed in made this go from a good experience to a great experience. I will recommend this to all of my friends...well done and thought out! The idea of doing other things besides riding is great. I'm talking about the hiking on the tracks and on our own, the boat ride and wine tasting also. During these activities, people talked to us about NZ history or other things they thought would be interesting for us to know about the country and its history. One thing does need attention, coming from a guys who builds and maintains his own bikes, are your bikes or at least the bike I had. My chain was bone dry...no lubricate and the shifters where very hard to actuate. I think the cables and casing need replacing to reduce the friction.

Fiona and Will were engaging and professional guides. Accomodation and food was excellent. Mix of activities was good. Other travelers were all fun to be with. Ride through dark tunnel - company should have provided individual headlamps, as not everyone brought one with them - especially novice cyclists. Enjoyed everything! Cycling was great; loved the two hiking walks; spectacular sail on catamaran. Be aware this is a mixed activity trip - not cycling everyday. Enjoy the company of the other people and the beautiful surrounds. It was a terrific introduction to this type of traveling tour for us.