My husband and I embarked on a Nomad Safari 4W, all-day LOTR tour-two of nine in the complete…read moregroup, split between two vehicles convoying with each other. The tour ran 8-5pm, picking us up at our hotel, splitting the day between a morning session (complete with coffee, tea, and biscuits), dropped off for lunch paid for at Balls & Bangles, and an afternoon session (complete with coffee, tea, and biscuits) Our morning tour guide started our day off with a fantastic 'let's do this' attitude, amping us up for a day of exploration. During the drive, he blended the experience between LOTR nerdom and NZ culture & history, giving us a well-rounded South Island excursion. We could really tell he not only followed the standard Nomad script, complete with photo references of movie shoot locations & must-know facts, but added a lot of additionally researched information-it showed a passion for promoting the South Island, we truly enjoyed. For the LOTR portion, it was excellent to see specific photo references. Then when enjoying being at specific sites each tour guide had a positive readiness to help take photos, even bringing out props, at a few spots, to help re-create famous scenes. Lunch was pre-paid, we had a $20 credit at the restaurant to pick what we would like to eat, then time to meet up with the next convoy. The afternoon session was again blended between LOTR sites & NZ culture; including more movie site locations, then stopping in Arrowtown to drive the river, pan for gold, and drive along Skipper's Canyon- the tour guides in our second session added their own unique flare to the experience, driving along adrenaline pumping routes, relaying facts about NZ's crazy drives & where else to visit. Overall, the entire day was a very memorable experience. The company went above & beyond to provide a truly 5star day.

We just finished the Routeburn Track with Angelo G. As our guide. He picked us up at our hotel in…read morethe morning and explained the area history, flora and fauna along the way to the National Park. This is the best hike we have been on. Angelo was very professional and well versed in the demands of the trek. He is very knowledgeable about the plants and birds we encountered along the way. We learned a lot and enjoyed ourselves through the whole day. I highly recommend this tour! Thank you Angelo and Nomad Safaris.

best experience ever definitely go with nzone…read more i think the other skydiving companies are owned by nzone anyway also, nzone is the only one that offers a third jumper if you want videos or photos having photos/videos taken of you by a third person rather than a wrist cam is significantly better so worth it also, the jump over queenstown is incredible the views leave you speechless

Nzone Skydive is one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in my lifetime! First of all,…read moreI would like to thank the manager Alex for being so accommodating with the circumstances that we had in regards to our flight and the cancellations, and without him we wouldn't have been to even do the skydive in the first place. Additionally, I would like to thank my tandem, Lima! He was an amazing instructor and was hyping me up the whole way! This is a must do in Queenstown and a once in a lifetime experience! Thank you NZone!

This is an awesome thing to do, it was worth the views and the adrenaline rush! The staff were…read morehelpful and kind to us as well. There are so many ways you could choose how to "swing" or jump as you would like. The driver in the van at the end also put on a really funny video and it was absolutely hilarious! Also, it is not too far from Queenstown itself. Definitely well worth the price and the fun. I definitely recommend this activity to anyone who comes to Queenstown.

I had my chest puffed up when I booked the swing and zip-line. I was brave enough to flip and do…read moredaring stunts- no big deal. What I found out, is that with age I have become more of a giant baby! You really don't realize how high up you are until you're strapped in! The Fox is higher than the swing, I was setup to run and jump (because suddenly the flip seemed to wild for me). I sadly wimped out and did the seated start. Had I bought one more go around, I would've jumped. It was a freaking BLAST though! There is nothing like it! Such an adrenaline rush! Is signed my husband up without asking him and he loved it! The Canyon Swing is another beast. What was I thinking!? I knew I would regret it if I didn't do it, but when it was my turn and I was a solo swinger (unlike the others), everything changed so suddenly. I couldn't even commit to the handstand. Luckily, I was told that taking 9 minutes to jump wasn't the worst, but it also wasn't brag-worthy. Hey! I did it, and wasn't pushed. That's brag-worthy! Haha! It reminded me of bungee jumping all over again- awful! On the fall I just remember tensing up, ad holding my breath preparing for the splat. The human body isn't supposed to enjoy this! Once the slack caught me, I could breathe and realized how exhilarating (in a bad way hah) it was. Not sure if I would do it again...well maybe with a friend. Utterly terrifying and exciting at the same time. I immediately had a large beer afterwards to calm my nerves and adrenaline. Only thing I don't like is that they don't have video of the Fox. I wore my GoPro but it's been having issues and of course didn't record it. I totally would've paid for a video of that like I did my swing. I do like how they had great places for observers to watch so they could see (and hear) you. My husband enjoyed making fun of my stiff jump. One tip- once you are at the bottom of the swing- don't forget to take in the stunning beauty of the Shotover River and Canyon. So peaceful, too (after all of that screaming).

Bungee jumping has been on my bucket list but I wanted to do it at a place that would make it…read morememorable. Seeing that AJ Hackett has the first commercial bungee jumping site it was a no-brainer for me to want to experience it there. Plus, the views were immaculate. The price was even fair as well. Pro tip for those who are in school, if you bring your ID, you get a student discount. Included in this experience you are gifted a shirt at the end, along with photo and video. Even transportation to and from this site! I would highly recommend doing it in the morning or a day where the sun will not glare and mess up your video. Whenever you are visiting New Zealand, it is a mess that you do this experience. It is well worth it.

I figured that while I'm in Queenstown I might as well do something adventurous. Honestly I saw…read morethat they give you a free shirt when you complete the jump here so I booked for the next day. Since it's my first time I went with the smaller jump at the Kawarau Bridge. First you check in at the front desk and they you go to the next counter where they weigh you. They write your weight and bungee number for the camera on your hands and then you just wait for the bus. The bus ride to the site was about half an hour and then you can basically take as much time as you need to prepare yourself for the jump. They hand you a slip of paper with your info on it that you would hand over to the people at the jump site where they coordinate you with your photos. The jump itself basically feels like going down on a roller coaster, except you're not seated. You bounce upside down a couple times and there's a team waiting on a raft at the bottom that will help you get untied. For me the worst part was actually the walk up the stairs because that was way more exhausting going up the entire hill. Once you come back up you can view your photos on the screens and pick up your free shirt. I believe the buses come by every 45 minutes so really if you do the jump pretty quickly after getting dropped off you'll be able to make it to the next bus. All the workers there were great and really helped to calm my nerves. They reassured me every step of the way and double and triple checked everything before sending me off the bridge. For anyone who is a first timer I highly recommend AJ Hackett Bungy. The scenery at the bridge was gorgeous as well so it was a great first bungy experience and next time maybe I'll do the Nevis.

Zip trek ecotours did an excellent job helping us zip line down the mountain in Queenstown…read more Initially, I was very scared as I have never zip lined in my life and harbor a fear of heights. However, I truly had nothing to fear as the adrenaline and awesomeness of zip lining down a mountain quickly overwhelms your senses. Zip lining is fairly safe as the guides equip you with a helmet and harness. One guide zips to the bottom of the run to make sure they are ready to brake you when you reach the bottom. The guides check your harness and straps before sending you down the stairs. And yes, you do initiate the zipping by walking yourself off the steps to no where. The guide also shows you some neat tricks for the more adventurous, such as zipping backwards or upside down. I wasn't quite brave enough to try the upside down trick but the group seemed to have lot of fun doing it. Ziptrek also gives you tidbits of information on increasing conservation efforts of natural resources in between each zip line. Although nothing truly new is learned, it's admirable that the company is trying to be ecologically sound with their business. The six line tour is the best, since your last line is the steepest zip line in the world. You do take a small hike down the mountain inbetween the 5th and 6th lines. This can be a bit hard on your knees. There are also no railings so if you are the cautious type, move to the back of the group. A truly fun and awesome experience that made me realize I am no longer scared of heights. Take a chance and try this sport. You won't regret it!

Well HELLO QUEENSTOWN! Definitely a pretty amazing introduction to this quaint little ski town!…read more The second my friend and I got off the plane, we taxied over to Queenstown and went straight for an information desk (I would review the bitch of a lady at the desk but this isn't the right yelp page for that). We signed up for Zip trek zip linning immediately, but seriously, immediately, we signed up for the 11am trek (4 zips, as opposed to 6) and it was 10:30! Up the gondola (which costs $30- you can get discounted rates if you buy luge tickets too) and to the left in the dense trees (down a little hill, we got lost ha ha) there you'll find the check in for Ziplining! We were harnessed and placed in a group of 5 other people and then we were off! We had two guides taking care of everything, they tightened our harnesses, latched us on the ropes and told us exactly what to do when we were ready to ZIP! I have never been zip lining before in my life... And if you're the type to get a stomach knot when riding a Rollercoaster or a water flume at an amusement park like me, be warned, you'll experience that knot the first 2 or 3 zips! Oh and if you're scared of heights, yaaaaaa just don't go to Queenstown since the biggest tourist attractions in this town are sky diving, bungee jumping, paragliding and ziplining! While I experienced some stomach knots and can remember myself thinking WTF AM I DOING during the first zip, my fears subsided a little bit as we carried on. At each tree house the guides would talk to us a bit about sustainability (you've been warned, if you don't like that kind of stuff) and at the last tree house, we were told that some of our admission $ would be donated to a charity. Zipping through the trees and donating to charity? Can't say that's a bad thing!!! When we were done with our 4 zips, we had to hike back up, not a terrible hike but if you're not In shape.... You may wish that Ziptrek offered mules to ride up on! Whether you do the 4 or 6 zips, you'll get stunning views of Queenstown, a little history, a little sustainability information and loads of funny memories.... They take your picture at some lines and let's just say, my first picture involved a SPREAD EAGLE.... The guides will probably keep that photo and post it on the wall of embarrassing fame, if they have one.... Ha Ha Ha, but I could care less! ;)

We did the gibbsonton beginner canyoning trip and it was AWESOME! The right mix of adventure for…read moreus. We met the guide at the starting point and got into our wetsuits. It was offseason so the water was quite cold but the wet suits were great. The experience had a bit of hiking, river walking, climbing, repelling, and jumping into waterfalls. Only draw back was that we had to pay for photos - the experience is already pricey and seems old fashioned for the photos not to be included.

Guides were amazing, but they should reconsider their front desk staff - choose another company…read more Today I did the half-day canyoning trip as well as the via ferrata climbing. While the guides were spectacular and the trip itself was fabulous, the front desk staff were the exact opposite and left me with a horrible taste in my mouth about this company. I spent well over $300 on the two tours, and added on a GoPro rental (which was for both tours) to capture amazing video footage of my once in a lifetime adventure. Well, the staff (Eve, or so that's what she told me when I asked her for her name - lighter hair, freckles, American - so am I, so there's no bias when I say that) gave me the rented GoPro for the canyoning trip and I didn't know until we had already left and were at the destination that it had a DEAD battery and none of the guides could get it to turn on so they confirmed that - how did she not check that it was charged? When I returned to the office after the tour I shared my disappoint in the lack of footage, as I do not plan to pay and do the tour again so I will never have those memories on film. Well, Eve gave me a refund for the GoPro (40 NZD) but not the SD card (25 NZD) that had no footage on it... thanks., that's helpful to have. Then, when I went to use it during the climbing tour, not even halfway through it said the SD card was full (even when turning off when I didn't want certain footage) ... when she never told me how much memory or amount of hours available. Again, I didn't even get to capture what I wanted out of the SECOND tour. I went back to the office disappointed once again. This is where things got extremely unprofessional. Eve tells me that the GoPro was set to burst mode (never set it to that) and that I had photos after all - well Eve, none of which I purposely took. I wanted a video, the purpose of my rental. She would not even give me the stills that the guides took for free to fix the situation. Poor customer service - no remorse, no remedy, no responsibility. Too bad so sad is what I got. Not what I deserve after flying halfway around the world and all of the 6 companies and tours I already went on were absolutely fabulous and gave me none of these issues. There are SO many other tours like this all over Queenstown - save yourself the disappointment and the lack of respect they will give you and book with ANYONE else.

I would certainly recommend Yolanda and Richard. Your…read moreassurance of awesome service and wonderful experience will start with a phone call to Heliview and Yolanda answering the phone and asking what she can do for you to make our vacation/experience superb. We had a blast and would recommend to anyone and would do it again. THANKS Yolanda for the hot chocolate at the top of the Mountain, for booking our bus tickets and organizing whole day for us. THANKS Richard for your valuable time driving us around, dropping us at the station and of course being a pilot/tour guide on our flight :) You guys are AWESOME, our greetings to your daughter and doggy

10/10 would do it again! Booked the experience at the dock which they have a map showing you the…read moreexact route with some key landmarks you'll get to see. They run trips every hour, on the hour so you'll very likely to get on at the top of the hour or that day, for sure. The guide (Charles), was fun and had a great sense of humor! You'll get spun around at high speeds so be prepared. They stop about 3-4 times for you to stand up and take pics, learn fun facts or for the path to clear since some of the route is tight. You can take pics but be aware that it is water that is underneath the boat lol! They offer a video and picture service as well where you can order memories of your experience. Overall I'd give this 10 stars if I could!

My husband and I had our Fijorland trip cancelled due to weird weather and we didn't have a backup…read moreplan. We decided to give this a try. It was fun and a nice way to learn some things about the area (like the houses that get more sunlight in the winter cost over 1 million dollars due to more time to air dry their clothes), as well as get a little closer to the Remarkables. They will notify you when they are about to pull a hard 360 turn, so you can hang on (the metal hand rails are heated- mmm). I can see young (not too young) kids and even grandparents enjoying this. If you aren't someone who like too big of adrenaline rushes- try this one out.