The "Sir Edmund Hillary Explorer" Tour Avis 

A brilliantly organised tour with amazing guides that went above and beyond to make sure that everything ran smoothly and everyone was getting the best experience possible. The itinerary was designed to see as many different aspects of the South Island as possible without feeling rushed, and only a few early starts (to make train schedules) The accommodation was of a high standard and the optional tours were varied. I could not recommend this company highly enough.

Well organized and run tour with highly skilled leaders. The itinerary was interesting and well presented to cover many interests.

This was an amazing tour and I highly recommend it. The weather couldn't have been better with only 2 wet days and some cloudy ones but it made for the most picturesque photos. The guides really knew their stuff and ensured we were well looked after for the entire journey. That also goes for our bus driver. Refunds for cancelled activities due to weather were handled promptly and efficiently by the team in the office. Accommodation was mostly first class and I just loved that I didn't have to worry about my luggage at all as it was taken care of, hotel to hotel. We were also very well fed with breakfast, lunch, and all but 2 dinners, which we gladly organised for ourselves. That, and down time to do what we wanted, was always welcome. It was very easy to deal with the Pounamu team and if there were issues we didn't hear about them. Other than the beautiful stops the other highlight was hearing from Peter Hillary at The Hermitage, Mt Cook. What a great speaker he was and to top it off he gave us all a signed copy of In The Ghost Country.

The entire tour of 16-30 March 2026 was fantastic: from the guides to the drivers, to the faultless attention to detail and attending to our every need, to the impeccable rearrangement for two cancelled tours due to inclement weather, and Wayne's medical episode requiring a new driver, from hotel and food arrangements (and there was plenty of beautiful food!), everything went like a well-oiled machine. A little sickness onboard the train and coach trips was a concern, which took the shine off them, and required most of the ill passengers to do the right thing and wear a mask. I must say, the tour with Pounamu was epic and a highlight of our travelling over the years. Well done to all involved: Kirsty, guides Ted, Alan (the hugger), Jacob, driver Wayne and his replacement (Graham?) and anyone else I may have missed, you all need a pat on the back. Thanx, Nick Penn (aka Stolen Biro) and Wendy Penn.

An all round great experience from beginning to end. Whether it was the tour leaders, the activities, the transport, the accommodation, and the food they were all exceptional and the focus was on meeting the reasonable expectations of the tour participants. In the space of 14 days minor things were inevitably impacted, particularly by weather, and we quickly came to realise that the tour company would effectively work around them both on tour and in the back of house. The company can be relied upon to deliver the quality experience that it markets.

well organised, great communication, good handling of unexpected challenges (eg weather, transport cancellations etc) guides were excellent and good fun

Fabulous tour and experience! The itinerary was comprehensive- we saw so much of the South Island, without feeling rushed. The tour guides were all brilliant and nothing was too much trouble for them. The accommodation was all excellent, extremely comfortable rooms, and the meals were also very good when provided, with great suggestions for the meals we hd to source ourselves. I highly recommend this tour and this company, and thank everyone who was involved in the organizing.

Nikki was an excellent guide, and Carl an outstanding driver.
The itinerary was perfectly crafted - and, wow!! - what stunning scenery.
The accommodation arrangements were first rate, and the catering will require a weight loss regime when back home.
The rail journeys were a real highlight and Mt Cook in all its snow-capped blue skyglory was the star of the show

The tour leaders Mike and Nikki ...and even our driver Caine did a wonderful interesting commentary job. We also enjoyed their banter and their funny jokes.
The organisation of the tour was faultless thank you.
Hotel choices and tasty meal selections,eating locations and food presentation styles were excellent.
The talk and film given by Peter Hilary at Mt Cook Aoraki was another great bonus.

The tour guides were exceptional. The great scenery and the.company of the other travellers.

Be. Prepared to have great y

Everything was 5 star experience, the Guides supporting the journey were all very respectful & helpful dealing with all types of people.

Fantastic scenery, great guides and drivers and friendly fellow passengers. The highlights were the train journeys and the talk by Peter Hilary.

Great tour leaders and drivers! Very comprehensive tour.

I would describe this as a "world-class" tour. The guides and drivers were amazing. The organization and logistics
were impressive. The South Island is vast, beautiful, interesting, and often spectacular. We can definitely recommend the "Sir Edmund Hillary Explorer" Tour.

This trip is outstanding, excellent tour guides and knowledgeable bus drivers,hotels topclass, have toured by road and cruiseship 5 times before but this was outstanding,thoroughly recommend to all.

The tour was well organised and had so many varied excursions and experiences which is great. There was an abundance of food and many options at the buffets. The guides were great and the commentary was informative and interesting. I would highly recommend it.

Absolutely fabulous tour. I have done many organised tours both in Australia and overseas as a solo traveller and this was up there with the best. Faultless experience (except for 1 weather event cancellation) where everything just went like clockwork.
The scenery, itinerary, accommodation, trains, excursions & the extra bonus stops for our good timekeeping were outstanding.
The whole tour was made that extra special by our incredible tour guides Lauren & McGill and our very capable (and entertaining) coach driver Wayne. Many thanks!

I had already been to many of the places on this itinerary, however this tour exposed me to many places & experiences that I had never seen or done before. The trains, boats, planes & helicopter rides were the bonus of this trip for me.
I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone.

The guides, Mike and Trevor, were so helpful and lots of fun. Driver Steve was exceptionally good, and had a great sense of humour. Only downside was that some of our trains were cancelled, and they were our main reason for being on the tour. However, we understand that this was due to unforeseen circumstances and could not be avoided. Great time was had by all.

This was our first tour, usually we hire a car and set our own itinerary so we had no idea what to expect.
The whole experience was amazing from the moment we met our guides the day before the tour started.
Our 3 guides and 2 bus drivers were friendly, knowledgeable and they, and the entire tour were extremely well organised, nothing was too much trouble. We were on the 'red bus' with Lauren as our main guide and Steve as our driver. Both were amazing. NZ's south island is so picturesque. There were many highlights on our journey but the pinnacle was our 2 night stay at Mt Cook aided by unbelievably great weather.

The South Island of New Zealand is absolutely gorgeous! I am so glad to have seen it. However, if you have chronic pain this is not your best option. I didn’t know I would have problems sitting for extended periods of time, the swaying of the old train carriages, the back roads certainly took their toll on my back and neck.
Practically every night was a buffet, which sounds great if there are lots of choices (like at Mt Cook 10/10) but mostly it was 4 meat/fish with a couple of vegetable dishes. I would have preferred to not have half the dinners included and being able to go and taste what NZ had to offer locally, the packed lunches were very average, and I hope y’all like relish because it’s in every roll.
As I said, I’m glad I got to see it all, but living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks wasn’t my idea of fun so it’s back to cruising for me!