January 26, 2012
Adventure Tour with a Toddler... No Problemo
My daughter, Elina, was only a couple of weeks old when my wife, Olga, and
I moved from Shanghai to New Zealand for my role as Operations
Manager for Active South America. We had previously travelled all over the world and looked forward to sharing some adventures as a family. In 2010, we decided it was time to
'field test' a couple of our Active South
America trips - ok, take a holiday - with Elina, who was then 18 months old.
Continue reading Adventure Tour with a Toddler... No Problemo.
December 6, 2011
Hiking New Zealand the Kiwi Way - 5 Tips to Help You Blend in
There's a saying in New Zealand: Given a bit of number 8 wire, a Kiwi bloke can turn their hand to anything. Well, as a Kiwi bloke, I'd like to think it's true, and nowhere is our resourcefulness more appreciated than in the outdoors. 
Continue reading Hiking New Zealand the Kiwi Way - 5 Tips to Help You Blend in.
October 17, 2011
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe, and the winner is...
We recently ran our first contest on Facebook and to enter the draw, we asked people what they would say to their boss or partner if they won the 8-day New Zealand adventure trip we were giving away. The name we pulled out of the box was John Suggs, a pharmacist from Supulpa, Oklahoma, who is looking forward to getting out of the country for the first time in 5 years and said this on his entry:
Continue reading Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe, and the winner is... .
October 5, 2011
New Zealand Travel Advisory
How's your 2011 going? I hope it's going better than ours. Half way through our winter, we realised that we're just bored.
Continue reading New Zealand Travel Advisory.
September 8, 2011
Ange's Tour de France: Stage 2
The past few weeks have slipped away quickly. My alarm clock still goes off at some (previously) unimaginable hour most mornings. The instructor still screams at us to go "harder/faster etc.", except now that instructor happens to be my boyfriend. Much to my horror, he recently decided to come out of "retirement" to start teaching spin classes again.
Continue reading Ange's Tour de France: Stage 2.
August 3, 2011
First Wow Moment in Peru
Suzanne and I were two of 12 strangers sat round a table in Cuzco. The awkwardness of catching someone's eye during nervous stares was the only thing keeping my mind from dwelling on the lack of oxygen being delivered to my brain. Sally, our guide, introduced herself and instructed the other 11 to do the same. Excellent, I thought, as one of my favorite things to do in my spare time is group introductions!! I can never remember the names of anyone who introduces themselves before me because I am always concentrating so hard on not forgetting my own.
Continue reading First Wow Moment in Peru.
July 27, 2011
Ange's Tour de France: Stage 1
The countdown begins... 38 sleeps to go until the rubber is going to meet the road! That was what I reminded myself when the now familiar sound of my alarm went off again this morning at 5.15am, off to the gym once more for my weekly spin classes.
Continue reading Ange's Tour de France: Stage 1.
July 22, 2011
Hiking New Zealand: D.I.Y. or Small Group Trip?
Let's say you've had your eye on one of our New Zealand trips for a while but you aren't sure if it would be worth it to come with us or do the same thing on your own to save a few bucks. First of all, let's talk about what you get when you sign up for an all-inclusive small group guided adventure vs. copying the same itinerary but doing it on your own in a rental car (D.I.Y).
Continue reading Hiking New Zealand: D.I.Y. or Small Group Trip?.
July 10, 2011
Trying to Get to the Top in One Step
OK - a bit about me first, so you can flesh out the image in your mind's eye. My name's Matt, and I work with this jolly band of folk here at Active Adventures. I'm in my early thirties, and as one of my friends so helpfully put it, I'm no stranger to the Colonel's bargain bucket.
Continue reading Trying to Get to the Top in One Step.
July 4, 2011
Group Trips Don't ALL Suck
I went on a European tour with my mother when I was in high school and in two weeks we glimpsed the major tourist attractions of seven European countries through the impenetrable window of a tour bus. "Oh, there's the Eiffel Tower, can we go around the roundabout again?" my mother asked, not quick enough on the draw with her camera. Too late, the bus driver was already onto the next item on his list, a drive by of the Moulin Rouge. I vowed to never again follow a ridiculous schedule for a schedule's sake - especially on vacation.
Continue reading Group Trips Don't ALL Suck.
