First of all, this trip would not have been possible without the staff and guides at Active Adventures. Our questions were answered promptly, efficiently, and with much good cheer via email and the phone. We did a lot of research and it was very apparent that the Rimu trip was the perfect choice for us. Once we arrived in New Zealand, we could not have been in better hands thanks to our wonderful tour guides, Samantha and Roisin. (You should really keep them together for all trips, because they made a great pair!) They hiked with us, fed us, entertained us, educated us, and generally kept us all happy and functioning even though we had some rainy, cold weather. Food was generally quite good through a combination of Sam’s home-cooked meals and restaurant fare. I especially enjoyed Sam’s grain salad lunches (e.g., cous cous) in a box. I also really appreciated that we didn’t “waste†much time on meals, because that left us with a lot more time to enjoy the South Island. (For instance we ate a few lunches in the van while driving.) For one meal, I would have liked to have had a healthier dinner option. We ate delicious Fish and Chips at the Pancake Rocks Café; I noticed Roisin had opted for a lighter fish dinner. I wish I had known about that potential choice. Accommodations were good to great; my favorites were Braemar Station and Milford Sound Lodge. Manapouri Lakeview Motor Inn was just fair in my opinion. Lakehead Hut and Bushline Hut were basic but clean and comfortable. The biggest negative was having to use the outhouse in the middle of the night! The backpacking portion of the Rimu trip was quite challenging, but I loved it. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. Thank goodness I had hiking poles. I really enjoyed Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway, Pancake Holes, Okarito Wetland Walk, Routeburn Track, Kepler Track, and ****** Valley Track. My favorite hike was the Alex Knob Track. Outstanding! Aside from hiking, we visited some small towns, cycled, and kayaked. The Hawea River Trail was quite enjoyable and the mountain bikes were great. Sadly, I didn’t appreciate the kayaking as much. The locations (Okarito Lagoon and Milford Sound) were gorgeous but we didn’t do much paddling. I believe I would have enjoyed kayaking more if we had been more active. However, I would like to thank Baz at Okarito Kayaks for giving us an enlightening geology lesson about the area. In hindsight, it’s very apparent that the Rimu trip has been continually refined over the years. Our time was allocated very efficiently. Our guides knew where all the rest stops were. We kept to a schedule but didn’t feel rushed. We did a lot more things than other tours had in their itineraries. Every Kiwi we met was so friendly. And did I mention how much we loved our guides? All in all, it was an outstanding trip and one that I would heartily recommend! Thank you for hosting us!

| January 1970