Best of New Zealand Comments from Clients

Client Reports and feedback on trips

Excerpts from Trip Reports:
What our clients say about their New Zealand trips.

Upon their return we send clients a trip review questionnaire and ask them to evaluate the lodges, fishing guides, and other travel arrangements we have booked for them. Over 80% of our clients complete and return the four page report to us each season. These reports supplement our own personal visits to New Zealand and allow us to continually monitor the service and fishing experience provided to our clients by the lodges and guides that we use in New Zealand. We are the major source of business for most of the lodges and guides we use, they know our clients send us the trip reports, and they want our clients to report the best service possible because they also know we will not continue to use a lodge or guide that our clients rate as second best.

Click here to read some 2005/2006 client reports and feedback.
Archived client reports and feedback can be found here.

2006/2007 client comments

the trip could not have gone better...air new zealand was delightful and the suggestion for premium coach was inspired.....the dairy could not have been better situated and kinder......the milford trak was better than we expected...rain so we had the fabulous waterfalls...clear to climb the pass and then snow the last day so the milford sound was rimmed in snow...what could be better......we loved queenstown...rode bikes around the lake..sailed the america's cup sailboat..up the gondola..and had great food....the sites and the accommodations were all perfect and they all seemed to know mike....the bronte lodge was so ideal..the setting fabulous...loved canoeing when the water was in!!!! the belltower was a treasure...what a setting and the family so gracious....even gave us a private tour of the wine making and since it was the crush this was no small thing to do....ivan and james were delightful....loved the house!!!!!!!the abel tasman was great and the bay of islands was so beautiful and peter and glennis could not have been more gracious and we felt so bad that in the midst of their troubles they took such good care of us and arranged everything when we know they were so worried about their property....the friends we stayed with when we had to leave their property were fabulous...the boat to get us out and the pilots for the chartered plane all worked out and was seamless.....peter's cooking!!!!!!!!!!!!wow!!!!!!!!
we loved auckland..ended up having dinner with friends we made on the trak......we can't say enough good things about new zealand and the people and we know our unique accommodations had a lot to do with it..so we thank you.............the only tiny suggestion would have been to get documents to us sooner so there was not anxiety about leaving...but that was a minor point....everyone had great respect for your agency and felt a very personal relationship.....again hope all is well with peter and glennis....any questions feel free to ask...bobbi hawkins.....whoops did not want to leave out the west side of the south island....of course loved it!!!!!!christchurch was a gem...

Bobbi and James Hawkins
Laguna Niguel - CA.

Hello Connie,
We have been back from NZ for about three weeks. Please let Mike know that the trip was a treat. Essentially seamless. The flight over and back in Business Class Air NZ was easy, the places we stayed were very good, the New Zealanders and their country superb, all the fishing guides were excellent (professional, friendly, helpful and with eyes like ospreys), the fishing was a pleasure (demanding but achievable), the fish were as big as advertised, the birding and nature guides (for Sally) were very good. I could go on but that is enough. What was our favorite stop? That is hard to say but Cliff Tops was a great place to start. If we go again we will certainly chose The Best of New Zealand Fly Fishing.

Norm and Sally Christensen
Kneeland, CA

Mike: This was the second trip you and your capable staff have arranged for Joan and me and it was the best ever. You probably cannot take credit for the super weather but Grassmere Lodge, Lake Rotoroa Lodge, Riverside 6 at Black Barn Vineyards and Huka Lodge were perfect.

The fly fishing was exceptional. The 9lb. Brown caught with Nigel along with the 6lb. Brown and several other very nice Rainbows at Grassmere were a great start. Joan worked over an hour on a very large Brown with Nigel in the Waimakiriri but could not fool him.

Scott was also a pleasure to fish with. He is a very experienced/professional guide, as you know, and did a great job for us. A 7lb. Brown along with a number in the 3.5 to 4.5 class were proof of his skill. Joan caught a 25" Brown, her best trout ever. The Lodge was even better than the last trip.

Hawkes Bay was a perfect change of pace. Terroir for dinner the first night and BBQ'd steaks the second night. The cottage/house was exceptional.

Huka was Huka. Great accommodations, service and a spectacular setting. Simon is a charming, intelligent guy and clearly a successful entrepreneur. Fishing with him again was very enjoyable and certainly productive. Fooled a great 7.5lb. Rainbow the first day along with another at 6lbs. and a few other good fish. Joan caught a couple of very nice Rainbows 4+ lbs. on a dry the one day she fished with him. She fished one day with Nigel and two with Scott.

Simon and I flew out the last day to a "secret" river that he had not been to in a year. He likes to fish it in their spring when the water is lower. I had my best ever day of fly fishing and I have fished the last 60 of my 69 years and over 500 days in the last 10 years, mostly at our place near Pinedale, Wyoming and nearby rivers like the Green and New Fork. We spend quite a bit of time on the Henry's Fork and South Fork of the Snake in eastern Idaho also.

The secret river produced 26 Rainbows from 20" to 25"+ with at least 5 at 23" or more. Lost maybe 10 other similar trout and missed 3-4 more. It was truly a spectacular day with all but 4-5 on a dry fly. Even Simon thought it was a very special day of New Zealand fly fishing.

He and Adi joined us for dinner in the wine cellar at Huka for a very enjoyable evening. Simon is also a very knowledgeable sommelier. The heli trip mentioned above was the culmination of a very special trip for Joan and me and we thank you and your staff for your expert assistance.

Dear Mike, I just wanted to say thanks to you and your staff for setting up a fishing trip of a lifetime and for hooking me up with the guide. My fishing trip, the scenery, the guide and the FISH were fantastic !!! Ed's know-how and patience were greatly appreciated. By the end of the day, he had me casting an 18ft leader. Not too bad for only my 3rd time to ever hold a fly rod. I had 6 hook-ups and brought 2 to the net. My biggest was 26 inches & 6-7 lbs. Sorry, no pix. I can't wait to plan a return trip to your beautiful country and when I do, you'll be the first person I contact.

Thanks again...

Tight lines and Screamin' drags,
Vince Navarro
Houston, Texas