“New Zealand Encounter” with AAT Kings Tours

A friend, Joan, and I, both seniors, took the 17-day “New Zealand Encounter” in February ’08, going from the South Island to the North Island, with visits to the Bay of Islands, Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch, Milford Sound and Mt. Cook. We traveled with AAT Kings Tours (Anaheim, CA; 866/240-1659, www.aatkings.com). The cost was $3,975, and round-trip air from San Francisco added $1,848.

It was a very well run coach tour (with an interesting and fair seat rotation), especially because of our unbelievably excellent tour guide, Ruben.

While the tour was fast-paced, rarely spending more than one night in a location, we got our money’s worth. Our group — a mix of Brits, Aussies, Canadians and Americans — was large, by my standards, starting out at 45 but then dwindling to a comfortable 24 as some dropped off after the first week.

Because Joan (a foodie) and I wanted to try different restaurants other than eating group meals, we opted out of the meal plan and were given a cash credit; this turned out to be a mistake for two reasons: 1) New Zealand is expensive, even the wine, and 2) It isolated us from the rest of the group, as we were the only ones who had opted out.

Overall, however, I would highly recommend AAT Kings, which specializes in Down Under tours. As noted on the website, this tour can be taken in either direction.

Lastly, we couldn’t have had better weather!

JUNE WALLACE

Castro Valley, CA