*Please note that ALL testimonials noted are with the consent and knowledge of the participants involved and are a true and honest account of events depicted. Should any one seeking to contest or challenge the authenticity of any referral and its genuiness by any of the stated participants mentioned OR for those wanting excursion references, Indigenous Trails is more than willing to provide written confirmation and contact details to those participants and testimonials concerned. Please feel free to contact us at info@itrails.co.nz ...
INDIGENOUS TOURISM BIO-DIVERSITY WEB-SITE AWARD 2009 FEEDBACK
... I wish to convey to you my congratulations for your excellent work in promoting sustainable practices through your web-site, and educating visitors on cultural protocols and bio-diversity conservation. By winning this Award, your web-site becomes a benchmark for other tourism owners and managers to learn from ... Ahmed Djoghlaf, Excecutive Secretary, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Environment Programme, Montreal, Canada
... The award is recognition for your hard work to promote environmentally and culturally sustainable tourism practices. The win also reflects how your business is consistent with the values in the UN Convention on Biodiversity and the New Zealand Biodiversity strategy ... your win also provides positive promotion for Maori cultural tourism at an international level ... Hon. John Key, Minister of Tourism, Prime Minister of New Zealand
... This award shows it is possible to compete successfully against stiff competition, and aim to maintain market share during difficult times ... This is great news for the company, for our region, and for the nation ... Tourism is a huge industry ... It bodes well for the future if Maori operators are gaining attention in international markets through websites that are good enough to win awards ... Te Ururoa Flavell, Waiariki MP, Maori Party
... I can see why the public have voted for you, the web-site is very informative, user friendly and promotes sustainable practices whilst educating visitors on the cultural protocols in New Zealand ... to have been the only tourism operator in the Bay of Plenty nominated for this award and then to win is indeed a great success ... and I congratulate you on this achievement ... Stuart Crosby, Mayor of Tauranga
Kia ora ... Hi and very big congratulations to you and all your friends on winning the Popular count award. What fantastic recognition of your work ... You must be feeling very proud of this ... Congratulations again ... Well done ... Judy Smith & Phil Bowden, Adelaide, Australia
Kia ora Des ... Congratulations on your recent award ... Well done ... Arohanui Ihaia & Katopua Harris, Auckland, New Zealand
... WAY TO GO, Des! ... Congratulations on a well-deserved award ... Chani Katz, Israel
Congratulations Des and all at Indigenous Trails ... We had a great day on our Tauranga/Rotorua tour ... local Maori knowledge were excellent ... It was one of the best tours we have been on ... Very professional!! ... Ian & Sarah Smith, United Kingdom
Hi Des ... Congratulations to your award! ... I'm very happy to see you and your crew is doing a good job! ... I enjoyed listening to the Maori news - it felt like sitting on your sofa and watching TV in your living room ... It was very good to see Brian as well! ... Sebastian Cadus, Goppingen, Germany (Former Volunteer hosted by Indigenous Trails)
Congratulations Des ... you and your team deserve this award ... Cheers, Allan & Barbara Bonfield, Sydney, Australia
Hello Des Harris ... you took us out and showed us the sites during our visit there in January ... It was a very nice visit for us, and we enjoyed being shown around by an indigenous person in New Zealand ... You have a very good organization there ... Thank you for having been superb hosts ... Best wishes ... Anji & Pravin Patel from Canada
Congratulations Des! ... We had a wonderful time with your tour and you! Best of luck with your future endeavors! ... Lorraine & Jim Schneider, Taylors, South Carolina, USA
Congratulations Des! ... That is absolutely awesome – we are totally rapped for you!!!!!! ... your web-site is the best ... We will keep in touch and look forward to working with you on going ... Lyn Leverington & Lisa Williams, Kirra Tours, Adelaide, Australia
WOW! ... AWESOME!! ... CONGRATULATIONS!!!! ... Glad to be such a tiny part of your success! ... You will put the win to good use to help the continued growth vision of your business ... Meloyde Martinelli, Lets Travel Together, Houston, Texas, USA
Des ... Congratulations ... It could not have been given to a better tour group ... Keep up the good work ... the two broads from America!
Good morning Des! ... Congratulations! ... Best Indigenous website in the world! ... good stuff! ... Vicki Davis, Reserve Group, Tauranga, New Zealand
Dear Des ... Connie and I send our sincerest congratulations on winning the Indigenous Tourisms Bio-Diversity 2009 Award. It is well deserved. Your tour was one of the best and the highlight of all the tours we took in Australia and New Zealand. We will always recommend your company to anyone seeking tour information. Congratulations again, and God Bless you ... John and Connie D'Amico, Ohio, USA
Congratulations! ... You deserve it ... Kay Mihalech and family, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Congradulations !!!!!!!!!!!! ... You must be over the moon ... Regards ... John Quilter, Faraway Places Group Travel Specialists, Sleman, Jogjakarta, Indonesia
Job well done ... Congratulations on the award! ... Jerry Briney, USA
Dear Des ... I am very pleased indeed to hear of your success which you and your companions in your quest so richly deserve ... My wife and I much enjoyed the tour ... and may we wish you success and fullfilment in the years to come ... We felt very welcome in your Country and look forward to perhaps another visit in the future ... Kind regards ... Joan and Brian Hughes, England
Kia Ora, Des ... Congratulations!!!! Congratulations!!!! Congratulations!!!! ... we are so glad to hear the good news ... Of course we can add some more "tales" of our tours in New Zealand ... All that needs to happen now is for you to visit some of our culture in Colorado ... Again, Congratulations!!! ... Dave and Pat Cowand, Colorado, USA
CONGRATULATIONS! ... You deserve it! ... Happy for you ... Best wishes ... Judy Wong, Sydney, Australia
Congrats on your Award ... we are so proud to say we had you for our guide and we are always telling people about the wonderful time we had ... Pat Chitty, Boise ,ID
Kia ora Des ... Congratulations on receiving your award! ... You are doing a great job and we wish you all success and pleasure from continuing your wonderful tours ... We have the best memories about New Zealand and hope to come back one day ... Then we will find you again ... Tatyana and Bob Lewis, Ontario, Canada
Des! ... Congratulations! ... This is awesome! ... Amy Berg, Portland, Oregon, USA
KIA ORA , DES! ... So glad to see the voting results ... and know that YOU won the award! ... Congradulations, felicitations ... and keep up the good work ! Your tour was the first we took in beautiful NZ. Very impressed, you introduced us to the wonderful Maori culture in a most appealing way! Best wishes from still wintery Cape Cod ! ... Aurelia Bourges, Cape Cod, Florida, USA
Kia ora Des ... WOW!!!!! ... This is absolutely fantastic news ... Congratulations ... Aroha Te Pareake Mead, Chairman, IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP)
Kia ora Des ... Congratulations, and “you bewdy, mate!” from your Australian friends. We’re still living off our memories of our recent visit to NZ and the wonderfully insightful tour you gave us to Rotorua ... Raelene Nelligan, Australia
CRUISE SHIP TOURS
Our best excursion on this Cruise trip ... Des & Janice made all the difference with their friendliness & kindness ... all attractions were great ... THANK YOU SO MUCH ... Irene Lennon, Ed Griffith and Liz Nobley, Australia
What a 'special day' ... we enjoyed the 'intimacy' of small group numbers and being able to visit the Maori Village with our own personal guide, made it especially memorable. The 'Nature-Walk was a great finish to a spectacular day ... WE CERTAINLY SAVED THE BEST TOUR FOR LAST!! ... Jan & Terry Anderson, Denver, Colorado, USA
Lovely trip ... excellent guides, very entertaining and lots of information ... John & Ellen LeHellidu, England
I felt it was too long of a trip ... I would have preferred more time in the Village to purchase Indigenous items. The show was interesting but too commercially put together ... Adrienne Fiske, Fort Lauderdale, USA
... this was a wonderful oppurtunity to see the 'real New Zealand'. We loved being "off-the-beaten-track" ... Enjoyed the day immensely - THANK YOU ... John & Kathy Adams, Orlando, Florida, USA
We both had the "best time" ... Des was fantastic and kept us entertained with his sense of humour and Maori pride ... We are pleased we didn't book this tour through our agent, as we would have missed a great day ... We'll be back ... Peter & Annette Hubbard, Australia
Bad Points - Earlier start 10.00am rather than 11.00am ... Too much of a rush to get back to the Ship for 18.00pm sailing ... Good Points - Very Good Trip & that monies go back to the Villagers - Friendly Staff - Tour Guide & Good to see a 'real Village' ... Kim & John Wells, England
We just wanted to thank you so very much for making our time in New Zealand so special ... We did not know really anything about Maori people or culture so this was a special thing for us and you have such a wonderful personality that we enjoyed ourselves so much in your company ... Our friends from USA Maine, Romeo and Pam loved the time we spent with you also ... Judy Smith & Philp Bowden, Melbourne, Australia
The INDIGENOUS TRAILS experience was really fantastic – and as agreed by all - was one of the highlights of the cruise ... Des is certainly most professional - in a very relaxing way - with the whole presentation, and I thoroughly recommend the experience to anyone who wants something “very special”... To have the pleasure of Brian and Janice KAWE as our 'special hosts' was a wonderful “bonus” and something which will be remembered by all ... Gudrun Tamandl, Cruise & Travel Specialist, Adelaide, Australia
This tour exceeded expectations for our group ... I would definitely use Indigenous Trails again to book tours ... I appreciated the flexibility and suggestions to improve the tour ... We were made to feel so very welcome & we learned so much. This is a tour company that makes a difference ... All communications setting up the tour were handled very professionally, the best I have had in all different tours that I have booked as a Travel agent and Tour leader ... Linda Doyle, Travel Consultant, Ontario, Canada
Very god tour with everything we had planned to see included ... local knowledge and Maori history aspects were exceptional ... would reccommend "IT" to any other AUSSIES heading this way ... keep up the good work guy's ... Ian & Sarah Smith, Australia
Very interesting tour, informative guide ... highlight was the Geothermal Village & Maori performance ... Would highly reccommend ... Raelene & Clive Nelligan, Australia
Very interesting ... Need to allow more time for aged - group ... Jim & Di Gleeson, Brisbane, Australia
Thank you all for a very memorable day ... you have a very beautiful culture and must be very proud of that. We will remember this journey for our lifetime ... We hope to return sometime ... Graeme & Pat Hiam, Australia
Excellent tour ... Excellent commentary ... A very well run tour with excellent local knowledge and personalised presentation. Enjoyed the humour and friendliness - made for a relaxing & very enjoyable day ... Thank you Indigenous Trails! ... Ian & Linda Churchward, Perth, WA, Australia
Excellent tour guide accommodating to our needs ... good connections with on-site guides at attractions ... Good quality & quantity at Luch stop ... Judy Kruizinga, Australia
I thank the tour guide for his commentary … Our guide explained in detail the Maori Culture, we will never forget her or the singers and dancers! … I will take more notice and respect for the ‘haka’ more than I did … Jim & Daphne Mialitsis, Melbourne, Australia
We had a great time and saw everything we were interested in. It was a very good tour ... Des went out of his way to accommodate us ... most enjoyable ... Jan De Kleyn, Liverpool, Sydney, NSW, Australia
We would like to recommend this tour to our friends as the best and friendliest around ... Man - Lin Ing & Janya Subkrkatt, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Congratulations! ... I thought it was a very interesting experience AND keep up the Maori traditions. Thank you very much for your warm welcome ... I will never forget it ... Rosario Rodriguez, Mexico
Good commentary ... Good company ... Good food ... Interesting venues ... Very well looked after ... Gaye Bates, Australia
Bloody fabulous! … The Indigenous Village tour was excellent! … Anita & Rob Wastell, Australia
Hermoso que dos los benfiga ... Patrick B. Wilcox, Houston, Texas, USA
Excellent Tour - Informative, Interesting and Reasonably priced ... Lunch was good but a little rushed ... more time at souvenir shops would be good ... Ron & Rebecca Skinner, USA/Pakistan
... I loved the Maori people, so nice and hospitable ... everything they did for us was excellent ... I would recommend to everyone ... It was a wonderful experience ... Daniella Wilcox, Houston, Texas, USA
It was pouring with rain and I was concerned that our day would be ruined! ... Indigenous Trails made our day very enjoyable. We got a fantastic snapshot of Rotorua. The Maori Village was a great experience - not a tourist trap ... like lots of places! If our other tours are half as good as this ... we will be happy! ... Lynne Davies, Sydney, NSW, Australia
... Excellent tour ... enjoyed the Maori experience , especially as this was a family performance ... Excellent 'hangi' meal and fun guide ... Susan Dolan, Ireland
Excellent in every way! All enjoyable. Thank you! … Grace Handapi, Melbourne, Australia
I thought it was awesome! ... thank you so much for a great time ... it was very enjoyable ... Lucas Rodriguez, USA
THE GREATEST DAY EVER! ... Barbara my wife is vision impaired and the way Indigenous Trails looked after us and took care of Barbara's special needs made our day something for us to remember ... Thanks Mere & Des ... Alan Bonfield, Penrith, Australia
An excellent tour - real value for money. Wide choice of Buffet lunch. The Thermal Village gives a sensitive insight into Maori Culture ... Highly recommended for all ages ... Richard Latham, Aylsham, Norfolk, United Kingdom
The tour was well planned and structured ... Enthusiastic and funny tour guide … Despite hot weather everything was informative & interesting! … Ameera Evans, Melbourne Australia.
Excellent tour - A1 ... Knowledgeable, funny Guide ... Des helped all passengers, especially my 87 year old Father ... Thermal Village was excellent ... Peter & Layrel Watts, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Most enjoyable and very professional ... Des Harris has a lovely sense of humour which made the tour more enjoyable ... Anne Borg, Australia
... Una vista diferente incredible y magica ... Jesus Fernandez, Mexico
Fantastic Day ... could not have been better ... Thank you, we will tell our friends ... Harry & Maureen Jansen, Moama, NSW, Australia
Great tour – Very informative! Well worth the money! … Geoff & Betty Blennehassett, USA
... Muy bonita experiencia. Untrato muy agradable y personal ... Gracias! ... Rosario Fernandez, Mexico
A most enjoyable day! You know it’s good when the teenage kids say they had a good time! … The Nature Walk was very peaceful, a privilege! … Yougen Papuyu, Australia
We were totally pleased with the tour and would recommend it to others. We enjoyed the Cultural dances & information and the food was GREAT! ... Our hosts could not have been more gracious ... Thank you for letting us understand AND participate in your Culture ... Jerry & Paula Anderson, USA
… seeing as we were left on the doorstep by another company. We thank you so much for taking us onboard and giving us a great tour! … John & Babs Perkins, Australia
... we had a memorable and enjoyable day visiting Rotorua and Tauranga ... Ramiro Cantu, Mexico
... the tour was fabulous and we had a wonderful time, Des of course, gave it a personal touch ... it was so much fun! ... It goes without saying that we will recommend Indigenous Trails to many others ... Cindy & Bob Perkins, New England, USA
A wonderful experience and a lot better than what would have been provided by the Ships tour department ... Sue & Bill Chatterton, Adelaide, Australia
We loved the trip! ... enjoyed the stories and humour. New Zealand is a beautiful country and we would love to visit again ... Wes & Wanda Thomas, Virginia, USA
This was a wonderful sample of 'Maori Culture', and that is just what we were looking for! ... even though it rained, our guide warmed us up with his wonderful stories and kept the laughter flowing ... Barbara & Lisa Cox, Naples, Florida, USA
I can't thank you all enough, it has been a most enjoyable experience - very informative in every way! ... Excellent Buffet Lunch ... Friendly people ... May Currie, Edinburugh, Scotland
Great tour! … Very informative … Would recommend it to everyone! … Mc Arthur, Perth, Australia
This tour was a real 'CULTURAL EXPERIENCE' beyond expectation ... I would recommend this to anyone! ... John & Deborah Leung, San Francisco, USA
Fantastic tour! I will recommend it to folks at home ... Special mention for Mereana, I loved her commentary! Great Guide as well ... Johanna Katona
... a very nice experience! ... we will recommend this tour! ... Gayle Wood, Denver, Colorado, USA
Excellent tour and tour guide ... appreciate the humour and special 'Maori performance & dinner'. We always value historical overview when visiting a new country... really enjoyed learning so much about the Indigenous people of New Zealand. This tour has been unique and more personal than the Ship tours! ... Great!! ... Wayne & Gayle Hollinger, Marietta, USA
Wonderful and personal experience of life and the Culture of the Maori ... 'hangi' lunch was delicious and a great performance ... A really lifetime experience ... Francis & Chantanee Yip, Sugarland, Texas, USA
Our visit to New Zealand ended with a 'Golden Key Experience' provided on this tour ... Thank you so much! ... Friendship Force, Brazil
We loved it ... it provided us with a 'true taste' of New Zealand ... Bill Chow, San Francisco, USA
... excellent day, ... fabulous Buffet Lunch ... will recommend to anyone coming to New Zealand ... Christine Litister, Scotland
OUTSTANDING! ... A very pleasant experience ... You throw one hell of a party! ... Henry & Silvy Eisenson, USA
... Great tour ... the Cultural show was exceptionally good & entertaining ... very informative ... Fred & Emilia Gilwoski, Canada
Unique experience, Des was very entertaining and good sense of humour ... Ron & Kathy Silva, USA
This was a good tour and the Cultural programme was a great experience ... I can't thank you enough for your hospitaility ... Family Leena & Mitesh Patel, New Jersey, USA
Wonderful experience ... my husband doesn't usually enjoy excursions and said this was the 'highlight' of this 2 week trip ... Thanks for the good job ... John & Barbara Garrison, USA
Great Day - Beautiful scenery, loved the tour of Tauranga especially with Des Harris ... very enjoyable ... Linda & Harry La Porte, Laguna Hills, CA, USA
Wished we could have stayed longer. It's nice to have the personal touch. Beautiful! ... George & Brenda Campbell, Kirknewton, Scotland
EXCELLENT TOUR ... glad that we made it ... will recommend it to others for sure ... James & Sally Heunten, Hawaii, USA
Wonderful tour and experience ... Thank you ... Georgie, Rod & Phoebe Tisdell, Newcastle, Australia
The best tour I have taken in NZ … Carolyn Copeland, Florida, USA
Very enjoyable tour. ... learnt a lot about Maori Culture ... great to be invoved in the greeting ceremony and to learn about the history. ... Nand Family, Sydney, Australia
Great tour – YES – the best! ... Betty & Jacques Fauteaux, Massachusetts, USA
The tour was AWESOME and MAGNIFICENT and we enjoyed every minute of it! ... Fred & Elizabeth Matasie, Montebello, CA, USA
We enjoyed a magnificent day and can heartily recommend to other Cruise Ship visitors. This was a real learning experience! ... Chris, Pauline and James Carroll, Melbourne, Australia
I would like to thank you for our trip which was well organised in Tauranga & Rotorua. We loved it and my company looks forward to doing more Cruise tours with you in the future ... Kemal Iletten, Istanbul, Turkey
Brilliant day out ... really enjoyed it! ... Gordon & Brenda Fisher, United Kingdom
Entire day was GREAT! ... Mike Chitty, Idaho, USA
An AMAZING tour. I was really pleased by the fact we finally had a local (Maori) guide to show us around. Des pulled a lot of strings to show us things no normal tourists would have seen. One of them being Gideon's Fields. Such a lovely, spiritual place with 2 beautiful people, Jan and Brian taking us on the trail to see the waterfalls. This tour was the highlight of our 14 days cruise… Judy & Chris Wong, Sydney, Australia
Thank you for such a wonderful time and gracious hospitality... We had a once in a lifetime opportunity… Yvette & Rufus Cressend, Los Angeles, USA
A great day out ... made even more enjoyable by our excellent & entertaining guide ... Wayne & Jan Horath, United Kingdom
Enjoyed the day very much ... Mary and Kevin were gracious,friendly and informative. Will recommend you for sure ... Bruce and Linda Williamson, San Francisco, USA
There aren't enough words to say how great this tour was. This was a major highlight of our trip. Thanks again, you were great ... John & Connie D'Amico, Madison, Ohio, USA
The best of our tours, Beautiful day! such beautiful sights!... Bill & Pat Hoffman, Ohio, USA
