Why Ahipara?
We're never satisfied unless, in New Zealand parlance, we're completely nailing something. We love getting things right. To find exactly the right person or place. You know what it's like when you've planned a week-end away and you've just totally got the accommodation right, or a special horse ride or a restaurant.
Our aim is to do that for every day of your stay in New Zealand. And since 2001, by doing the right thing without fail every time, we have built a fabulous network of good (in every sense) people, places and activities. Added to that are our caring team, also highly experienced in everything that can go right and wrong in this country, and you have the start of something beautiful.
I was asked way way back in the early 2000s by Forbes Robb Report (when profiling us as one of the Top 10 inbound tourism companies in the world) to put together an ideal itinerary. After scratching my head for a few days, they followed up and asked why they hadn't heard something. I explained that what was ideal for one person could be awful for another, so it was impossible to put together an ideal. They cleverly (why didn't I think of this???) asked me to put together what I'd love for myself.
And that's the final part of the puzzle. You. We know the country, we have the managers/concierges to look after your planning and your day-by-day changes, but to start we need to know you. So I guess what's special about our version of NZ, is that it always includes you. Of course we have a backdrop of hundreds of options (300 different suppliers and counting) - but only some of these will be ideal for you.
There is a limit to self-planning. I have a couple of degrees and have excelled at a couple of careers, so I have an idea of what it takes to excel at something. And a few hours of internet searching isn't it. The man you met in a bar who spent 12 days here isn't it. Even your neighbour with exquisite taste isn't quite it. Mainly because they're not really used to taking themselves out of the equation. We've been doing that since we started. We travel the country all the time. We live in the country. We spend a lot of time persuading people who don't work in tourism to spend time with our clients. And more recently, we've started keeping secrets and agreeing exclusivity to us when creating something new. This is to block lazy copycats, an unfortunate fact of business.
So - our New Zealand - within certain territorial, geographical and climatic limits (I was about to write climactic!) - is unique to you. Just give us the time to understand you and we can deliver something extraordinary. We know we can, because this is what we've been doing since 2001, for thousands of people now. All different. :)