The first question you face when touring New Zealand is “do I rent a car and go it alone, or do I jump on a tour bus and join 20 to 30 other travelers?” For me, the answer was easy. Why deal with the liability of a rental car, learning to drive on the left side of the road, worrying about finding parking and mapping out my own travel itinerary? The harder question is “which tour company do I go with?”

When choosing which tour company was best for me (there’s 3 major operators), I had originally decided against Kiwi Experience, the larger, more commercialized company popular among younger travelers. However, due to a variety of factors, including the fact that Kiwi simply has more buses operating every week, I found myself buying one of their largest packages as I was looking to cover the most ground on both the North and South Islands without the worry of being stranded in a place if I decided to jump off and stay for a few days.

In total, I had six weeks to see it all, or as much as I could of Aotearoa, or the Land of the Long White Cloud, as it was dubbed by the first Maori inhabitants. Worth nothing is that Maori culture is amazingly prominent here, and unlike the United States where you have to go out and search for native culture, it is quite alive in New Zealand and celebrated as an integral part of the country’s history.

Every bus driver and tour guide incorporates Maori legend into their informative and often humorous tutorials of the landscapes, townships and landmarks. And everywhere you go, there is a great sense of pride of the land’s native roots, which often makes me sad for my native ancestors who seem much like ancient history in relation to my capitalist American existence.

Some of my most memorable experiences so far include a night at the Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua, where we enjoyed a Te Wero welcoming ceremony, powerful dance performances and traditional Hangi meal; and the East As tour, an exclusive Kiwi Experience adventure into Maori country that highlights a visit to the tiny village where the movie Whale Rider was filmed and overnight stays at private residences, including the Eastenders Farm in Rangitukia (the most easterly point of the country and first place to see the sun every day) and a primly located but slightly cold beachfront home in Te Kaha.

Horseback riding along the beach on the eastern cape was unforgettable, and hiking up 750 steps to get to the most eastern lighthouse in the world was a feat I would have never attempted had the Kiwi bus driver not pushed us out of bus and told us to start stepping. Other lifelong memories include the half-hour trek down a seaside bluff to check out Cathedral Cove, stopping off in Hobbiton (although we didn’t have time to check out the Shire), walking alongside a tranquil stream at the base of a massive curved rock wall en route to the spectacular Mangapohue Natural Bridge, wine tasting in Hawk’s Bay, and waking at 6 am to be among the first people in the world to see the sunrise.

Considering the various added activities, lively atmosphere and common expectation to keep up with more strenuous adventures, I’m glad I choose to travel with Kiwi Experience. While I often felt like the granny of the group when we first started out, I soon realized that the traveler’s soul is universal and regardless of age, we were all here to create unforgettable memories… together.

May 12, 2006