Our family (2 adults and 2 older kids) had an incredible experience on this hiking safari led by Malcolm in August 2012. I honestly believe that this may be the best value for money NZ North island guided hiking experience that one could find. This tour conveniently departs from Auckland - then immediately heads North following the coastline. Within a few hours of starting, we already found ourselves in a cool, dark cave staring at hundreds of sparkling glow worms (with none of the commercial hype associated with other glow worm caves).
The remainder of the hiking safari included: beachside camping with great views, day hikes to awesome vista points, exploring the remnants of a historic whaling station, sand-dune surfing, a fun drive on Ninety Mile Beach, walking through an ancient Kauri forest and a successful nighttime kiwi walk (saw at least 2 of these curious flightless birds).
Another major highlight was a day spent kayaking with Richard Israel - owner of Northland Sea Kayaking. Richard has loads of experience, knows all the cool spots to explore and has a great sense of humor. The bottom line is that this tour provides a great variety of exposure to all that the Northland of NZ has to offer, in under a week, for a modest price. I have nothing but positive things to say about Malcolm and his great colleagues at Hiking New Zealand/ Active Earth Adventures.
Pharmadoc - USA, September 2012, TripAdvisor
