MoaTrek Solo Traveller Review – Barbara from North Carolina

Andrew: And then so getting to New Zealand, could you tell us about the tour and how you found it and just some of your memories from that trip please?

Barbara: I don’t know that you have enough time. I was just going through my pictures this morning and every time I go through the pictures it just goes into my spirit. I can’t really even explain it. The beauty, the rainbows, the plant life and the people.

I mean I was a single person, I think I was probably the oldest one on the tour. Everyone was more or less, there was one other single woman and we became best friends and we’re still in touch and everyone on the bus was wonderful and the tour was wonderful. 

I just enjoyed the adventure every day. I think given what’s going on in the world, I hadn’t laughed as much in months. It was just a wonderful trip.

Andrew: Yes, that laughter is the tonic, isn’t it? You get into a little bubble when you’re on these tours and it’s a lot of fun, isn’t it? With your group and your guide.

Barbara: Yes, it’s fun and it’s, I don’t know, just the shared experience of the beauty of it and some of the nice adventures and some of the crazy things that happened.

One of my pictures was in Milford Sound — we had a terrible day, it was rainy. So yeah, you just have interesting experiences.

Andrew: Is there anything you can kind of share with us, just a memory with your group or with Brian the guide, and just something that you still think about now and makes you smile?

Barbara: I would say Brian was a character. He was ultra professional and also personal. He had wonderful humour and he was one of us and I think a lot of us ended the trip missing him.

I was just looking at a photo of all of us in the hot springs in one of the pools. We kept taking pictures and the group kept getting larger and larger and larger till we were all in the pool in the water, smiling — just a sense of adventure and you can’t see it when you read an itinerary.

That’s what I would like to stress. That’s the diversity of the adventures — being on the lakes, doing some of the walking — you just can’t describe it adequately, I think.

Andrew: And what about the people — the other travellers in your group? Tell us about them and some of the kind of times you shared with them.

Barbara: Well, the other woman and I ended up mostly being with two or three other couples on the trip, and we had wonderful times. We would eat together and walk together, and I’m afraid of heights, so in some of the walks they would watch out for me.

It was just a very — I won’t say collegial, that’s too professional sounding — but it was just a very warm environment when I felt cared for, taken care of by Brian, certainly. But even by the other members.

We came from diverse places, but we had some good times together. We shared music and we shared jokes and stories about ourselves. So I really got to know people I would never have otherwise met. And I loved that. I just loved that.

Andrew: Yes, yes. I mean you really do kind of get to know people and it’s a great way to make friends, isn’t it?

Barbara: Yes, it is.

Andrew: Is there a place that — I know it’s hard to pick favourites — but was there a place that you really loved on the trip, one particular or a couple of places which you just loved visiting?

Barbara: When we first left Auckland we went up to the top of the North Island. That was so beautiful. I really loved that. I loved Christchurch at the very end. We were in Franz Josef Glacier for just a little bit and it was not such great weather, but somehow I remember that adventure as being a good one.

It’s really hard for me and I apologise for that. There were so many memorable places — we had lunch at a beautiful farm that was indescribable is the best way I can say it. The hostess was beautiful. We enjoyed her grounds and her flowers and her dog, and it was just…

Andrew: Yes, yes, that’s Ian and Diana on the way down to Mount Cook.