MoaTrek Traveller Review – Michael & Julia from Seattle
- Last Updated: 16 Dec 2025
- Publish Date:
- Andrew
- NZ Senior Travel, NZ Travel Info, Our Guests, Video Reviews
Andrew from MoaTrek talks to recent over-50 travellers Michael and Julia from Seattle about their experience on a MoaTrek New Zealand tour for seniors earlier this year. Hear all about their trip, why they decided to travel on a small group tour and their favourite places and memories.
Andrew: Good afternoon! We’re talking with Michael and Julia, who are from Seattle in the northwest of the USA. Thank you so much for joining us today.
We’re here to talk about a little bit about your trip out to New Zealand earlier this year. But first of all, I just wanted you to tell us a little bit about yourselves and that’d be nice. Thanks.
Michael: My name is Michael Bernard. I retired from software in the last few years. We’ve lived in Seattle now for almost 30 years and really enjoy living out here. I grew up in Portland Oregon so I’m a native from the northwest, lived in the East Coast for school and down in Southern California for early work. And that’s where I met Julia down in Southern California.
Julia: I’m Julia and I’m a retired software engineer and we have two kids. And so, between those two things, I’ve been really busy. And finally, I’m having some time to enjoy myself and check out the rest of the world and New Zealand was a wonderful place to start.
Andrew: Did you find any similarities between New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest? Because I have heard that before.
Julia: Very much so. I did not grow up in the Pacific Northwest and there is a very casual form of dress, form of interacting with people. It’s a very big outdoors place so people like to hike and ski and sail and do all the things, kayak, and so in many ways I think it’s very similar to a lot of what we saw in New Zealand.
Michael: And even so it’s one of the things that attracted me, having grown up here, I knew that especially the South Island had a lot to do very similar aspects of it to the northwest. And I was really curious to see what it was like.
One of the things we obviously have here is we also have these massive volcanoes, they are throughout Washington and Oregon State. And so, I was really curious to see what the Alps look like in the South Island.
Andrew: Yes, yes, it’s something I remember as a kid actually, it was Mount Saint Helens. I remember that vividly as a kid. And coming out to New Zealand, so what was it that made you decide to come out to New Zealand and to come out this year?
Michael: Every time I’ve met someone from New Zealand, I’ve always really seemed to like them and want to be friends with them. I remember there was someone I knew from school who was from New Zealand, who was a really close friend with lots of things they did back then. The fact that it was similar to the northwest in some ways, I was really curious about that.
Before we went, I didn’t know as much about the fact that humans had been there so recently. But somewhere in my brain, I was like New Zealand’s different than other parts of the world. And I really wanted to get a sense of that.
Andrew: How about you, Julia?
Julia: I had a close high school friend who married someone from New Zealand, and I remember back when you could fly through a city and you had a long layover, you could actually leave the airport and go back again, which you cannot do anymore. Back then I used to meet up with her and we’d go out to the beach. I was in California at the time, we’d have lunch and she’d tell me these amazing stories.
I couldn’t tell you exactly what we talked about, but it left the sense of New Zealand as definitely somewhere that should be on my bucket list. And so, when Michael mentioned it, I was like, yes, let’s go.
Andrew: You didn’t need too much convincing. Excellent. Was it your first trip to New Zealand for both of you?
Michael: Yes, it was. Never been. We’ve been to China. I’ve been to Japan but never been to Southeast Asia and further south.
Andrew: And I think often between the States and New Zealand, there are some similarities. The language, you know, we can talk about a lot of things we understand, but quite a few differences as well. And I think that’s kind of what people find interesting. And it’s interesting for us when we go to the States too.
And so, when you came out to New Zealand, can you tell us about when you were planning the trip? Like what kind of travel you were interested in, obviously you came and joined us on the MoaTrek tour, but were there other travel options you were thinking about?
Could you tell us about what you were thinking when you were first deciding and before you booked.
Michael: I’d been looking for something for me and Julia to do probably back in the fall of 2023. So almost two years ago and it took a while before we were like, did we want to do Europe again or something different? We eventually were like no, let’s do something different.
So, I started really thinking about New Zealand at the beginning of 2024. I think we got the first brochure sometime in January of that year. We didn’t book until May. So, there’s a bunch of thinking going on in there. I’d seen some things about train trips in New Zealand that got my attention a little bit.
But the Rick Steve’s tour that we had done in Europe with the family several years back really gave us a sense of what it’s like to be in a small group tour. And I was looking forward to not just being ourselves in our own little car driving and seeing everything. It’s kind of nice to meet other people and just share those experiences.
And I’ll be honest, I kind of looked on the forums at the Rick Steve’s website and I was like, so what do people do when they go to New Zealand and pretty much everyone was recommending MoaTrek. And so, I started doing research and determined that MoaTrek seemed to really fit our needs for what we were looking for.
It’s a small group, but it does a lot of different kinds of activities. There’s obviously a focus on a really good guide as part of the process. And these are all things that really worked for us.
Andrew: Well, it’s great to hear. And how about you, Julia? What was important to you when you were looking at how to travel around New Zealand?
Julia: Keeping Michael happy 🙂 I think a lot of similar things. We really wanted to be part of a group and a small group ideally because we didn’t want a big giant tour, but we also didn’t want to be just the two of us. And to have to rent a car and have to figure out what to do every stop along the way, especially for a country we’ve never been to. It’s a lot of work to plan a long trip. And then also having a good guide who knows the ins and outs, but also a lot of the context, and that was something that we definitely got as part of MoaTrek and that was really awesome.
See Michael and Julia’s itinerary – The Kakapo 21-day New Zealand tour
Michael and Julia travelled around New Zealand on our 21-day Kakapo New Zealand small group tour. Starting in Auckland and finishing in Christchurch, the tour includes all the highlights and lots of off the beaten track spots too.
Find out more about our Kakapo 21-day New Zealand tour here.
Andrew: Was there anything that really swayed your opinion about booking with MoaTrek that you saw on our website or on other websites, just anything that you thought, oh yeah, that sounds like us?
Michael: I don’t know if there’s one thing per se. Your website’s pretty good in terms of presenting the itineraries and it felt comfortable.
I think once we realized there was this focus on supporting local businesses, I will say that’s one of the things that made us feel really good about MoaTrek, the fact that you were tied in as a family initially, more with supporting locals as opposed to one of these international firms that comes in and does a lot of turnkey stuff. I got that sense that MoaTrek was definitely not that.
Andrew: Yes. If there’s one place that probably personifies that, if you remember the lunch at the homestead on the way to Mount Cook with Ian and Diana, we’ve been going there for decades.
You can tell when you go there, it’s their home. It’s not a big place that takes many tour groups at all. We’re really lucky. But the hardest thing about going there is nobody wants to leave!
Julia: That was one of the very memorable things. It was at a point during our trip where we’d gotten to know people, but we’d never really had a chance yet to sit down and break bread and to just be and to enjoy New Zealand, the plants, the flora and the fauna, the people, the dogs. We missed our dogs.
It was a lovely, unique experience that you’re not going to get on a big tour trip and it’s not a thing that you would get to necessarily do easily if you’re going by yourself.
It’s definitely one of those things that makes MoaTrek and small tour groups that work with local people really unique. When you travel and you talk to people about what makes travelling different, it’s not just getting to see a different shaped mountain or a different kind of plant or some bird. It’s meeting people and being able to spend time getting to know them and who they are, and that was a great example of that.
Andrew: That’s great to hear. That’s really what many of us travel for, isn’t it? To try and have connections with people.
As Americans arriving in New Zealand for the first time, after planning and wanting to come and hearing about it for a long time, how would you describe New Zealand?
How were your first few days in New Zealand, I’m guessing you flew into Auckland and then went up to the Bay of Islands?
Michael: We came in a couple days early to have a little time to acclimate to the time change. We really enjoyed our initial experiences in Auckland. I realize it’s a really big city and it’s funny how a lot of people outside of Auckland feel about Auckland.
We planned some time just to wander around. It felt similar to Seattle or San Francisco or a city on the West Coast. The fact that there’s water everywhere was a very familiar feeling.
Everyone we met was very interested, friendly and easy to talk to.
We had some really good meals and there’s some nice restaurants. We loved walking around the harbour. The Maritime Museum was amazing. I just had so much fun going to the Maritime Museum there.
So, our first 24–48 hours were really pleasant, and it was a nice way to start relaxing. So much is going on before you get going and you finally get there and you’re like, now we can relax.
Julia: I think New Zealand was both bigger—Auckland is a big city, but it’s also smaller. The islands were a lot smaller than they look on a map sometimes and the people were incredibly friendly and helpful, even though we had that big lost tourist sign on our heads. People were like, “Hey”.
We were gawking at some of the murals, the wall art that’s all throughout the city, all of the cities. Our first day there, there was this nice woman who taught us to say “Kia ora” and talked a little bit about what that painting was. It was about one of the native birds. Then she said “Oh, you want to go around this whole block because there’s more” and gave us ideas of things to do that were both touristy and not touristy. It’s not something you’re going to find on a list of things to go do in Auckland, but it really made Auckland and New Zealand unique.
That’s what the city and the people are about. And that was really nice. So, it was a very welcoming place right off the bat.
Michael: You should tell them about the yarn store.
Julia: Oh, and then we went to the yarn store because I like to knit, and I like to buy things that I can use and not just trash things. And then we learned all about the possum, the possum problem, and the possum yarn. And it was great fun. Interactions like that all the way along were really indicative, at least for us, of our experience in New Zealand.
MoaTrek Travel Tip – Why do senior travellers love New Zealand?
We’ve written a friendly guide explaining why travellers like Michael and Julia love New Zealand — it’s our safe cities, smooth travel, big scenery and plenty to do at your own pace, in every season. Handy travel tips on when to visit, favourite activities and why small-group touring is a great choice.
Read more about why over-50 travellers love New Zealand here
Andrew: Well, great to hear. And then you joined your tour with your guide, Gail. Tell us about how you found the tour and your overall impressions and favourite memories. I’d love to hear about that.
Julia: The first day was awesome. We went to the Kauri Museum, and I’d never heard of the Kauri Museum. I had looked in a couple of tour books and talked to a number of friends who’d gone to New Zealand in the last year or so.
Maybe it was just me, but the chainsaw collection, the giant trees, all of the other stuff that was there—it hit all of my, ticked all of my [boxes] Oh, cool. Oh, cool. This is really awesome. This is kind of amazing.
Again, this is one of those things where this is why you take a tour because someone was going to take me to somewhere that was very New Zealand specific and yet not obviously a big tourist place. Obviously, there’s other tourists who go there, but it’s not a big tourist stop that I can tell. It was great. Can you tell? I’m still speechless about the Kauri Museum.
Andrew: That place kind of surprises people, doesn’t it? It’s very deep and very interesting on so many levels.
Michael: I think also because we live on the West Coast, we like to go down to the Redwoods in Northern California. And so, we have these very large trees as well in our backyard. It was interesting to learn about a similar part of the ecosystem there in New Zealand and all of its history.
In general, we really enjoyed every aspect of the trip. The international group, we got to get to know people. The bus was just the right size, not too big, not too small. I’d never seen a bus towing a trailer before, that was new for me, and that meant that we were all lower down. In Europe, the buses have the stuff underneath and you’re up higher. Obviously, we will probably talk about Gail as well.
I enjoyed just looking out the windows and I took a ton of photos of the countryside, the cities and the towns as we drove through, which all gave me a stronger sense of what it was like there. All the different stops and everything were pretty amazing and just hearing about history and culture as you’re going along. Gail would have little things she would pull up and start talking about – that was really cool.
One of the things that I found fascinating was farming technology. Gail brought it up at one point about how these college kids had invented this app that was essentially virtual fencing for farm equipment and farm animals. Just starting to dig in and think about that and what that meant was really amazing. Then when we went to the Kiwi farm, starting to learn about all the technology that went into growing, harvesting, grading, and boxing the Kiwis with all the codes—that was pretty cool.
Andrew: There’s a lot that goes on in farming, isn’t there?
Michael: Yeah, there is, and I hadn’t thought about some of that new technology being used.
Andrew: And Julia, was there a memory or a place that you still think about or that gives you good memories to think about?
Julia: Part of it is we landed, and we were in a big city and then we drove off to Bay of Islands, middle of nowhere. That boat ride we took in the morning and then we stopped off over at Russell. We went on a hike and wandered around and we managed to catch the most romantic dinner right in front of the water.
Michael: There was a table off the path, under the trees next to the beach. Our views looking out over the water. It was great food, an amazing dinner, beautiful weather and sunset.
Julia: We watched the sunset and had dessert and then caught the ferry, the powerboat, back across to where we were staying. It was amazing.
Andrew: Wow, that’s a good memory. And that was in Russell, wasn’t it?
Julia: Yes, that was in Russell.
Andrew: Well, you know that pub is the oldest pub in New Zealand.
Michael: We didn’t actually go to that one. We went to another; I can’t remember the name. It’s down a little bit further and it’s an Italian restaurant. They have a pizza place on the backside. And then in the evening it’s Italian.
Andrew: Yes, down towards the museum.
Julia: I highly recommend it. I really enjoyed it.
Andrew: Going over to Russell is a great way to start the trip. It’s so beautiful. But there’s so much history there. Really interesting stories. And how about for you, Michael? Is there a spot, a place or a memory that you have?
Michael: Not just one, we did the zip line in Rotorua. I hadn’t planned on doing that, had never done a zip line before. But Gail really thought we’d enjoy it. And we did. That was a blast. When we got to Wellington, the Te Papa Museum was really good. It just had so much. The Gallipoli exhibit was fascinating.
Zealandia was a bit eye opening. That was not something we’d really thought about doing. Gail once again had really good recommendations and suggested that we really should go. I’m really glad we did, because it’s a fascinating story how it came about and what they’re accomplishing there. That was great.
Andrew: A bird sanctuary in the middle of the capital city.
Michael: Right. The ferry ride from the North Island to the South Island through the Marlborough Sounds into Picton was spectacular. The scenery was spectacular. The South part of the North Island is pretty desolate looking up into those hills with the big windmills, and then coming across to the South Island and going into the sound and seeing the fish agriculture was pretty cool. We did see some dolphins on the ferry.
The boat ride at Abel Tasman and the hike there were really good. It was great weather, a really great experience. A good, hard, long hike in the heat, but it felt really good. We got to see great sights.
I’d never done a helicopter before in my life, so it was sort of on our list. As we got closer to having to decide between an airplane or helicopter at Mount Cook or Franz Josef. Gail was pretty good at helping us think about what we might like more than the other, and also about the randomness of the weather meaning if you get one, take it. If it’s a good day, take it.
We got lucky. It was a perfect blue day. No wind. It was warm out and we did the helicopter at Mount Cook. It was spectacular and stunning. It was unbelievable.
Andrew: That’s one of the things—there are lots of things you can do along the way and a lot of things are included, like the scenic flight at Milford Sound.
But there are things that some people want to do, and you have the time to do them. Things like the helicopter flight up to the Tasman Glacier or around Mount Cook. I’m glad to hear that you did that, that’s fantastic.
You mentioned you travelled before on a tour in Europe. How was this tour in particular, I’m thinking about the people that you met on the tour. On smaller group tours, it’s a maximum of 18 people maximum with MoaTrek. How did you find the group and the fun of meeting other people?
Julia: It was awesome. We had a pretty diverse group. We had people from Ireland, people from Latvia, a bunch of people from Canada, and people from both the West Coast and the East Coast of the States.
We all got along. There were some absolutely fascinating people. There was a couple who are serious birders, and we learned so much from them. The people on the tour in our group became like a little family on the road, but in many ways, it was the good part of family— they were all the pluses, none of the negatives.
Learning about people in Latvia and what they do there, and the couple from Ireland, the gentleman was a big photographer. He brought his big camera and his giant lens, and we’d occasionally go “All right Gail, you’ve got to stop the bus and let Daniel take his pictures”. He later curated his photo reel and sent us all a link. That was worth it since we didn’t bring big cameras. It was awesome. The people were great.
Michael: One of the things I was looking forward to was that camaraderie with other people, getting to know them and they get to know you. You’re sharing everything you’re doing with these people, and it was a great part of the experience.
Andrew: It really is, isn’t it? And you have a lot of laughs, don’t you, you have a lot of fun?
Michael: You do. There’s always something like the gum boot throwing contest. That was fun.
Andrew: And one thing that’s always funny is the “debates” about the English language if you’ve got British people on board.
Michael: We didn’t. Daniel and Sylvie were from Ireland, and they were not very sticky about how we were saying things. So, we were good.
Andrew: You were on the tour with our guide, Gail. Tell us about Gail and your experiences with her.
Michael: She was a wonderful guide, and a bus driver, and our host. The fact that she has this Maori background was pretty special. She brought a lot of perspective to what she was talking about. She was really effective too—funny, full of energy, and good at getting to know everybody and understanding how fast we could walk and what we were interested in. She could use that to help guide and make recommendations.
She was a really good speaker when she was driving the bus and sharing different things. She definitely had a knack for making the trip fun and making each day different and interesting.
Julia: She customised things because we were a pretty active group. Everyone loved a good walk, and some people definitely wanted to hike a lot more than I did. She managed to make that work, dropping us off for maybe a 10km hike and a 3km walk to make everyone happy.
It was nice to know that she asked us what we were interested in. I told her I liked geology, and she was like “Oh, no”, but she managed to work it in, I don’t know if she realized but the Pancake Rocks are definitely geology. She was very knowledgeable of her home and that was nice.
Andrew: It’s such a big part of the trip, isn’t it? The guide.
Michael: Yes.
MoaTrek Travel Tip – Why small group tours work so well for over-50 travellers
- Make friends: You’ll get to know everyone, a friendly little crew to share laughs, photos and meals with.
- Comfort & flexibility: roomy mini-coach, plenty of photo and walking stops.
- Stress-free travel: door-to-door logistics and bag handling all taken care of.
- Relaxed travel: unrushed days and multi-night stays in key spots.
- Local knowledge: we know the easy walks, best viewpoints, and secret picnic spots.
- Support: we’ll take care of all your bookings and our guide is always there to help if you need it.
Our travellers always tell us they loved not having to worry about any of the planning and could just enjoy every moment in the South Island.
Andrew: Any advice you’d give to people thinking about coming out to New Zealand? Any tips you wished you knew before you came?
Julia: Do it. Just do it. Book your trip with MoaTrek.
Michael and I have been talking to friends, and a lot of people have been interested in going to New Zealand. Almost all of them said, “Oh my God, you did so many things. I thought we did all the things, but there are all these things you got to do that we didn’t hear about.”
I highly recommend booking with MoaTrek, especially if it’s your first time to New Zealand. You get to see all the things, and then you can come back and do the things you want to spend more time with later. That’s definitely what I would recommend.
Michael: Everything she said. Book early—it made stress go away knowing this was planned almost a year out. It gave us time to be ready and get our flights. From looking at online reviews of MoaTrek, it appears you’re going to get a good guide no matter what you do. Even if you don’t get Gail, all of you folks bring something really interesting to the role. People should appreciate that.
I think we did this, I don’t think we messed this up but have a variety of clothing for different weather conditions. Be ready to do some walking and hiking. It’s going to rain at some point; it’s going to be hot at some point. Having a variety of clothes that go from one thing to another was important. It’s a very casual country, which was nice and fits with how we are in the Northwest. We didn’t need to bring a suit, but having a nice shirt and pants to go to a nice restaurant was a good thing.
Be flexible. There were changes in the itinerary, sometimes due to weather, and being able to go with the flow made everyone happier.
Julia: And save room in your suitcase.
Michael: to come back with something.
Andrew: That’s great. Thank you so much. I really appreciate all the thoughts you’ve shared. Any last words for Gail?
Julia: Thank you.
Michael: Would love to hear about where she was going after our trip. She was off to help on a sheep farm, I think. But we had a great time with Gail. It’s one of those things—you may never see them again, but in the moment, it was a great life experience to have had. She was definitely a big part of making that a wonderful life experience.
Julia: I’m glad she was our tour guide. We had a great time. It was very memorable. I’ll remember this for a very long time.
Michael: I liked being in the shotgun seat next to her. I really enjoyed being up there with her.
Andrew: Yes, that’s one of the good views, isn’t it? Well, thank you again, Michael and Julia, we really appreciate you taking the time this evening. And of course, the question I’ll ask you is when you’re coming back?
Julia: We’re already thinking about it.
Michael: I had a yoga instructor who just moved with her family from Seattle to New Zealand because her husband has a job with one of the aerospace companies there. She’s trying to create a yoga retreat for those of us who had yoga with her here, over there, but that’s in January. I don’t know if I’ll go all the way to New Zealand just for yoga though. I think I’d need more than that.
Andrew: Come back for another tour. Thank you so much. That was wonderful. I can tell that you had a good time. Hearing you talk about it always makes me want to get back on the road again. The season starts for us very soon, in about a month. The first tour is back out.
It’s springtime now, we’ve broken through winter, days are getting longer, and there’s still a lot of snow in the mountains. Gail and the rest of the team will be out from October.
We look forward to seeing you next time. Thank you. I really appreciated talking to you. Enjoy the rest of your night.
Michael: Thank you. Bye.
Travelling New Zealand with MoaTrek
We hope our chat with Michael and Julia has helped you understand why travelling on a group tour in New Zealand is such a rewarding experience. From the ease of having everything planned, to the joy of meeting new friends, and the insider knowledge of a great Kiwi guide, it all adds up to a trip that’s easier, richer, and more memorable.
With MoaTrek, you can relax and enjoy the views while we take care of the details — from bookings to timing to making sure you don’t miss those hidden gems.
Take a look at our New Zealand small group tours here or get in touch with the friendly MoaTrek team today.
Remember, you might only visit New Zealand once — travel with experts who will ensure you love every minute of it.
- Andrew
- NZ Senior Travel, NZ Travel Info, Our Guests, Video Reviews
