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Elm Wildlife Tours - Customer testimonials09/07/2010Hi Shaun, 01/03/2010Brian, 08/02/2010Hi, 03/02/2010Hi Brian, 31/01/2010Hi Brian, Shaun and Josh
Just to say how much John and I enjoyed our tour with you the other evening. It was great to be part of a small group watching the penguins and sea lions and we were very impressed with your planting and the position of the hides. We appreciated having plenty of time to enjoy the animals and not feeling rushed. We were last at your beach area almost 30 years ago, and it was a delight to see the area managed so well for both the wildlife and the visitors. I'm glad we waited for a perfect summer evening to come out with you! 27/01/2010Hello, 15/01/2010Dear Brian,
Bill, Irma Lou and Jo had a fantastic day with you. They where thrilled to bits with all of the wildlife that they saw.
Thanks for organising such a great day for them.
06/01/2010Hi there, I was on the wildlife tour yesterday and first of all wanted to write you that I really enjoyed it very much! That was the best Tour I did in New Zealand. What I liked most about it was, that I could really feel how much you are interested in the animals and respect them and do not do things like making pictures just before leaving and sell them after the trip for $25 or something like that. It was awesome! Thank you very much!!! 06/12/2009 (Africa 2009)
Dear Brian, Thanks for organising the awesome trip to Kenya and Tanzania this year, an experience way surpassing our highest hopes.
The guides were outstanding and the accommodation and food were brilliant, we felt like royalty. After seeing the “big 5” after the first day and a half I thought what on earth were we going to do for the remaining time but each day brought fresh and unbelievable sights. I never thought we would be a metre away from wild elephants, watch leopards stalk their prey, or hear lions crunch the bones of their latest victims. 29/05/2009Dear Elm Tours, JI have just returned to England after spending 5 weeks in New Zealand. One of the highlights of my trip was around 3rd May when I went on one of your tours to the Otago Peninsula. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the landscape and by the wild life.
Shaun led the trip and I was very impressed by his respect for the wildlife and his protective attitude towards the birds and animals we saw. I travel frequently and it is a constant complaint on my part how people are allowed to invade animals' territory. Congratulations to Elm Wildlife Tours for employing someone who cares for the environment and who cherishes the animals that inhabit that environment. I hope to return to NZ and I shall definitely use Elm Wildlife again. I shall also recommend your tours to anyone I know who plans to visit NZ.
06/05/2009Dear Brian, We thoroughly enjoyed your eco tour which we took from Dunedin on 25th March 2009. Being avid wildlife enthusiasts - especially birds, we were facinated by the non tropical bird life in your part of the world, especially the close up observation of the yellow eyed penguins and the albatross as well as your other native birds we saw on the trip. The private beach area was idyllic though quite different from our tropical beaches. Please convey our thanks to the french guy and the kiwi guide ( I think his name was Craig) who did a wonderful job.Thanks for making our visit a memorable one.
12/03/2009
Hi: Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the wildlife tour on February 15th. It was one of the highlights of our visit to New Zealand. A lot more walking/climbing than I expected but it was so much fun. Now we're enjoying our photos.
Thanks again. We'll certainly recommend the tour to friends travelling to New Zealand next year. 21/01/2009Hi guys, We did a Wildlife Tour with you guys on Christmas Eve on the Otago Peninsula. It was absolutely amazing. The tour guides were friendly, helpful and honest (i.e. when they didn't know an answer they admitted it), and we had an amazing time. Getting to walk around in the yellow-eyed penguin nesting area was such a great opportunity. We missed out on seeing the albatross nesting area, because we didn't realise you could pay more to see that part of it. Next time it would be great to be told that over the phone, as we would have loved to do it. Nevertheless we got some good photos and enjoyed albatross-spotting. 20/12/2008Hi Shaun and Tom, Thank you for the fantastic, fantastic tour I had today! It was probably the most memorable day of my life, ever. I enjoyed every minute of it -- from the beautiful landscapes on the way to Taiaroa Head, to all the wildlife we got to see. I can't believe we managed to get so close to the fur seals and the sea lions and the penguins! Thanks for the great commentary and insights during the tour. You guys are the best! :)
19/11/2008Dear Brian, Many thanks for the tour yesterday. I was very impressed with the operation you run. The penguin experience, especially, was quite remarkable. The albatross were also playing nicely. And, having had some of my students working on those very fur seals, it was good to see them and the area again.
I was also really impressed with the information Tony and Wiebke gave to your clients. I'm sure they could have written the book I am currently producing with Rod Morris on NZ penguins. Anyway, it was good to have the experience myself and know that it is one recommendation that I can put my hand on my heart and stand by.
The return trip to Dunedin with the sun setting, listening to Tony's mellow music, and having time to reflect on the wildlife and spectacular views was very special.
10/11/2008Hello there, We came on one of your peninsula tours in October and it was one of the highlights of our month-long holiday in NZ. The small size of the tour combined with the exclusive locations and Sean's knowledge made our experience a really memorable one; he even found me a Royal Spoonbill!
Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we'd be within 5 feet of yellow eyed penguins. We have 2 Scottish friends coming out to NZ in the next couple of weeks and have highly recommended that they come to see you. (Perhaps they can collect the beenie I left on the bus!)
Thanks so much,
01/09/2008 (BORNEO 2008)Hi Brian, Iain and I so enjoyed our Borneo trip and lots of family and friends are still enjoying the photos. You put together a great trip and thus far the highlight of my life's travels.
Shaun was superb and ensured our safety very well. He was a great help with photography and we have so enjoyed the results of his photos too.
Regards to Shaun. 06/05/2008Hi Donna, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed my "Peninsula Encounters" tour (April 20th) - especially the 'up-close and scary' sea lions! The wildlife (and people!) encounters on this trip were a major highlight of my 5-week holiday. I'm now 'safely' back in Belgium - but wishing I was still feeling intimidated by the Otago sea lions! Very best wishes - and keep giving way to those yellow-eyed penguins! 04/04/2008Hi, I've done the Elm wildlife tour the day before yesterday and just wanted to say: it was fantastic. It was one of the best experiences I've had in New Zealand so far! I've expected just another tourist attraction, but this was really different. Especially our guide made my day, he was the most informative, friendly and enthusiastic about the wildlife. Thank you Shaun
14/03/2008Hi Brian, Now that we are home I wanted to repeat what we said last week when you shared the wonders of your world with us. It was an amazing day that we thoroughly enjoyed. I think all four of us will always wonder what happened to the little fellow. Thanks again for making our day with you so special.
. 16/01/2008Hi, I just wanted to personally thank you for the great tour we had on Tuesday. The guides were extremely professional and accomodating. Sean was our guide and he took the time to explain everything we were seeing and allowed us to dawdle at the penguin sites since their numbers were so numerous. He was great. You are fortunate to have such employees.The kayak option was also great. Once again the guide was flexible and made wildlife sighting the focus of the tours. We were not disappointed as we saw penguin chicks and kayaked while the seals swam. All in all it was an incredible day.
Thanks again for an unforgetable experience. 30/10/2007Hi Brian, We have returned home safely from our trip to New Zealand and other exotic destinations in the South Pacific. Remember us? Royce, Mary Beth, Dennis and Peggy, whom you guided to the sea lions and yellow eyed penguins on the 20th of October. We want to thank you for the tour. It was the best excursion, by far, we have enjoyed during our many years of travel!!!! Never have we had such a great time seeing nature up close and personal. Plus, having someone as experienced and dedicated as yourself as our guide was a real treat. Thanks for your incredible work in preserving a part of our natural resources. We need more people in the world who care for wildlife as deeply as you. We will cherish the memories forever of our visit to the Otago Peninsula. 31/08/2007Hi Elm Wildlife tours,
16/03/2007Hi Shaun and the rest of the team, 14/03/2007Hi Elm Wildlife Tours 01/02/2007Dear Brian, 30/01/2007Hi Elm Wildlife Tours 02/01/2007Dear staff at Elm Wildlife Tours 22/11/2006I was with the marathon-ready (?!) segment of the Mountain Outin' group you picked up on Nov. 22. Because I was in such a state of euphoria that I was rendered speechless, I didn't thank you properly, although I'm not sure I ever can thank you enough. Thanks for helping us get up close and personal with seals and penguins and black swans and oystercatchers and little shags and big shags and one kingfisher and all the other creatures I can't conjure at the moment. Thanks for being so completely present and attuned to what we needed. Thanks for letting us have a glimpse into the passion of your work, your life.
03/11/2006The day spent with your tour guide was THE HIGHLIGHT of our entire trip. Seeing the penguins and seals unclose was truly a once in a life time experience. Thanks Mary McLendon USA 19/10/2006I just want to say how much I enjoyed the tour with your guide, Shannon. He was really very good, a coup for you to have zoology graduate (Masters at that) who really understands the wildlife and their characteristics, and can identify them as well Nothing was too much trouble, Highly reccommended!! Well done to you all. Best regards Graeme Cooksley Australia 16/04/2006Elm Wildlife Tours 1/3/2006 Just wanted to say how much we enjoyed the tour last week (March 1). Lucy was so knowledgeable and gracious.FYI - I posted a review of the tour on tripadvisor.com to let others know about the experience. 4/2/2006 Thank you so much for the pictures. They were great and I was so pleased I was able to download them. Our whole trip was wonderful, but Dunedin and our time with you was definitely a highlight. We've been singing your praises and hope you'll see some of our friends some time.
1/1/2006We so enjoyed our time with you on 1 December. The day was incredibly special and we learnt so much. How we loved seeing the yellow-eyed penguins, the seals, the birds (will we ever forget the albatrosses!!) in their own environment. It's wonderful to know that people like yourself do so much and care so much for our very precious environment.
Thanks again for such an unforgettable experience. With all our very best wishes. 27-11-2005We, my wife and I, made a wonderful tour with your organisation to the albatrosses, penguins and seals. Our guide that day was a very enthusiastic nature-lover and thanks to him we had a unforgettable tour! I don't know his name, but when you see the pictures I made and sent, you will known who he is. 13/12/2005
20/10/2005I just wanted to email you and thank you very much for taking me out on a trip yesterday. It was a fantastic experience seeing some of our country's beautiful wildlife up close in their natural environment. Shaun was a fantastic guide and it was obvious to all on the tour how passionate he is about what he does. I really believe that my day yesterday was the most enjoyable one I have spent in a long time. 29/08/2005"Bloody marvelous" What can I say Brian. I have always promoted you as being the best and you proved it 100% plus. We had a wow of a day and every min was great.The drive back viewing Dunedin lights was the finishing touch. I was actually all penguin outed in the end. 13/07/2004Saturday, July 2, I had the opportunity to participate in one of your tours on the Otago Peninsula. It was the experience of a lifetime! Our guide, Sean, did a great job being informative as well as entertaining, a job that can be difficult at times (I'm a teacher, so I know this to be true!). It was my last day in your beautiful country, and I'm glad I was able to spend it with Elm Tours. 16/08/2003Just a quick mail to thank you for arranging the trip yesterday. It was superb - excellent wildlife viewing and excellent guide in Sean (what it is to have someone who knows what they are talking about). We have told our friends of this (they are following on behind us) so hopefully they will contact you. Once again many thanks and all the best for the rest of the year. 16/07/2003As a wildlife and nature lover from the UK, I have had a fantastic time visiting New Zealand. Yesterday I visited Otago peninsula with you guys and was able to see albatrosses, yellow-eyed penguins, sea lions and fur seals - a day I will never forget. 18/03/2003(off cruise ship)
22/01/2002Thank you very much for the wonderful trip you arranged for us - we all think it was the highlight number 1 during our trip and we were all so excited to see all the beautiful albatrosses and the fur-seals and the pretty penguins. We are so impressed by your knowledge and that you can see all different kinds of birds and directly tell everything about them! Lucky you! 03/10/2002I would to say a huge THANK YOU to your organisation for the fantastic tour on Tuesday 17th September following the VIN Conference. This was an amazing opportunity to discover the wildlife of your region - I had no idea this trip could be so amazing. The van was comfy, the guides were awesome (I think it was Tony, can't quite remember, and Ben in training) - lots of great info and just the right amount, and the nicest of people too. Plus sensational wildlife - viewing the sealions and yellow eyed penguins really knocked my socks off. I came back absolutely buzzing, and haven't stopped talking about it since! |
 
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From the the vastness of Serengeti to the uniqueness of the Ngorongoro crater to the incredible dry dust bowl of Ambosali there was so much variation it was hard to believe we were still within the same vicinity. The human cultural experience was an unexpected bonus observing the Maasai going about their daily lives was another thing altogether. And as someone with a passion for knowledge of early human development being able to visit Olduvai Gorge just added another dimension to an already mind-blowing experience.
We achieved a lifelong dream of hot air ballooning over the African landscape to observe the wildlife from above. This was a major highlight of the trip for Kirsty and we now pinch ourselves to confirm that this trip was a reality .....
I joined this fantastic tour, and one of the best experiences I had in New Zealand. The experience of being so close with some of the rarest animals on this earth was amazing, and most of all, I took some of the best pictures I've ever taken. Thank you very much for such a GREAT experience, I would personally say that Elm Wildlife Tour is a MUST for anyone visiting New Zealand. Keep up the conservation efforts, best wishes for you always
We are a Singaporean couple on honeymoon in New Zealand and had gone on a wildlife tour organised by Elm in Otago Peninsula.
We would like to commend that we had a great time and the tour conducted by Shannon & Sean were fantastic! They gave us a very informative tour on the wildlife in Otago Peninsula.
In addition, we would like to express our deep appreciation for the tremendous help that they've rendered to us when they dropped us off at the Larnarch Castle.
