Private Discovery Day Tours Milford Sound, Paradise or both……

Posted on: July 10, 2015

The day before this tour with Private Discovery Day Tours, we went to Milford Sound. I’m really glad I did that before this tour. Although Milford Sound was beautiful and certainly worth doing, it had nothing on the day in Glenorchy that we spent with Private Discovery Day Tours.

Charles (the owner) picked us up from the hotel at 9am. We were extremely lucky to literally have a private tour for the 2 of us that day. The great thing was that Charles immediately set our expectations for the day by telling us what we were going to be doing. I told him I loved making photos and he certainly did everything possible to get me the best spots for some amazing photos. We also told him we loved the Lord of the Rings movies and enjoyed hiking.

Charles is extremely passionate in what he does and goes above and beyond to give a fantastic experience to his customers. Although the day started cloudy, around midday (or slightly after) the day cleared up beautifully. We were so lucky to see the weather change dramatically throughout the day. We went for a nice walk up a small mountain up to the entrance of a beautiful forest. We also had some great views onto “Isengard” and Mt Earnslaw.

Charles introduced us to the Glenorchy Cafe for lunch where we had the most delicious house cured salmon. After that he took us onto the private farm lands and onto the sheep farm. It was very interesting to see and with Charles’ previous farming experience he had a lot of knowledge to share with us.

We finished our journey with a view onto the set where Beorn’s House was in the Hobbit and a distant view of where Lothlorien was filmed (privately owned land).

I was incredibly grateful to have experienced this day and can say that without a doubt, this was the highlight of our first amazing and memorable trip to New Zealand.

Stories From Our Guests

Felix Fong

2 months ago

We highly recommend Lucy! She was such a friendly driver and shared so much amazing local culture and highlights along the way. She took us to the private farm to see cattle and sheep, and walked us through how sheep shearing works in real life. The hiking route she picked was perfect — not too hard, not too easy. She also taught us loads about the native bush and trees. It was such an unforgettable experience with her!

Mona He

2 months ago

The bespoke hike Sarah and her team put together for us was great. Combining 4 separate walks we saw lakes mountains and much more. Thank you! Lucy and Lee were fantastic on the hike and shared their local history and botanical knowledge with us. Could not have asked for a better day for a team bonding hike. Thank you.

Rose Maisano

6 months ago

We had Lucy Snelgrove as our tour guide for a private hike on the route burn trail and she was amazing :) we came from the US and didn’t have rain jackets. Knowing it would be rainy, she had extra jackets and ponchos for us, made our hike sooo much more enjoyable! She kept a great pace and was very knowledgeable about the trail, plants and birds we saw along the way. Would very highly recommend!! We had some extra time and instead of bringing us back to our hotel right away, she went out of the way to bring us to some more view points to check out the beautiful scenery.

Kirsten Mackey

7 months ago

My husband and I took a tour through a section of the Routeburn track and we had a great time! Lucy provided us with so many interesting facts about the area and was a great guide! We thoroughly enjoyed our walk through the track and would definitely recommend!

Phileas Fogg

11 months ago

My wife and I spent a fantastic day in Paradise Valley, guided by Charles. A journey through fairytale locations. Now we understand why The Lord of the Rings was filmed here. We come from a big city. Unspoiled places like those we saw today, where the sound of silence and the absence of people reign supreme, are a unique opportunity. Charles showed us places that are technically impossible to reach on our own. Breathtaking views, views of the lake, mountains with snow-capped peaks, forests, valleys... it's almost impossible to describe the details. Even the photographs don't do the reality justice. Congratulations to Charles, thank you very much.

Syd Gernstein

2 years ago

My wife and I had a full day Milford Sound tour with Charles. We could not have scripted a more perfect day of travel. Of course, the trip to Milford Sound was fantastic. The journey itself was great—we stopped at a ton of viewing points, one more beautiful than the next. And I really don’t have words to describe how impossibly beautiful Milford Sound itself is. But it was Charles who truly tied this day together and made it so memorable. Charles is everything you’d want in a travel guide—knowledgeable, interesting, and an amazing conversationalist. He also is just the consummate professional: the day was perfectly timed so that we were constantly doing things without ever feeling rushed. My wife and I have had an amazing time in Queenstown. Seriously, if we had any more time here, what we would do would be an absolute no-brainer: book another tour with Charles. In sum, I can’t recommend Charles more highly. A class act.

Sharon F.

2 years ago

Charles Fraser was the ultimate professional guide. He was totally knowledgeable & informative on all aspects of New Zealand. He knew so much about the country, its culture, its people, and the history. We spent two days with him & had a most memorable time hiking & exploring Milford Sound & the countryside of New Zealand. He is remarkably upbeat & happy and you feel like you’ve known him forever. He made a most favorable impression on us, and made the day’s exciting. We will never forget his graciousness. We highly suggest hiring him and his company to experience the very best of New Zealand.