Aloha Joni:

We are now home and slowly acclimating to reality. We had the most fabulous time on our holiday and want to thank you for seeing to it that every little detail was well planned, organized, and executed. We feel you really listened to our desires and planned "THE PERFECT" holiday...thank you so very much. We will definitely call you again and have recommended you to several of our friends. It is obvious that you really know both New Zealand and Fiji as I'm sure you know the other locations you book for your clients, I especially liked how you found locations that were less "touristy" and more reflective of the countries we were visiting...just as I requested. Thank you!

We especially loved Nelson, New Zealand. The "Little Retreat" could not have been any nicer. Angela has thoughtfully considered every detail a weary traveler might need to make them feel welcome and at home there....warm homemade bread and fresh fruit awaiting us along with beautiful flowers and lovely music playing upon arrived. In addition, the nice soaking tub surrounded by candles, towel warmers, robes, and my favorite....the woolen heated mattress pad under the sheets to help you sleep comfortably and soundly. All in all, "The Little Retreat" is one of the nicest places we've ever stayed and we have traveled the world staying in 5 star hotels that can't match the charm and ambience of "The Little Retreat". In addition, the location was just as you described; a perfect starting point for many day trips. We enjoyed a scenic ocean drive down the east side of the south island one day. We also took a winery tour through Bay Tours which I highly recommend--our guide was so pleasant and knowledgeable. We also did a cruise and trek to the Abel Tasman National Park where we were treated to some incredibly beautiful scenery both by boat and during our trek through the rain forrest. We easily could have spent weeks in Nelson and hope to return again for a longer stay.

Just when we thought we would never be lucky enough to find another place so special, we found ourselves looking out over the azure bay with the Auckland skyline in the distance while sipping wine on the porch of The Moorings on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. The pictures truly do no do the place justice. Every inch of the apartment and surrounding gardens were picture postcard perfect. The entire place is skillfully and artistically decorated. Each evening we enjoyed watching the sun set from the porch while sipping local wines and listening to the boats come in and out of the harbor below. We also enjoyed the beauty of the island, more wineries :-) and the local farmers market. Waiheke was the perfect place for Cathy to unwind and relax before we all traveled on to Perth for our conference.

Finally, our last stop was in Fiji and although not as chic as the other two accommodations, the First Landing provided a true Fijian experience with a beautiful oceanfront bure. The Fijiian people are among the nicest people we have ever met. Everyone on staff greeted us by our first name and went out of their way to anticipate and attend to our every need. We felt like royalty while there. While on Fiji we enjoyed snorkeling and visiting an uninhabited island. I especially loved having a massage on the beach...quite a memorable experience!

Again we sincerely thank you for making all the arrangements. It was so nice not to have to worry about transportation details or accommodations. Even the smallest detail was well planned and went smoothly thus allowing our time to be spent enjoying the beauty and people of New Zealand and Fiji rather than worrying about travel details.

We have taken many vacations throughout our life and this was by far, my favorite!

Our sincere thanks, Randy and Teresa O

Michael and Marlon
Kauai Wedding & Getaway

Hi Joni,

Just wanted to drop a line and thank you for all your help with setting up this wonderful vacation. I know we can be difficult, changing our flight twice, etc., but you were extremely friendly and accommodating. Kauai was amazing and the wedding was great.

We travel A LOT, and we never use a travel agent, but I think this might change, because everything was so easy and smooth; we had the seats we wanted on the flight, we spent no more than 3 minutes at the car rental, and everything was ready and waiting at the hotel (including a quiet room away from the pool with a great ocean view - exactly like we requested). Oh yeah, and it was all within our budget.

Again, thank you so much for everything, we'll never forget this amazing vacation.

Sincerely,

Michael and Marlon.

Hi Joni,

When Bob heard we were going on a cruise he asked me "what have you gotten us into"....at some point during the cruise he said "this is really cool, I'm loving it".

We had a great time! Celebrity is beautiful! It is very classy but not pretensions. Because it was a cruise to Alaska and the weather was chilly we felt very comfortable wearing jeans and sweaters aboard the ship (except for dinner of course). The scenery was breathtaking - and there was so much to see and do we were never bored!

My tips would be the Taku Lodge trip in Juneau and the train from Seward to Anchorage (very nice). Thanks for holding our hands through all our pre-trip questions - you
were wonderful!

Aloha,
Sunny & Bob

Hi Joni,

I am including a picture of the view from our room and one taken of us at the Shipwreck bar.

This was our second trip to the Kona Village Resort on the Big Island in three years and we had another fantastic time. If you have never been to the South Pacific the Kona Village Resort is the next best thing. When we arrived the resort was only about half full which was very nice.

A few days later it got really crowded. There were a large number of young children at the resort and I was very pleased to see how well behaved they were. I must say that the food was as excellent as it was two years ago. We ate all of our evening meals at the Hale Samoa except for Friday night when we went to the luau. The afternoons were usually cloudy and we got to see just one beautiful sunset at dinner time and one of the best green flashes I have ever seen. I did not bring my telescope with me this year and I am glad I didn't because we only had two starry nights and never did get to see the Southern Cross.

We did notice a lot of changes since our last visit. There are new owners at the resort and a new manager. The new manager has made several changes without consulting the staff and some of our old favorite things to do have disappeared. The daily glass bottom boat trips are gone as is the sunset cruise on the catamaran. There are now two luaus every week, on Wednesday and Friday nights.

On Sunday there is both a breakfast and a brunch. The breakfast is rather awkwardly done and the staff has to scramble to get both meals served. They would be better off just having one extended brunch. Thank goodness they have not changed the evening entertainment at the Bora Bora Bar every night. It is great to just sit outside and enjoy the music.

This year we did two things on the island that we did not do in 2004, go to the Shaka Restaurant which has the southernmost bar in the United States (of course we got a tee shirt) and take the guided tour to the top of Mauna Kea which requires you to have a four wheel drive vehicle. The observatory tours at the summit were awesome and a highlight of our vacation. It was 35 degrees at 14,000 feet and just climbing stairs is a big exertion at that altitude.

We stayed in one of the New Hebrides hales and it was absolutely great. There was a constant breeze blowing through the room from the ocean. The resort prides itself on not having clocks and phones in the room but everyone brings their cell phones anyhow. Bring your own alarm clock.

Bob & Annita

Megan & Pete
New Zealand & Fiji Honeymoon

Hi Joni,

Happy New Year! Sorry for the delay in replying to your email. Pete and I have both been so busy since getting back from our trip as we started school right away.

First, I want to say a big THANK YOU!! We had the most amazing time on our trip. Everything was wonderful. We absolutely loved Queenstown. We took the bus out to Milford Sound and then took a helicopter back as you suggested. It was raining the whole way out there but then the rain disappeared so we saw so many waterfalls it was breathtaking! We also went horseback riding in Glenorchy (well, I did – Pete got sick!) and that was amazing. The drive out there was beautiful and the ride itself was really fun. We tried to go skydiving but unfortunately it cancelled twice because of the winds. We also went jetboating,and spent a lot of time in the restaurants and bars in town. We then spent a few hours in Nelson and went out to Bleinhem for a day and did some wine-tasting, which was a lot of fun. When we were in Motueka we spent sometime relaxing and then did an 8 hour kayak/hike through Abel Tasman, which was truly amazing…and tiring! We spent a lot of our time in Rotorua just hanging out at the hotel and relaxing because it was just so beautiful, but we did go to hell’s gate which was really neat. In Auckland we spent a day walking around and then played golf one day. We also went to dinner at the Mudbrick restaurant in Waiheke which was great.

And on to Fiji…it was amazing! We loved Tokoriki. It was a beautiful spot and the Fijian people that worked there were so warm and friendly. The honeymoon bure that we stayed in was absolutely amazing, and we spent a lot of time just hanging out in our plunge pool. We also went snorkeling a few times, which was great. The food was also really good. As for the seaweed, there was definitely a fair bit of seaweed around and a slight smell of it, but it really wasn’t a big problem. After the first day we didn’t even think about it. I would definitely recommend Tokoriki to others, and would love to go back someday.

I’ve attached a few of my favorite pictures from the trip. Thank you again for all of your help. We will definitely let our friends and family know how great you were when they head off to NZ / Fiji!

All the best,
Megan & Pete

Lisa and Bruce
New Zealand 50th Birthday Trip

Happy New Year John & Joni,

We're just settling back into life on Maui.
Thanks Joni for preparing a fabulous trip for us. Every day was a new adventure. We took over 700 photos. I won't send them all to you but here are a few. We'd love to get together and show you a slide show some time.

We loved NZ and the people were wonderful and accommodating. Hope you both are well........

Love,
Lisa and Bruce

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