Come take a tour to the greatest adventure nation on earth

Exceptional Service

This is consistently the number 1 reason that our schools, clubs, teachers and parents keep coming back to us.

We are all lovers of sport and are passionate about providing the best touring experience possible, show casing  New Zealand and using sport to share in culture, learning, discovery and development.

Phil Robson the Managing director has a strong background in education and understands what it really takes to ensure young athletes are safe, having fun, learning and growing during their time overseas.

Coaches who have tried to either organize a tour themselves or use other tour companies have commented that consistently we are diligent about ensuring well matched competitions/games, understanding the needs and objectives of those who are organizing the tour and thinking ahead.

We are priced very competitively, coaches, parents and tour organizers often comment how much value for money it is and that it’s the service, personal touch, and passion for delivering an exceptional service that keeps them coming back.

They often comment that there is no way that they could have organized the locations, excursions, games, and interactions that the teams were able to experience.

See what our clients say about us 

Rowing in New Zealand

Rowing is a major sport in New Zealand. The sport of rowing has won more Olympic medals for New Zealand than any other. The first rowing club, the Canterbury Rowing Club,  was founded in Christchurch in 1861. Soon after secondary school rowing began at Wanganui Collegiate in 1885. Since 1965 the annual Maadi Cup context began is still the premier event today. Nearly 2000 rowers from more than 100 schools compete in a week-long regatta that is said to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere.

Accommodation

 The accommodation that we use for our tours always gets rave reviews. We use hotels that are 3 stars and above. We have been using our main providers of accommodation for years, we’ve built very good relationships up and down the country.

During school holidays we often get access to boarding school halls. These locations provide the teams with an authentic experience of a “day in the life” of a New Zealand rower. These are only available at select times of year. Be sure to get in touch to inquire about these accommodation requests. 

We make sure that all the accommodation is close to the facilities that you’ll be doing training at to reduce the amount of transport required which helps to keep costs in check. 

We ensure that laundry facilities are nearby to ensure that you can keep your training gear fresh. 

Training Facilities

Rowing teams get to enjoy some of the most picturesque lakes and scenery at various clubs around the country. 

For all of our sports we use facilities that our club and school teams train and play on. These grounds, sheds, ovals, pitches, and courts are all up to spec, sometimes very recently updated (as is often the case in Christchurch due to the unfortunate Earthquakes). The facilities are all professionally cared for, maintained for safety and performance.

Transport Services 

We work specifically with coach bus providers that we have long standing relationships with up and down the country. Sometimes you can spend a great deal of time on a bus and we know that this is an important aspect to you enjoying your stay. 

Our bus drivers are well acquainted with the needs of sports teams and accommodate as best they can.

Over 14 years of doing tours we’ve worked out the providers that understand the unique needs of touring sides.

You will have all your rowing requirements at each facility you won’t need to transport any large equipment. 

Excursions 

We pride ourselves on delivering quality excursions beyond the sport specific elements. We know you want to maximise all of your time here. Over the years we have fine tuned the excursion offerings and have ensured that it is age specific. With the extensive teaching experience of our Managing Director, Phil Robson. We have ensured that all excursions are age appropriate and deliver great value. 

We recognise that a trip for sport has objectives beyond just sport itself. We have found experiences that enhance team building skills, leadership skills, as well as educational experiences that keep the athletes engaged.

Whether you want to stay situated in one area in the country or travel top to bottom we’ve curated the highest quality experiences that deliver value and memories.

Find a List of our top excursions here in our FAQ’s as well as some photos below. If you want to see tour photos from previous tours – check them out here (link to Tour albums) 

We take great pride in New Zealand as the greatest adventure nation on earth. Every year people come from all over the world to experience our natural wonders and explore our untouched lands. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

Adrenaline 

Jet Boating
Bungee Jumping
Go-Karting on Clay track
Sky Tower observation deck

Team Building 

Adrenaline Forest
Paint Ball

Hot Pools and Naturally Occurring Wonders

Skiing Mount Hut  or Queenstown   or Mt Ruapehu
Hanmer Springs Hot Pools 
Rotorua Hot Pools
Glow Worm Caves
Moeraki Boulders
Worlds Steepest street – Dunedin
Kaikoura Whale and Seal watch

Culture

Hobitown
Maori Cultural events and meals -Kotane 

Education 

Orana Park
Willowbank Wildlife Reserve
Dunedin – host to many world firsts and inventions
Mt Cook (Aoraki)
Mount John Observatory (Clearest view of the night sky)

Risk Assessment Focus

We appreciate that taking young athletes on a trip over seas can be daunting and you’ll want to ensure that every aspect is thought of. We can provide you risk assessment documentation for each sport that you may be interested in. Further to that we have processes in place that ensure all team leaders are aware of the risks, the local emergency service providers, where to get medical supplies and anything else that might be needed.

• We provide contacts for physiotherapy where required
• We provide each visiting team with a local phone and phone number to use during their stay
• We are sure to carry comprehensive liability (need to check with Phil)
• All our staff have up to date police checks (need to check with Phil)
• We encourage all teams to purchase travel insurance, or we can help you with this as well.
• Please do not hesitate to ask about further risk assessment requirements your school or club may have.

Safety is important to us and we do everything we can to prevent mishaps or unfortunate events, so that you can fully enjoy the experience

High Performance Options

New Zealand is well known in many sports for punching above it’s weight, it is this intangible element that we aim to share with visiting teams. The secret ingredient if you will. What is it that makes our rowing teams consistently successful?

We’ve developed High Performance Elements for many of our sports. We’ve got mental skills coaches, nutrition coaches, strength and conditioning, video analysis sessions as well as top level elite sport specific coaches that will reach your athletes and help to bring out the potential in each player.

If you’d like to request a sample itinerary of what a High Performance Tour for rowing. Get in touch or view our Rowing Tours here.

Top Athlete and Coach Talent

The beauty of having a small population is that international sports talent is lurking around every corner. Kiwis are known to be advocates of growing the sport, this has been much of the reason why New Zealand competes in many sports competitively at the international level. This commitment to growing the sport and inspiring young athletes extends to all who visit. The passion for their chosen sport, whether it’s rugby, rowing, netball, basketball or hockey we have top talent that is eager to help coach and come for celebrity breakfasts to answer questions and inspire your athletes.

Local Sporting Connections

When you are choosing a destination to tour with your Rowing team you want to know you’ll be well taken care of and welcomed with open arms.

We have intentionally focused our efforts on building local relationships to be able provide a rich touring experience for all our visitors.

We work diligently with local clubs and service providers and have built up the trusted relationships to ensure that your visit here is exceptional and memorable. We understand that if you are travelling over seas for a rowing training and tour experience. Having access to proper facilities with adequate equipment is essential to an enjoyable tour. 

Some of our key local relationships include Canterbury Rowing Manager as well as Highschool coaches. Additionally we have contacts all over the country to ensure you have access to regattas that will provide your team with the best competition at the time that works for you. 

We ensure Games/fixtures with local competition that is best suited to your skill level. We work with the local rowing clubs to ensure that the competition on the day will be well matched to your teams skill, to test them but also provide an enjoyable experience.

It is common that for many regattas in New Zealand, they welcome international teams to compete. Sometimes there is no option for medals or special rules for international competitors, but generally the Rowing community welcomes all visitors with open arms. 

Local Sport Associations 

We have relationships with local sporting associations to be able to bring our visiting sides unprecedented access into high performance environments and facilities to explore what it takes to play at the next level and inspire young athletes to continue in sport.

Ashburton Rowing Club 

Christchurch Boys high  

Rangi Ruru

Canterbury Rowing 

Avonside Rowing Club