Te Mata Explorer Private Tour from Napier Cruise Port

We saw some beautiful lookout points around Hawkes Bay. Such beautiful scenery everywhere. Te Mata is very cool.

First, our actual tour guide Quentin saved this review from being a 1-star. Quentin was a 5-star and his company (and boss/owner) are a 1-star. So we booked this private tour and in the name of it ‘from Napier Cruise Port’ and in the email we received for pickup it was very clear that pickup and drop off were from the pier. In fact, the email we received said ‘Cruise passengers: we will be waiting for you at the pier with a sign with your name on it.” We got off the ship and went where all of the non-cruise ship excursions were being picked up. It was very windy and raining. We waited and we waited. Nothing. I called the number for the tour operator (Top Private Tours New Zealand) and it was a number in Spain and the answering options were in Spanish. I called TripAdvisor and someone got in touch with the owner and told us the driver was on his way and would be there in 5-10 minutes. We waited while the TripAdvisor was on the phone and nobody showed up. The agent finally got the owner on the line who first asked the name of the excursion and when I told him, he said he didn’t have an excursion by that name. When I read him directly from the confirmation email we got when we booked, he changed the subject and claimed he sent an email that morning (nope - not in my inbox or spam) saying we should take the shuttle bus in to town and our driver was there. He claimed they weren’t letting drivers on the pier next to the ship. When I told him that every other guide was picking up next to the ship he said we needed to take the shuttle. So, we ended up getting on the shuttle and going to the town center. We looked around and there was nobody with a sign with our name. Eventually Quentin wandered over and asked if we were the Vandenbergs. So - our excursion started an hour late on a very short port call. When we got in the vehicle, Quentin asked what we were supposed to be seeing - that was odd and made it clearer that the owner is doing a horrendous job. That said, we said ‘let’s start fresh’ and Quentin did a superb job on his end. We told him all the things were we’re supposed to see and told him which ones we could cut out if we ran short of time - ultimately, he got us everywhere and it wasn’t rushed. We started out going to the Arataki Honey company, the largest in the southern hemisphere. Since I’m a beekeeper I was really wanting to go there. We had plenty of time - I got to talk with and ask many questions of the founder’s granddaughter and we sampled many different varieties of honey. Quentin showed us where he grew up, which we actually liked - we’ve found that local guides are far better, and he proved that to be correct. Next we went to Te Mata Peak - it was very high and absolutely gorgeous - you could see 360° forever - stunning. Next we went to Waimārama Falls where we saw the beautiful water. Some of the trails were closed due to mud slides from a recent heavy rain but the area we saw we beautiful. From there we drove to Ocean Beach and took some time to go out and walk on the beach - it too was beautiful. Nest we went to Waitangi Regional Park and got to walk around and learn about the ancient calendars and sun dials - very nice. We ended up going to the Art Deco area of town and seeing some of the houses and businesses which were built in the Art Deco motif and then stopped at the old National Tobacco Company building which had some Impressive Art Deco design. At the end, Quentin drove us right up to our ship on the pier. So, despite the train wreck beginning dealing with the owner, Quentin definitely saved the day. I would HIGHLY recommend Quentin as your guide but unfortunately cannot recommend ‘Top Private Tours New Zealand’. I might add that while we were waiting, many other tour operators were trying to help us but none of them had heard of ‘Top Private Tours New Zealand’ which was odd as well. Quentin - thanks for saving the day!!