Creating immersive experiences right here in our backyard

  Russell has a van that holds 6 people. It is a perfect size for a four hour tour. The atmosphere was relaxed, Russell was knowledgeable and friendly; he provided very... read more interesting information as we drove through beautiful countryside. The tour was well paced and thoroughly enjoyable.

  Having booked a small group tour of Tauranga on-line were we really didn't know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised when Carol took us on a relaxing and very... read more informative highlights tour. Carol is passionate and professional and we were so glad we didn't decide to be part of the "cattle class" on one of the larger tour coaches.
We highly recommend this tour to anyone stopping off in Tauranga. Thanks Carol for providing one of the highlights of our New Zealand cruise.

  Cruising New Zealand on Celebrity and booked the trip with Wicked Wanders on line before we arrived - though you could book on the day.. Meet and greet well organised... read more in Tauranga and an excellent tour led by Carol In a small van. Really enjoyed the visit to the Manuka Honey factory and the kiwi farm - great guides in both. Rain held off and saw a good range of the area round Tauranga - felt we learnt a lot. Really good tour and very fairly priced.

  This was an absolutely amazing day trip and a great way to see more secluded thermal lakes. The walk down from the top of the valley was stunning with so... read more many plants and manuka bushes around you. Following the thermal river all the way to the lake provided some really interesting views and finished with a trip on the boat around the lake. Our guide was so knowledgeable with a was real pleasure to be shown around by him. Definitely recommend.

  All the trip was fantastic couldn’t fault it. Love Russell he was tops with everything would recommend this tour to anyone who wants a relaxing and interesting tour on Tauranga.... read more Thank you kindly
Natalie and Mark.

  What a fantastic tour guide Carol was can't fault her, very informative and also has a sense of humor which can be hard to come by these days

  Mum and I thoroughly enjoyed our day out. The tour guide picked us up from our accommodation and took us back the end of the day. The tour... read more guide was very informative and we learnt a lot about redoubts, kiwifruit and avocados. We enjoyed our fish and chip lunch at Maketu. Would recommend this tour to others.

  This trip is well worth it, especially if you want to quickly learn more about the history of NZ. We've tried a few other cultural experiences here but they felt... read more impersonal and weren't as fun or knowledgeable.

Since it's a small tour we got to ask a bunch of questions, and Russ knows his stuff. He's also great to have a laugh with & I recommend asking for him when you book.

We went with a family group including parents, grandparents, Aunts etc. but it'd be perfect whoever you're with.

Thanks for the great day!

  Our tour guide, Russell, picked us up at the dock as soon as we arrived. We drove to Hobbiton and had a delightful time visiting the movie set followed... read more by a delicious lunch. On our return, we stopped and walked trails through a beautiful park with waterfalls. Russell was very knowledgeable and able to answer all our questions and give us details. It was a grand day on our trip and all our expectations about seeing the beautiful New Zealand countryside were met.

  Our experience with Wicked wanders was EXCELLENT. Carol was an excellent guide showing us Tauranga. great value for money and we saw so much, Had a great... read more lunch at a farm on top of the hills over looking Tauranga. Fish and chips lunch was cheap and was ordered before so we just needed to drive there and pick it up. Well organised. Wood train blocked our way but Carol knew another way to get through. Very informative lovely person and great driver. Great overall. Was a great adventure in Tauranga.

  We were on a cruise that unexpectedly visited Tauranga for 2 days. The fist day we did a hop on & hop off bus tour around Tauranga. The second... read more day we booked a tour with Russell who took us on sight seeing tour around the town and told us bit of history of the region - very interesting. We then headed out of town to Comvita Manuka Honey factory, then to a kiwi fruit farm & finally an avocado farm. Russell was an informative, welcoming & good humoured host - very enjoyable.

  This was a great tour with Russell so informative he certainly knows his stuff!
Definitely recommend this tour to anyone wanting a bit of history as well as small... read more tastings of the wonderful kiwi fruit and avocado that we definitely don’t get at home !

  We had beautiful weather. This is a must to be able to experience the best views. Our guide was good and informative. Downside for anyone unable to walk unaided, not... read more for wheelchair, steps quite steep. Pushchair can manage,
money we'll spent.
PS: I have both knees reconstructed but able to get around the hilly terrain.

  I enjoyed this tour quite a bit. Russel was very well informed and professional. The stop at the Elms was great. The history of Tauranga was very informative and the... read more grounds were stunning. The stop at the kiwifruit farm was also good and informative. Other stops to here history and to look at the view were great. My only negative about this tour was the ship docked mid morning which meant the tour had a late start and there was no lunch break and we were very hungry by he time we got back at 3pm. The stop at the farm we got to try some kiwifruit and avocado but it's not enough. We were provided with a bottle not water which was appreciated but I think some amendments could be helpful when the tour has a late start. Overall this was a great tour and would definitely recommend it.

  What a great time. I was up from Christchurch at a conference in Tauranga with some time to kill and decided to do this tour. Russell was a great guide... read more and made the trip really enjoyable. The guides at Te Puia were great and I learnt a lot about the local geography and local culture. Highly recommended.

  Wow! Awesome day spent with Russell! Highly recommend this tour. We covered the area of Mount Maunganti in the Bay of Plenty and all around Tauranga.... read more His knowledge of the Māori and their culture is amazing. Heard a Māori fairy tale, learned about how New Zealand came to be settled and the industry and agriculture of Tauranga. Lots of fun going to kiwi farm, got to taste kiwi, avocado, and avocado oil - Russell has the tasting down to a science! I am a tea lover, so a treat to pick up some tea from Webster’s. Enjoyed a lunch at Organico in their back garden area. Got to put my toes int he sand and water.

  Our guide Russell was a local man who was at the pier to greet us. The tour showed us around the town of the "Mount", beaches, harbour, the adjoining... read more community of Tauranga, working port, shopping precinct. We then headed out from there to a honey producing company and samples the famous Manuka honey and other blends. Coffee break welcome. Then to a small farm seeing avocado trees laden with fruit (no sample sadly). We did though sample the oil from same. Following this we headed to another farm producing the famous Kiwi fruit and were told about the two main varieties (green and gold Kiwi fruits). Overall I enjoyed the tour and found Russell to be an engaging and helpful guide, but we (as older persons),found getting in and out of the mini bus a bit of a challenge. I enjoyed the visit to the greenhouse on the harbour, but would have liked to go inside the old missionary complex instead of looking from the street.

  What a wealth of information Russell was. We learnt so much about New Zealand history and especially liked the avocado and kiwi fruit tasting. Would highly recommend this tour.

  Small bus was lovely. Very informative and flexible. Enjoyed by all of us including the teenagers. Need ot be able to walk on uneven ground but we are not particularly... read more fit and were fine with the walking so it's not a big issue.

  We were on the Queen Victoria and we absolutely loved this tour! So happy our daughter booked it and happy we didn’t book with the cruise company such a better... read more experience very personal!
I would recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about the culture and have a great personalized tour! Our guide was wonderful! Love from the USA !

  Russell from Wicked Wanderers met our cruise ship on time for the 4hr scenic tour of Tauranga. Small group, very comfortable air conditioned van. Tour commentary was excellent & well... read more informed, Russell was very personable & helpful too. The trip needed to be adapted slightly due to poor weather to ensure we had a great time. Well done, Russell!!

  This was a veryinformative tour. Our guide was wonderful! We found out a lot about Tauranga and it's surroundings!

  This is a wonderful tour of Tauranga in a small coach with a local guide. Russell was exceptional. He took us to all the best places and told us so... read more many interesting things. I highly recommend this tour. So easy to find him, right outside the gate at the ship dock. Kiwi fruit trip was the best!!

  excelent attention to detail, small group of 10 Water bottles placed on each seat. Mobility an issue & a step for entering & exit the minibus, just there... read more not to be asked for & on our orchard visit he had a seat for me in the shade. Russell it is the little things that count the most, best trip ever,,
Thanks
Recomend any time.

  This was a terrific way to see Tauranga and the surrounding area. Russell was extremely knowledgeable and lots of fun too. All the stops were great and so was the... read more ice cream. You should take this tour.

  Russell responded quickly after purchasing our tickets. Meeting off wharf was easy. Vehicle is well suited to the tour.
Best of all it was a great informative tour - highlight... read more was the visit to kiwi fruit farm.
Lovely day - definitely recommend this tour run by enthusiastic owner operator.

  Very worthwhile tour for cruise passengers. Carol is very informative and friendly. Had a lovely time and still had time for a walk round.

  Had a tour with Russell and it was fantastic!

Saw lots of interesting stuff, learned plenty of cool facts about what we were seeing, and had a great... read more time all round! Very knowledgeable and helpful, great sense of humour and very approachable!

Highly recommend these guys, cannot speak highly enough of their services!

  Great city tour with a visit to a honey farm, kiwi farm with great tasting kiwi ice cream and a avocado farm.

  When cruising it is easy to book excursions directly from the ship. We have found these can be very expensive and very impersonal. You have 50 on the coach and... read more time taken to get on and off can be wasteful. On our recent trip to NZ and Oz we compared the ship's prices with independent operators. They were often almost half price and everyone worked out really well.
This was our first excursion from our cruise ship and we were not sure what to expect. It was an excellent tour and Carol was a great driver and guide. She was very informative throughout. We visited a small town and the countryside that really gave us a view of NZ life. We visited a Honey farm, Kiwi farm and Avocado farm. She was very knowledgeable about all the growing processes. We tasted honey but were advised not to buy any honey products as banned from Western Australia and we were disembarking in Perth. We were introduced to Golden and Green Kiwis and she bought us kiwi ice creams. Finally she provided bread to enable us to taste the oil at the avocado farm. It was a most enjoyable trip which gave us our first introduction to New Zealand.