Ability Adventures

Five stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️Ability adventures provided us with the holiday of a lifetime.The trip was planned for 8 months in advance. During this preparation time, the principal of Ability Adventures , Marina Hanger, had regular contact with us. She went to great lengths to identify our particular special needs, as well as our ambitious plan to tour the South Island of New Zealand with four young children, one adult who is a wheelchair user with a significant physical disability, as well as another adult. Throughout the preparatory discussions, marina was very calm and positive that the tour she had planned would fill our brief: we wanted an inclusive family holiday which enabled the whole family to interact and participate equally in the experience.We thought Ability Adventures was very ambitious with the itinerary as it was finally presented to us: A tour driven by ability adventures, stretching from Christchurch, to Franz Joseph to Dunedin and back to Christchurch over 2.5 weeks during summer 2017-18.It takes an enormous amount of trust to book a holiday with an overseas tour company. This is particular true when a member of your party has a substantial disability. Concerns ranging from the suitability of the transport, accomodation, bathroom access, activities all play a big part in the decision-making process. Ability adventures surpassed all of our expectations and some.We were met in Christchurch by a very bright and happy tour guide, who instantly put us at ease and made us feel like we had made the right decision investing our trust in ability adventures. The van fitted the wheelchair perfectly and very securely. It was comfortable and safe.Our 2.5 week tour surpassed our expectations and took our family on adventures we never thought were possible or achievable. We went swimming in hot thermal spas, kayaking, helicopter rides over Franz Joseph glacier, bush walking, horse riding, bbqing, picnicking, gondola rides, jet boating etc etc. in almost all activities the wheelchair user was involved.All hotels and motels were comfortable, clean and fully accessible. Our family is a large party and organising this must have been a huge task for ability adventures.The tour of the South Island of New Zealand ended with us being driven to the airport on a high from such an impressive experience.We would recommend Ability Adventures to anyone wanting a fully inclusive holiday experience.

With my wife and I being gdepended on electric wheelchairs for mobility we thought a dream holiday to NZ South Island was impossibleOr completely inaccessible for our family. We then enlisted Marine’s support and she made it all happen an amazing action packed holiday for my family. She organised everything from accommodation, ensuring it was setup for us, organised excellent carers for the morning/evening , equipment hired. From the moment we arrived at airport we were in Marine’s safe hands and we were able to completely relax without having to worry about a thing.She even moved the itinerary around us and the weather, nothing was too much hassle as she ensured we had our dream holiday, Milford Sound, Queenstown, Lake Wanaka the list goes on, wine tasting, watched bungee jumping , jet boats , streamboat trip and the best BBQ ever . Her knowledge of what was accessible ensured we got the most of our trip. We did far more than than we would have ever done on our own and we still saved the Gondola ride and views for next time.If you are in any doubt about travelling through NZ contact Marine and have an amazing time.

We asked Marina to organise our wheelchair accessible motels and suggest places to visit for our ten day tour of North Island. She didn’t disappoint and devised a tour based around our interests. A comprehensive package with itinerary options, map, historical and geographical notes awaited us at the hotel on arrival. The hand controlled car (also organised by Marina) arrived on time and “drop off” at Wellington airport was extremely easy.We had the most amazing holiday despite torrential rain for the first few days! On one of these days we were very grateful for Marina’s suggestion of a restaurant/vineyard where we enjoyed a beautiful meal by a fire!It was impossible to see all the wonderful things that Marina had suggested in her book, but our holiday was action packed and most memorable. When we were trying to plan our holiday (from England) we wondered if a tour of North Island with a wheelchair would be possible. Marina made it so!