Driftwood Eco Tours

Fantastic time on D'Urville Island, with wonderfully knowledgeable, generous and passionate guides.

Highly recommend any tour with Driftwood Tours and Will Parsons. Quality tour with wonderful guide. Did the back country from Awatere to Molesworth and Rainbow Stations to St James Station for the annual horse sale. Wonderful trip. Definitely the best way to see this part of Aotearoa NZ.

very enjoyable and informative 4 days in Marlborough on the Molesworth tour. Great driver, great tour guide, also accommodation and meals and quality of visits for a variety of experiences.

Had a superb 2 night stay here. The lodge is exceptionally well furnished and extremely comfortable and homely. Well decorated with lots of good books and information to read. 2 big and very comfy beds with lovely views out the back towards the wetland habitat. Owners (Will and Rose) are very friendly and welcoming (certainly appreciated the welcome cakes and milk) and have such a nice peaceful location at the edge of Blenheim surrounded by wetlands and wineries. Wish I’d had the time to join one of their eco tours but had a very pleasant and relaxing stay and couldn’t recommend highly enough.

Recently returned for Driftwood's Kaikoura tour, the second trip I have been on with them.Great exploration of the back country stations, QEII covenanted bush areas and views of the after effects of the earthquakes. A highlight was seeing Hutton's shearwaters and different species of albatross at sea on a glassy calm morning followed a by a visit to near their nesting sites in the ranges.Will and Rose Parsons operate very well organised tours that are adaptable to changes in the weather. They are very good at accommodating people of varying interests with varying levels of fitness.We are already signed up to go on their Chatham Islands tour in February!

Will's knowledge was amazing, it helped us all understand the problems of D'Urville Island much better. It is a very beautiful place to visit.

The Kaikoura trip was the third we have done with Driftwood. If you want to see rare plants or birds these are the people to go with. A special day was an early morning boat trip to see Hutton’s Shearwaters and to sit on a calm sea surrounded by huge Albatross, then see Hectors dolphins on the way back. Spent the rest of the day high in the mountains where the Shearwaters nest. Also visited places most Kiwis have never seen and all with an excellent guide and a small friendly group of people with similar interests. If you are interested in wild life, the outdoors, and hidden places, these are the trips for you. Will and Rose do a great job - oh, and you certainly won’t starve!

Driftwood’s Kaikōura tour was a journey of discovery, going to places we wouldn’t have seen without their local knowledge. We visited local farms, seeing conservation areas and a historic woolshed, and learned about the impact of the 2015 quake. It was worth getting up at the crack of dawn for a boat trip where we saw albatrosses, Hutton’s shearwaters, and Hector’s dolphins. Along the way, we had informative commentary from expert guides.The accommodation was comfortable and meals were excellent and varied. The small group made it a very friendly tour.

Thanks to Will and Sam I was able to get to most parts of D'Urville Is, that I would never get to on my own. This is the advantage being with a Driftwood Eco tour. I enjoyed Craig's hospitality and Cathy's cooking at D'Urville Lodge, the fish was delicious!.

What an exceptional tour and operator. So organized and outstanding outstanding, accommodation and catering. Meet new friends that we continue to catch up with. We will be soon more tours with Rose and Will.