Waitomo Luxury at Last

For many years our secret weapon in Waitomo has been Kyle Barnes.  With the popularity of Waitomo as a destination and the absolute lack of luxury services there we were very keen early on to do something about the area for our clients.  Kyle was able to supply us with guides and with after-hours entrance to excellent caves, thus ensuring a quality experience for clients used to personal service.  Many of our clients have thus been able to take a warm personal memory of a quality New Zealand service away with them.

Now Kyle has gone a stage further and developed something so spot-on that we cannot keep it to ourselves.  Together with a high-powered team of extremely experienced cavers he has developed the first luxury cave experience in Waitomo.  A small group or an exclusive group explore a cave kept in as natural a state as possible and without being rushed.  The necessary construction and safety work has been hidden, kept under the surface, and this cave gives you the feeling of being one of the first people through it.  Which isn't actually that far from the truth either as it has not been open to the public before.

I first went through this cave with Kyle a year or two ago and discussed what luxury travellers were after.  At that stage we were on our hands and knees and making intimate contact with earth in its liquid form.  What he unveiled to me last month was nothing short of spectacular with so many of the details so right that I can't possibly remember them all.

The tour is conducted by candle light, glow worms are centimetres away from your eyes, moa bones lie where they were found, various forms of lighting are explored and explained, the darkness is used - and most importantly you spend enough time underground with highly experienced people to take away with you a sense of the cave rather than a sense of a volume-based tourist attraction.  You are also allowed to take photos.

And, unbelievably, the launch pricing pitches this experience below the standard cave tour in terms of cost.  I told Kyle to take the price up, but being a canny businessman he understands he needs a certain volume to keep his cashflow going.  This is my small attempt at support.  I highly endorse Kyle, can point to almost ten years of professional, personal service and state without hesitation that this is the finest cave experience in Waitomo.

Anyone interested is welcome to contact me on jean-michel@ahipara.com  and I will put them in touch with Kyle.

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