From the Travel Office: New Zealand's Seasonz Travel

Milford Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand.

Whenever possible, we recommend that our travelers engage the services of one of our travel partners. With offices in the foreign countries our members are visiting, our travel partners can respond to changing conditions immediately, with an expertise only locals can offer.

Seasonz Travel, Andrew Harper’s favorite travel partner in New Zealand, sprang into action during the recent Christchurch earthquake. Some of our members were actually in the air on a flight bound for Christchurch when the quake struck. As news of the earthquake was beginning to reach the United States, Seasonz staff already knew that our members’ flight had been rerouted back to Auckland. They sent a driver to meet our members at the airport after they landed, and booked them into the Hotel DeBrett.

Because our members needed to meet up with a Backroads group tour in Christchurch the following day, Seasonz found seats on an early-morning flight. Our members made it to Christchurch and connected with the Backroads tour on time.

The swift action this situation required could only have been provided by a local travel partner, with access to up-to-the-minute news about rapidly changing conditions. As connected as we are in this Internet age, sometimes there is simply no substitute for a friend on the ground. Auckland-based Seasonz Travel and its individual staff members continue to assist with the relief effort in Christchurch, contributing to multiple charities working in the area.