The Haka Tours Story

Established in 2006, Haka Tours is the brain child of kiwi Ryan Sanders, who once found himself wishing to escape the dull working life of corporate banking. A keen and experienced traveller, Ryan’s love for his country and adrenalin led him to a vision: the creation of some incredibly awesome adventure tours immersing travellers in the real New Zealand!

Following his quest, Ryan was introduced to Taranaki boy Steve Latham, a scuba dive instructor who had been travelling around New Zealand all his life. With his combined love of nature and people, and perhaps his slightly off-the-wall attitude, Steve was the perfect man for the job of Haka Head Tour Guide.

And so Haka Tours was born. Together Ryan and Steve designed and developed a set of New Zealand tours that would blow any adventure seeker’s mind! The first tour commenced in June 2007 and Haka has barely had time to look back since.

In 2008 the company expanded – incorporating more tour departures and with it the addition of more staff. Snow Tours began running June – September, with tour guide Mike at the helm. Ellen joined the crew all the way from the UK, and Si and Jared started work as Adventure Tour Managers soon after. In 2009 Haka also welcomed Verve as tour guide 'extraordinaire' and Amanda who works behind the scenes of our New Zealand Rugby Tours.

In the relatively short time it has been running, Haka Tours is proud to have shown hundreds of travellers around this beautiful country. As a crew we’ve taken great delight to broaden people’s boundaries, open many pairs of eyes, push a fair few folks out of a plane, and send all our groups home with an experience not just to remember, but to value as one of the best trips of their life.

So break the mould and shun the mainstream. Find the ultimate NZ adventure with Haka Tours.

TOUR MANAGERS

Haka has qualified tour guides who are passionate, experienced and bursting with knowledge about their country. They will go out of their way to make sure you have the time of your life!


Name: Steve Latham
Nickname: Stevo
Tour: Snow Safaris, Bay of Islands adventure tours
Specialty Area: Scuba diving, surf, snow, mountain biking
Twitter: scubajunky007

Steve surfed and snowboarded his way around New Zealand from a young age until he decided the life of guiding was for him 7 years ago. A master diver, he has the enthusiasm, knowledge and passion that we feel is essential for Haka Tours. Steve knows his country like the back of his hand so be rest assured you are in the hands of one of the best guides “God’s own country” has ever bred!

Favourite place in NZ: Tough question because there are so many but I'd have to say the subtropical far north - it has everything from stunning isolated beaches to lush ancient forests. It truly is a piece of paradise.
Best activity on tour: Heli-mountain biking - beautiful views, heaps of speed and adrenalin, yeah boy definitely a good time waiting to happen.
Advice for anyone coming on tour: Leave your troubles at home and pack your "try anything once" attitude and get amongst it. Let the tour guides do the work, you do the enjoying and experiencing! Guaranteed quality adventure and you won't be dissappointed!

Name: Mike Hygemann
Nickname: Hygi
Tour: Snow Tours
Specialty Area: Snow, Surf

Mike dived head first into the world on skiing / snowboarding in 1990 and has never looked back since! In that time he has obtained extensive guiding experience, ran numerous snow stores and reached the lofting heights of an international snowboard judge, lending his critical eye to a number of world cup competitions! Passionate and dedicated, you are in the hands of a true kiwi snow enthusiast!

Favourite place in NZ: Wanaka! Raglan a very close second.
Best activity on tour: Gettin face shots down Mt. Hutt Towers... those that have been there know ;o)
Advice for anyone coming on tour: Loosenin' up that attitude!


Name: Si Leonard
Nickname: Si-Co
Tour: 16 Day “Amplified NZ” Tour
Speciality Area: Surf, Snow, Mountain Biking

Si has worked extensively in the surf, snow and skate retail industry and has been making his own surfboards for 15 years, recently under his own independent label, “Si-Co surf”. He also has experience teaching customers to learn to surf, snowboard and mountain bike, and his hobbies include action sports photography – what more could you ask for when touring God’s own adventure playground?

Favourite place in NZ: South Island!! ... Oh you mean one place?! Kaikoura or the West Coast has my vote as the place that has it all for me.
Best activity on tour: Hopping on the bus on day one as that is where it all rolls from! Nah seriously, probably the Canyon Swing – go the gimp boy!
Advice for anyone coming on tour: Get ready for the best time, doing the best things in the best country on earth... and be nice to your tour manager!

Name: Verviers Whatu
Nickname: Verve
Tour: 24 Day “Epic NZ” Tour
Specialty Area: Surf, skate, snow, jumping off stuff!
Twitter: kiwiverve

Verve lived and breathed skateboarding as a little grommet growing up in Hamilton and naturally progressed onto surfing, snowboarding and extreme hackey sack! Following his mum's advice to see his own country before seeing the world he embarked on a quest to experience all of the joys that Aotearoa had to offer!!! From Instructing SCUBA Diving in Taranaki to blasting people sky high on the Bungy Rocket Queenstown, Verve's adrenalin addiction is truly at home with Haka Tours!

Favourite place in NZ: ... is Kaikoura! A special place with mountains overlooking the sea... but then Queenstown is super fun summer or winter... but Taranaki's Surf Highway always delivers the goods, but then...
Best activity on tour: The Nevis Bungy In Queenstown scares me every time!! A must do for any visitor to the home of Bungy!
Advice for anyone coming on tour: Make the most of your time on tour! Don't let your fears stop you from experiencing all that NZ has to offer - comfort zones need to be tested on a daily basis!!

 

OFFICE CREW

Name: Ryan Sanders
Nickname: Sandman
Role: Director
Twitter: sandman31

Ryan was born and bred in Christchurch but returned in 2008 from 7 years in the UK, 4 of which he spent as a professional rugby player (a career suddenly ended by a snapped achilles). After rugby and some years of travelling, Ryan worked for a global bank, but eventually corporate life became too boring... enter Haka Tours! Ryan is a keen snowboarder, admits he could never be a Tour Guide as he has no practical skills or sense of direction, and has recently started yoga to try and heal his battered body from the years of rugby!

Favourite place in NZ: Wanaka - stunning scenery with great ski fields close by and less than an hour from the big lights of Queenstown
Best activity on tour: Anything that makes you scream / yell / gives you a nervous sweat!
Advice for anyone coming on tour: Sit back, relax and let yourself be taken on the ride of your life with some super passionate guides - your experience will be second to none!

Name: Ellen Pickett
Nickname: El
Role: Tour and Marketing Co-ordinator
Twitter: ellenhakatours

The youngest of the crew, El relocated to New Zealand in 2008 after working for Haka in the UK. Having experienced Haka Tours as both a tourist and crew member, she is more than equipped with knowledge to help people plan the trip of a lifetime! El graduated from university with a degree in music and loves to get involved with anything creative!

Favourite place in NZ: Kaikoura for the pure untouched beauty that NZ is known for.
Best activity on tour: Skydiving - nothing beats that adrenalin rush falling at 200km/h and it just gets better every time!
Advice for anyone coming on tour: Take in every moment you have in the most beautiful country in the world and don't be afraid to push your limits and step outside your comfort zone! Banish the word "no" from your dictionary!

 

Name: Amanda Donaldson
Nickname: AJ
Role: Groups Co-ordinator

Amanda joined Haka in late 2009, once again coming all the way from the UK (what can I say, we like our British women!). When she isn't helping out on tour, AJ's organisation skills are deployed in the office managing Haka's New Zealand Rugby Tours. 

Favourite place in NZ: Queenstown - adventure capital of the world and just so beautiful!
Best activity on tour: Silver Demon Acrobatic Flight - Wanaka. Flying by the seat of your pants!
Advice for anyone coming on tour: Ladies - from personal experience, I can say that high heels are surplus to tour requirements... ok well maybe just bring one pair! 

Name: Michelle Sargent
Nickname: Shellie or Sarge
Role: Sales Manager, Australia

Michelle is our first representative over the pond in Australia! She has 15 years' sales experience in the Tourism Industry and has been working on spreading the Haka gospel to all those Aussies!

Favourite place in NZ:  Being an Aussie, I've still got lots of exploring NZ to do. I've always wanted to go to Abel Tasman National Park - sounds like a beautiful place.
Best activity on tour: The Zorb at Rotorua. I love being shaken up but not damaged.
Advice for anyone coming on tour: Life is short, go hard, give anything a try once and go home with loads of new experiences.

Find more photos of our crew on our Facebook page...