At Adventure South NZ, your safety is our first concern. Our specific protocols and safety analysis procedures, in conjunction with updates provided by our local partners and Government Travel warnings, allow us to carefully assess the stability of our trips throughout New Zealand and plan our operations accordingly. Our experienced staff frequently review all aspects of our adventures to ensure we are providing you with the best possible travel experience. 

We look forward to commencing our next season as scheduled on the 17th August 2020.

Update 14th September 2020: Auckland is now at alert level 2.5 and the rest of New Zealand is at alert level 2. Our first tour is scheduled for the 27th of September which will operate if we are in alert Level 1 or 2. If you are unable to make a tour because your region is in alert level 3 or 4 or our trip is inoperable (alert levels 3 and 4) you will receive a full refund.

Please direct any questions to our team at [email protected] or call 0800 00 11 66. They will be happy to assist.

Stay safe, be kind and unite against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Update 8th June 2020: New Zealand is now in Level 1. We are operating private group tours over winter from the 1st June 2020, with our regular season starting on the 27th September 2020. 

Level 2 Operating Procedures for Private Groups: What we're doing to keep you safe

Health and Safety commitments

Adventure South NZ needs to be alert to and respond appropriately if COVID-19 cases emerge while operating. As clients you have a responsibility to be aware of risks and follow safe practices. You should not travel if you have symptoms of COVID-19, are awaiting a test or if you need to self-isolate.

We will manage the risks of COVID-19 transmission on our trips by:

·       Screening - keeping people with COVID-19 symptoms off trips. Our pre-departure questionnaire includes risk factors to help us ensure a safe trip environment

·       Maintaining physical distancing, with a maximum of 16 people in our group (including guides)

·       Enabling good hygiene practices

·       Registering places we visit and keeping a contact register of people we encounter

Five steps to staying safe

1.    Self-Symptom checks

The symptoms of COVID-19 are one or more of the following: Check yourself pre-tour, at the tour briefing and daily - if you have any of these you must inform the Guide. Call Healthline 0800 3585453.

2.    Distancing and protection

Maintain a 1 metre separation and we encourage using a mask if you are in close contact with others. Fill the Van from the back. Maximise space between passengers, this means one passenger per row and sitting on alternating sides of the row. Always use the same seat. Don’t share items that risk passing on the virus. Any participant presenting with virus symptoms may not travel in vehicle.

3.    Hygiene practices

Wash often. Use soap. 20 seconds. Then dry. This kills the virus by bursting its protective bubble.

We will ensure hand sanitizer is available by high contact areas. Use this for 20 seconds also.

4.    Cleaning protocol

We will clean and disinfect high risk areas twice daily. This will be logged. Cleaning will include things that other people can cough and sneeze on, or that lots of people touch. For us this includes the vehicle doors and handrails, and any other high-touch surfaces. An anti-viral disinfectant to be used to soak high risk surfaces for 10 seconds before being wiped off. Clothes used are single use.

5.    Contact Register

We will register ourselves at accommodation, cafes, and other places we visit. In addition, our guide will keep a register of people who enter our bubble. This register will include names, date, phone and physical address. The information is important for the process of contact tracing, should it be required to track down and prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The register will be kept for 2 months

Managing an exposure or suspected exposure to COVID-19

Despite our efforts, it’s still possible one of us may start to show symptoms of COVID-19.

There will be a time delay between symptoms developing, testing, and getting test results. In most cases the person will not have COVID-19. Unless advised otherwise we can continue to operate. We will follow advice from medical authorities for when it’s safe for the person to return to the trip.

We need to ensure:

Anyone who is unwell with respiratory symptoms is immediately isolated from the group, as we liaise with local medical authorities and Healthline 0800 3585453

We have high levels of monitoring and reporting, with possible removal from trip as required

If someone on the trip tests positive, and is contacted by a public health unit, we’ll provide information regarding the persons contacts on the trip. In this situation public health will contact us. They will liaise with Adventure South head office and provide advice about any further actions we are required to take.

If testing positive, the persons contact points will be disinfected in accordance with our cleaning procedures, in line with public health requirements.

We will pass on information about contacts when someone is suspected to have contracted COVID-19, because this will assist with contact tracing

We will keep in contact with unwell clients and track their progress