Travellers Testimonials and Reviews: First Light Travel

Because Shelley was so thorough in putting together my itinerary I was able to see everything I wanted to see, and much more. Shelley would suggest activities to add and I am glad I did. I was never disappointed. It was an exceptional experience in both New Zealand and Australia. I was very pleased.

Jim Geiger - USA

Jo is a miracle worker! 

I can’t say enough about how great she was to work with!  There wasn’t a pre-planned tour available for the winter season, so she took us under her wing and helped us to create a custom designed trip of a lifetime.  She accommodated and exceeded our every need and request...and believe me there were many.  She took care of every detail from pickup and drop offs to detailed notes and phone numbers for confirmations.  We didn’t have to worry about a thing...and that made all the difference in traveling.

Our drivers and guides were treasures!  They took personal interest in offering detailed information about their beloved country as well as answering any questions we had with patience and enthusiasm.  The excursions she selected for us were fabulous...we were treated to the best of the best meals and service.  We called it our “spoil spree” adventure.   When there was a complication in our trip due to a flight cancellation, she was instantly available for us to problem solve and she personally handled arrangements to get us back on schedule.  Phew!  I felt so much better having her “on board” with us for the whole vacation process.    

We highly recommend First Light Travel to anyone and we are already making wishful plans for a return trip...now if we can just get her to branch out on a global scale for all of our traveling in the future!  What do you say, Jo?

Australia favorites:

The Sydney Harbor dinner cruise - beautiful scenery, AMAZING food with wine pairings, live music, and first-rate service.

Wendy Sorenson - USA

Dear Kasey,

Thank you so much, for putting together our trip to WA. We had a wonderful time. Everything was well arranged right from the start. We had a perfect pick up at the airport and a nice hotel in the middle of the centre in Perth. All the accommodations were good, it was each time a surpise to see and find out where we would sleep. Almost all the accommodations where in or near the city centre, so easy to go out for a walk and have dinner.

The Maragret Discovery Tour and the Cape le Grand tour was fantastic.The local guides showed us beautiful places and could tell us a lot from the place and its history In Kalgoorlie we booked the Super Pit Tour. It is advisable to prebook this tour, we were lucky there was a cancellation in the morning, otherwise only two of us could join the tour.

At Rottnest Island we had a really special and wonderful host, Irene. A lady from over 80! We really liked her company, but I think it is not necessary to have a host at Rottnest. I think we were the only, walking around with a host.

We took loads of pictures. I included some, so you have an idea of our trip.

WA is a beautiful part of Australia.

Cheers,

Verdonck Family - Singapore

It was a wonderful experience to work with Jo from First Light Travel.  She is very professional and helpful, designing a tour specific to our small group.  Most importantly, she was immediately available when we ran into a snag with a cancelled flight, arranging other transportation to get us back on our itinerary.  It was comforting to all of us to have her support!

My favorite parts of the trip were:

1.  Brisbane:  This city surprised me with the beautiful Botanical Garden and the river flowing through.   I would like to spend more time there and do a lot more exploring.

2.  Cairns:  What a paradise!  Winter is a great time to go and enjoy this tropical area, there is so much to see and do.

3. Te Anau:  The hotel Radfords on the Lake is set next to the lake and the scenery is stunning.  The glow worm cave was so beautiful and Milford Sound is so spectacular that pictures cannot do it justice.

4,  Queenstown:  What a wonderful, fun city set in an amazing place!  Take the gondola ride to the top at night for a great view.  For that matter, all of New Zealand is so unspoiled and beautiful, I would be happy to spend much more time there.

Thanks so much for your help, Jo.  You helped make our trip wonderful!

Letha Davis - USA

Jo has booked us another great vacation. She listened to our requests, and then tweaked the itinerary . The vouchers and reservations were in perfect order, making for a smooth trip so that we could explore and enjoy every minute of our adventure Down Under!

Janet, Aaron & Andrew Folsom - USA

Verity was very accommodating in assisting us with our travel plans to Australia, she listened to our ideas and guided us through the booking process.

James & Patsy Hyman (USA)

From the awesome Milford Track to the Sydney Harbor Bridge climb, Shelley and First Light Travel arranged an absolutely incredible experience for us. Way too many adventures to list, all so very, very good! 

Thanks, team!

Morris & Lynn Hoover, Austin TX

First Light Travel, in particular Shelley Kirk, gets our five-star rating and strongest recommendation for anyone planning to vacation in Australia and/or New Zealand.

We are frequent travelers, prefer independent over group tours, and rarely work with a travel agent or agency. But knowing little about the lay of the land in Australia and New Zealand we decided to "try" working with an agent while planning our first, month-long visit. After Internet searching and reviewing the New Zealand Tourism site we sent a request for proposal to 4 agencies, including First Light Travel. We roughly described our schedule, interests, preferences, and budget and waited to hear back.

We received just 3 proposals, with one agency saying our budget was too small for them to even entertain. Shelley Kirk was the first to respond, provided the best proposal on every front (quality, cost, variety, etc.), and most importantly, she was willing to work with us on every facet of our trip. Shelley was able to put together an independent travel itinerary with the perfect balance of pre-planned activities and free time for us to get the absolute most out of our travel at our desired pace and price. In the face of changes and suggestions she was unfailingly open-minded, flexible and fun to work with!

It is rare to have the experience where everything on a holiday goes as planned; something always seems to go awry along the way. But honestly this vacation went off without a hitch: no surprises, no failures, and no problems with any aspect (flights, cars, transport, lodging, activities, etc., etc.) of our bookings. Our travel pack from Shelley included all the details and was an easy reference for each day of our holiday. While I can't credit Shelley with the weather (or can I???), even that was perfect during our stay!

If you're looking for someone to plan your dream vacation in Australia or New Zealand (or perhaps anywhere!) you should contact Shelley Kirk. A proposal costs you nothing and you may be as pleasantly surprised (thrilled) as we were at how well they meet or exceed your expectations.

We would be delighted to serve as a reference for Shelley Kirk and First Light Travel. Please feel free to message me if you have questions or would like additional information about our holiday plans. Best regards to Shelley and all the staff at First Light Travel.

CJ and David Lambert (USA)

Hi First Light Travel,

A group of 6 of us will be finishing a tour of South Island in 2 days time in which your agency helped to arrange for us. We would like to say a big thank you for the arrangements made and the care and concern accorded to us by your team, especially Sofie who was our tour consultant from day 1. Please let her know we are appreciative of the care she showed us and the detailed arrangements that were made every step of our travel. We are especially thankful and impressed with her professionalism in handling the last minute change in our travel itinerary due to the inclement weather 2 weeks prior to our arrival in New Zealand which resulted in the washing away of a vital bridge connecting Queenstown to Franz Josef. Please thank her for us.

Please also let your counterparts In Christchurch know that we are very happy with the service and care rendered to us by Kevin, the guide assigned to us for the entire duration of our travel in South Island. Kevin was always cheerful and accommodating to our requests and all the seniors in our group had a soft spot for him after their time spent with him. Please let him know we are most appreciative of his care for our small group this whole time. We felt very safe and were impressed with his driving skills. He always ensured we had our seat belts on and he navigated all the curves with care. He was a safe driver that made us all felt safe in his hands. He always had our safety and comfort foremost in his interactions with us.

Thank you first light travel for everything. I am writing this with a sadness that my group and I will be leaving in 2 days time. If ever we return to New Zealand, we know which travel agency we would like to take care of our travel plans. Have a great weekend.

Regards,
Lilian sim and San San Teo - Singapore

I cannot tell you how overly pleased we were with First Light Travel! Jo Taylor was simply exceptional, and I would most strongly recommend FLT for any trip to New Zealand and Australia. We would approach a tour or a hotel or an activity, produce the voucher FLT had prepared for us and others around us would ask “Where did you get those vouchers?” We would respond, “First Light Travel and Jo Taylor.” People would look at us with envy with the ease of our registration at the various hotels and entrance to the attractions. I wish I had had several business cards to hand out.

Rodney & Judy and Tyler & Kayla - USA