When you travel on one of our New Zealand Small Group Escapes, your Kiwi Guide will be your best friend on the road. From morning till night, this is the person who is at your side helping make your trip one that you will remember for a very long time.
Our Kiwi Guides come from a wide range of backgrounds and life skills, we’re very proud of our team and they are some of the most experienced guides in New Zealand. What they all have in common is a passion for New Zealand’s regions, history, wildlife and landscapes and sharing their favourite spots and stories with guests.
Meet a few of the MoaTours guide team below, find out more about them, see some photos of them in action and hear what guests on recent trips have had to say.
Tim de Jong
Tim has more than 25 years experience both guiding and operating tours across New Zealand. After running his own business and working as a tour operations manager he is now back in his “happy place”, which is at the head of the pack out on the road guiding small group tours with MoaTours.
Originally from the South Island, Tim now lives in the Bay of Plenty where he’s close to his grandchildren.
Hear from recent guests of Tim’s
Tim de Jong was a perfect guide. He was patient, interesting in his comments, and a pleasure to have escorting our group on this tour.
Robyn Hynds, High Country Stations, Gardens & Goldfields
Jan Kirkpatrick
Jan is a true Kiwi with a lifelong love of the great outdoors! Originally from Invercargill, she has explored both islands of New Zealand and spent nearly 40 years in the South Island before heading back up North to live in Waihi.
With a strong background in outdoor recreation, Jan spent two decades leading walking and cycling tours all over New Zealand. When she’s not guiding, you’ll find her outside – enjoying everything from biking and beach swims to gardening and, in winter, a bit of skiing.
Hear from Jan’s guests
“Our Kiwi Guide Jan was the best! She was so knowledgeable about every aspect of your country. From the history, to geography, the plants, animals and the Maori people, Jan enlightened all of us. She handled everything like a pro and was the best problem solver! We were impressed with her excellent driving skills. On top of that, she was funny and shared so many stories about her own adventures. You are lucky to have her as a guide!”
Susan & Alan, Kakapo 21-day tour, February 2025.
Sean McDonnell
Sean is a keen surfer and traveller, he loves the great outdoors and is passionate about the environment and you’ll feel this right away when you’re on a tour with him. He is also trained artist and graduate of Elam School of Fine Arts, so when you’re travelling with Sean you’re seeing landscapes in a unique light.
Hear from Sean’s guests
Sean was amazing. Young and energetic. He ran around after us and was a legend when we had a couple of mishaps on the first day. He took lots of photos and sent them to us each night. A wonderful tour leader Moa should be proud to have.
Susan Thelin, Otago Springtime Gardens & Victorian Fete
Gail Hapi
Gail is of Maori (Tainui and Ngati Haua) descent, she has a background in teaching and has also spent time in the army and worked as a vet. Her love of horses runs deep and her spare time is spent with horses on her property in Otorohanga and she also helps out on a farm property in the mountains of the South Island during the winter months.
Gail is an integral part of the MoaTrek Kiwi Guide team and we love the positive energy she brings to her tours.
Hear from Gail’s guests
Gail driver/ tour guide was the icing on the cake. She brought the places alive with her history lessons. You felt safe in her hands, she is the loveliest person, interesting and caring.
Lyn Mcgrath, Karamea & Wild West Coast Trails
Graeme Corlett
Before beginning his guiding life with MoaTrek Graeme worked as a geologist all over the world, so if geology is your thing then you’ll love travelling with Graeme. He even wrote his thesis on the volcanoes of Tongariro National Park! When he’s not out on the road leading MoaTours trips you’ll find him working on his property North of Auckland.
Hear what recent guests of Graeme’s say
Not enough words to express our gratitude to Graeme – friendly, obliging, patient, great driving, and good company. Full marks!
Marion & Bill Christie, Southern Odyssey
Brian Cresswell
Originally from the North Island, Brian went to university in Christchurch and loved the South Island so much, he never left! Before joining us at MoaTrek, Brian guided cycle tours and is now enjoying leading our small group tours all over New Zealand.
His favourite places in New Zealand are Milford Sound and Aoraki/Mt Cook. “I love the way the mountains rise up out of the sea at Milford and being near Aoraki fills me with a sense of awe.”
When he’s not out guiding, you will find him exploring the mountains, out on his boat snorkeling or on the hunt for deer – always making the most of New Zealand’s great outdoors.
Hear from Brian’s guests
Brian was superb – great sense of humour, I loved his knowledge of the history of the areas we travelled through and he made a custom playlist that we had to submit songs for, and then guess who picked it – that was a great icebreaker and also a cool way to share music. He impressed us with his backing up skills with a trailer.
Hillary DePuy, East Cape Caper
