Scott was an extremely well read, informed guide who could speak on most any topic. Very low key communicator...pushed no agendas, conveyed info with enthusiasm and interest. Very patient and humble. Sights seen, things learned about --culture, governance, natural resources, history-- and people met... All very enjoyable. One regret: we were unable to stay longer at museum or Botanic Gardens in Christchurch. We wonder if lunch could be done near gardens/museum instead of near river. That way folks could choose their own time spent for each. Plus, there seemed to be more good food places available in Canterbury area.

The visit to the sheep farm was excellent!!! It was informative, funny, and historical. Definitely one of the best shore excursions on the trip. A must do in Akaroa.

We had a great day. Christchurch is still struggling but construction is slowly getting there. Akaroa is a quaint town. The sheep farm was fun and informative and the tea in the garden was very nice. Traffic due to road construction slowed us up a bit but no fault of tour guide. I do wish I had gone to the GiantsHouse. A tour of that and the sheep farm would have been perfect.

What a great excursion Janet our bus driver was excellent very knowledgeable didn’t rush the photo stops at all. Christchurch very interesting , the highlight for us was the trip to the sheep farm the owners were so welcoming . Sheep sheering very interesting . Lovely afternoon tea laid on in the owners garden. Book this trip you won’t be disappointed at all.

This tour was way too ambitious for the time allotted. The owner knows that the tenders from the trip can be delayed and that there is a long term road construction project under way on the very long windy road from the port to Christchurch that causes a significant delay coming and going yet does not give the buyer a heads-up that your tour in Christchurch will be VERY rushed. No time for lunch and just one bathroom break in 6 hours. It's suggested that you grab a takeout on the bathroom break but there is no place to buy anything! Very very disappointing. We stopped for the break beside the botanical gardens and there was no time to spend any time visiting. We rushed through town and stopped for photo opportunities at the two large churches severely damaged in the earthquake 9 years ago. Just a quick demonstration of the dog herding a few sheep at the farm and the owner sheered one sheep. This was a long day and not worth it.

Unfortunately our ship was unable to dock due to poor conditions. We were devastated to miss this tour. I contacted the operators and given confirmation of a FULL refund within 24 hours of writing an email. So I am giving this 5 star rating purely based on the customer service aspect of getting a refund. It is very reassuring to know that this is available in case your ship cannot get into the harbour.

Super tour of Christchurch and the surrounding area. Driver gave great commentary and provided good insight into the background and history of the area. Hugh at the sheep farm did a great job of letting us know what life on a sheep farm is like. Tom, the dog was interesting to watch as he worked the herd. Sheep shearing demo was excellent.

Comfortable van Best part was WETA workshop for me A little tough walking uphill back for me as I have metal parts and bad knees

I feel the time is Christchurch was not long enough. The time you went to the bathroom you only had 15 minutes to see the city and get something to eat.

This is the tour my husband and I were most looking forward to during our trip to New Zealand and we left feeling underwhelmed, mislead, and cheated out of our money. We booked this tour assuming the sheep farm would be the principal attraction, since it's highlighted as being the main event in photos and prose. Our tour tickets (given out upon arrival to the excursion) even said "Sheep Farm Tour" to distinguish us from the other Canterbury Leisure Tours groups. This tour was 7+ hours. We spent nearly 45 minutes at a sheep farm and another 15 just standing outside waiting for our bus driver to return. 10:25-3:40 was spent sitting on a mini-bus. We drove all the way out to Christchurch and back for a "city tour" (a commentary which consisted of pointing out administrative buildings, food courts, and retail spaces.) We had over an hour of free time for us to buy our own lunches. For some reason we traveled with people from a totally different Canterbury Leisure Tours group, who then split off from us at a different point during the day. We had to miss the only scenic photo stop in the whole driving tour on account of "running late" from lunch. The worst part was that the sheep farm was only 5 minutes from our original departure point, meaning we wasted over 5 hours driving and doing a city tour we imagined would be simple commentary en route to the sheep farm. The sheep farm (Coombe Farm) was lovely, and the owners and their family are delightful. We wish we could've had more time with them. Instead, we got an incredibly rushed shearing demo where we were packed so tightly we couldn't even get photos without muscling past people. There was no opportunity to partake in the shearing, despite being advertised otherwise. We would've so much rather independently visited Coombe Farm than to have paid nearly $200 to sit on a bus and waste our only day in Akaroa.

My wife and Zi liked the small van experience. Our tour quide did a great job of filling us in all the local aspects of the tour. Enjoyed seeing Christchurch, gardens, and lovely lunch. The highlight was the visit to the sheep shearing ranch. The gardens were so beautiful and the tea Was a welcomed treat. So glade we added this extra stop.

This has been a tiring road trip from Akaroa : many kilometers on a narrow and winding road at high speed in an uncomfortable van (no space for the legs). What was the point of doing all those kms to stay 3/4h in Christchurch town centre with only one short stop to admire the viewpoint ? The only interesting part was the sheep shearing and tea-time at the farm.

We recommend this tour, we are glad we did this instead of getting the tour in our cruise ship.. thanks Janet for a wonferful expérience.. akaroa is a nice little town. Christchurch, not so much, since they are still recovering from the earthquake, but when we went to the museum, it’s super nice, and free,, we enjoyed the Antarctic display.. this is a very organized tour, I read the other reviews but this tour seemed to exceed my expectations.. esp the sheep shearing experience.. we loved the sheep dog Tom.. thanks to the family of hugh and Catherine for your hospitality in your home( sheep farm) they prepared us tea and scones and their home is very lovely.. the scones are delicious.. sheep shearing experience is something I have not done in my life so this is one of the highlights of our New Zealand tour

The best part of this tour was the sheep farm. The people who run the farm are lovely, and gave us an excellent overview of the what it takes to run a sheep farm. As well, the tea and scones were delicious and the owners were extremely hospitable and engaging. They deserve a 5/5. There was some disorganization at the outset as a driver did not show up which left our driver handling it all. He was excellent (Dennis) and gave us a great deal of information as we drove to Christchurch. We then switched vans and had limited time at the museum before being dropped off for a lunch break. Janet was our driver for the afternoon and she also had a lot of information to share. She did a very good job but was compromised by the van she had to drive. The van that we were in for the afternoon was much too cramped for the number of people and any many of the clients were uncomfortable which should never have occurred. Given the narrowness of the seats, there should have been fewer people and another van added. It is not ok to fill the van to capacity when the leg room is cramped and the road is very winding. Two people had some car sickness which may not have occurred if they had more room. Everyone should be warned in advance of the type of road. It is very manageable if people have room and a window.

A good tour overall. Akaroa was a bit farther from Christchurch than expected. But the Akaroa sheep farm experience was not to be missed. The farmer and his wife were so pleasant and inviting. We felt like we could be great friends if we lived there. We much more enjoyed the "country" driving through the beautiful green hills, than the city.

The visit to the sheep farm at the very end of this excursion was exceptional. However the rest of the day was on a small bus, with very little space between the seats and we couldn’t understand the bus driver/tour guide at all. Not only was his accent too strong, but the microphone was too low over the noise on the bus. Very disappointed in this tour until the last hour at the sheep farm!

The three stars are for the sheep farm part of the tour which was great! Loved Hugh's family and animals and teh whole experience was wonderful.

Downside to this tour was it was raining pretty much for the whole time we were in the small bus. The inside was totally fogged up such that we couldn't see anything for the drive to Christchurch. The wet tire noise inside the bus combined with a not-very-adaptable driver meant he pretty much drove silently while we wiped the inside windows to get a peek at the scenery.

Commentary by the driver on the way to Christchurch was useless thanks to his flat, boring delivery and a very poor PA system which wasn't loud enough. The quick tour around Christchurch was fascinating. Afterwards, we were dropped in the city for a short comfort break but, sadly, the driver didn't mention that we were right next to the Christchurch museum where there were excellent toilets! Luckily we found the museum and had a bit of time to look around the exhibits which were excellent. The trip back was in a minibus with a different driver. We found his driving style to be reckless and eventually one of our fellow passengers asked him to slow down. The visit to the sheep farm was brilliant - a real highlight as the farmer was really engaging and enthusiastic. The cream tea served by his wife was very good.

We really enjoyed the sheep farm tour and shearing demonstration, and would highly recommend that part of the excursion. We enjoyed petting the sheep and seeing the sheepdog round them up. The sheep farmer and his wife were very hospitable. Our bus driver also gave us a tour of Banks Peninsula and the city of Christchurch. The history of this area was very interesting, but unfortunately our driver inserted a lot of politics into his commentary promoting socialism, bashing Trump and making fun of Trump supporters. He joked about how he knew he was probably crossing a line by getting into politics, but for some reason he kept it up all the way to the end of the trip. This behavior fell short of my expectations of a professional tour guide. There were a lot of people on his bus from the U.S., so I was disappointed he was not more respectful. Had he kept his opinions to himself, I would have given a 5 star rating to this excursion.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip with our guide. He was very knowledgeable and funny. We got a great overview of Banks Peninsula and a good visit in Christchurch City. The Sheep Farm Tour was good, but we had done one previously and didn't enjoy this one quite as much.