Why Choose Travelling Light Photography Tours?

• We specialise in creating private small group photography tours. Our tailor-made small group photo tours are created with you in mind
• As a discerning traveller and photographer, who enjoys the luxury of having your own professional photographer and tour guide, you will experience New Zealand at your own pace and only with the other guests in your party
• Unlike other impersonal coach and mini bus tours where you have to travel with others, with Travelling Light Photography you will enjoy a personal and private tour experience created just for you. This includes travel in a spacious, comfortable and luxurious 4WD vehicle
• Transportation, activities, accommodation, routes and itineraries are all meticulously planned in consultation with you to ensure that you get to see as much of New Zealand as possible, in the time you have available - while keeping travelling distances at a comfortable level

• As owner operators, we pride ourselves on taking care of and providing a personal service to our photography tour and accommodation guests. Being keen travellers ourselves, we understand the importance of making you feel at home in our country while you are away from yours
• You will be guaranteed a personal and attentive service from Marcus as we only ever have a maximum of 4 passengers on any tour. If you are travelling alone that is fine too; we often create bespoke tours for solo travellers
• Our aim is for you to return home refreshed and with happy memories of your time in New Zealand or beyond - and with some stunning photographic images to record your travels
• We look forward to welcoming you to and showing you around New Zealand - and to meeting you soon.

• Tailor-make your own private tour and create a very personal New Zealand travel and photographic tour experience when you travel with Travelling Light Photography
• Experience more than just photography. If you want to see the best of New Zealand's sights - and take in other experiences to make your trip here even more fulfilling - choose us. This is where we excel
• Go where you want to go, travel when you want to and see what you want to see
• Choose the level of accommodation that you prefer to stay in. Anything is possible. From a minimum of 3 star lodgings, to a stay in some of New Zealand's finest luxury lodges
• A totally flexible approach where - rather than offering standard tours on set dates - we create a tour schedule with your needs and budget in mind
• You can choose one or combine any of our suggested itineraries - or have a tailor-made personal tour created just for you

• Marcus and Wendy are widely travelled and both have worked, travelled and photographed many countries around the world
• Our experience as travellers helps us to understand your needs when you are travelling - we know what we look for when we're travelling -and we do our best to provide that for you

• Marcus is a Professional Photographer, guide and world traveller. He will work with you to create a special tour experience. By the time you arrive, you will feel like you know him well
• Marcus enjoys travelling with his clients and making sure that they have a great time while on tour and in NZ
• As well as being a Professional Photographer, Marcus also has experience in mountaineering, off-the-beaten track travel, expedition planning and VIP security - and has a broad range of experience on which to draw
• A well-planned trip with expert and smooth-running logistics is our aim. Having an expert local guide travelling with you is invaluable - you can relax whilst all arrangements are made for and - as a bonus - we do the driving so you don't have to. You are then free to enjoy the scenery, take photos and revel in the sights.
• Marcus' first language is English. He also speaks basic French (tres lentement!). Wendy speaks some German and French.
• Your safety is our business and we take it very seriously when you travel with us. We travel largely on sealed public highway. In New Zealand there are thousands of kilometers of unsealed roads and tracks. With over 20 years of off-road driving experience, Marcus is well qualified to safely negotiate these. Marcus also holds a Comprehensive First Aid qualification from the Red Cross.
• Fortunately New Zealand is a very safe place to travel. Of course, we are prepared in case of the unexpected and always carry cell phones, a SPOT emergency satellite messenger unit and First Aid Kit. We supplement this according to the needs of the particular trip and the time of year. Wendy has full details of the routes, accommodation and other contact details, so there are always two pairs of eyes watching over your trip and back up, back at base, should it be necessary
• We provide our clients with a pre-paid NZ cell phone whilst they are travelling with us: this allows them to contact Marcus, Wendy (or the Police/Emergency Services) at any time if - for example - they get lost whilst exploring a new city. We have found clients very appreciative of the added security and peace of mind that this gives them.
• We carry the latest Garmin GPS equipment for both on road and off road navigation.
• NZ is an earthquake zone. Cellphone network coverage can be poor in rural areas and can also be severely compromised by earthquake damage. We carry SPOT Satellite Messenger System units, which can send an "I'm OK" email back to base in an emergency. In the event of an emergency, SPOT will alert the emergency services and bring them to our aid if we need help, even when there is no cellphone coverage.

• Our tours are carbon neutral. We are members of Greenprint, a Wellington based organization that advises us on the reduction and offset of our carbon emissions. Greenprint runs the Treemission Trust, which receives payments from us to offset any carbon emissions that cannot realistically be reduced further. These payments are used to fund community-based activity that will achieve bio-diversity and native regeneration in the Wellington Region
• Our tour vehicle is the only Toyota Alphard Hybrid minivan in New Zealand. Classified as a ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle), the Alphard Hybrid combines a high-efficiency petrol engine with two electric motors (one for the front wheels and one for the rear wheels) controlled by highly sophisticated electronics that control not only the engines but the braking system as well so that much of the energy normally wasted as heat by braking is recovered and used to recharge the battery. Travelling with us you can be confident that you have made an environmentally responsible choice whilst opting for a comfortable, fully airconditioned and spacious ride, with onboard 100V AC power available for charging camera batteries etc.
• Our Olive Grove & Accommodation, Akrotiri Estate, uses only electricity supplied by Meridian Energy, NZ's only certified Carbon Neutral provider
• We have over 1,500 trees planted on Akrotiri Estate, so we continue to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem
• Akrotiri Estate uses rainwater purified by filtration and UV on site. This means that we do not contribute to any carbon emissions or other pollution caused by commercial water collection and treatment
• Akrotiri Estate is heated using modern heat pumps which are the most energy-efficient solution available and do not reduce air quality in the local environment
• We recycle our waste wherever possible and ensure that the products we buy are as sustainable as practicable.
• When planning your trip, wherever possible, we use partners who share our commitment to environmental responsibility.

Wendy looks after all of our tour logistics and is on hand to create an itinerary for non-photographer partners or friends who prefer to occupy themselves in a different way (e.g. wine tasting, art trails, bush walking, body treatments, tennis, golf, shopping etc.). When Marcus is away on a tour, Wendy has full details of the routes, accommodation and other contact details, so there are always two pairs of eyes watching over your trip and back up, back at base, should it be necessary.