Our Story

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FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Haka Tours was born over a decade ago from the dreams of one man who wanted to reimagine how small group adventure tours were run. From the very first tour in June 2007 until now there’s been no looking back, and we’re incredibly proud to be regarded as New Zealand’s leading small group adventure operator.

As we’ve grown, we’ve stayed true to our core values which remain the key to our success. Ultimately, when you travel with Haka, you’re not travelling with a multinational corporate or a big international brand, but with an authentic, locally-operated business that puts you, the customer, at the centre of everything we do.

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ADVENTURE AND SNOW

With a natural playground on our doorstep, and to satisfy our customers’ thirst for adventure as much as our own, we added a range of dedicated Snow Tours in 2008 to become a year-round adventure tour operator. Now, with countless miles under our belts and knowing New Zealand like the back of our hands, we’re true experts at arranging Private Tours for families and groups looking for a fully bespoke experience, whether it be self-drive or accompanied by a driver-guide.

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DEVELOPING TRUE NEW ZEALAND EXPERTS

Becoming an expert tour guide is not something that happens overnight, and a huge upside to operating tours year-round is that many of our Tour Managers are able to make guiding a fulltime job. Many have stayed with us for years, honing their knowledge and experience. Haka Tours is a family, and we’re passionate about delivering the very best tours – it’s what we live for!

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OUR OWN NETWORK OF HAKA LODGES

After a full day exploring, we know where you lay your head for the night is super important, which is why we opened up our very own network of upmarket hostels beginning with Christchurch in 2011.

With Haka Lodges in Auckland, the Bay of Islands, Taupo and Queenstown, having our own accommodation ensures we’re able to provide a high standard of accommodation to all our Haka Tours guests. We believe our dorm rooms have the world's best bunk beds and for those who request an up-grade, all properties have private rooms.

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THEN CAME HAKA EDUCATIONAL TOURS

Educational tourism has always been part and parcel of our product range since our first international school travelled with us in 2009. In 2015, we decided to really focus on this market and operate cultural, sporting and education-based tours for schools and universities within New Zealand and globally. We are proud to say we have expanded into over 10 countries with our Haka Educational Tours brand, and launched our dedicated Haka Sports Tours brand.

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A NEW ZEALAND SUCCESS STORY!

More than a decade on we couldn't be prouder of how far we’ve come. As a true New Zealand grass-roots start-up built on just a few thousand dollars seed capital, our aspiration to be a leading tourism operator has definitely become a dream reality. We are stoked to have won a number of awards through the years with most recent accolades being the 2019 Adventure Tourism Awards’ inaugural ‘Cultural Tourism’ award for New Zealand; names as one of the 2019 Deloitte Fast 50 and to be the Supreme & Category winnter at the 2019 ExportNZ Awards.