Creating immersive experiences right here in our backyard
Wicked Wanders is a boutique tour operator specialising in providing personalised history and tasting tours of the greater Tauranga area.
Tours
Wicked Wanders Trips & Tours
Russell Christian is the owner/operator of Wicked Wanders Tours. He has lived and worked in Tauranga for ten years and is passionate about the history and culture New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty region has to offer.
About Wicked Wanders
“Wicked” A New Zealand colloquialism meaning ‘Amazing’, ‘Fantastic’ or ‘Astonishing’.
Established in 2015 Wicked Wanders is a boutique tour operator specialising in providing personalised history and tasting tours of the greater Tauranga area. We are a Silver rated Qualmark sustainable tourism awarded business, which is an assurance from Tourism New Zealand that we offer quality tours and deliver a quality visitor experience.
Experience the Bay of Plenty and surrounding areas with informative tours that take in a little bit of everything the Bay of Plenty has to offer. Choose from a customised day trip, a visit to the Hobbiton movie set, the steaming geysers and mud pools of Rotorua or a walk through some of our stunning native forests. Wicked Wanders can recommend and tailor an experience to met your interests, expectations, level of fitness or itinerary. If you are joining us from a cruise ship we guarantee we will have you back in plenty of time to board your ship.
Reviews
Our Happy Customers
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I took a private tour of the Karangahake Gorge, Minden outlook and the Owhanga Falls, with lunch and a little train ride. I really got the feeling that there is... read more not much to do or see in this area - and that the guide was hard-pressed to take up the day showing us around. Scenery was pleasant, it was a nice sunny day, lunch was unremarkable; food average, service terrible. (I can't even remember where we ate; that's how blah it was). Owner/guide was engaging and fun - so it wasn't a bad experience. Just not over-the-top exciting, or something that I can recommend as a "must do"!
February 6, 2016This was a veryinformative tour. Our guide was wonderful! We found out a lot about Tauranga and it's surroundings!
October 26, 2022our group of ten people toured the area of tauranga when we stopped there on a recent cruise. the tour guide, carol, gave clear instructions where to meet, and... read more she helped craft a tour that catered to our wishes. we were comfortable in her clean van as we cruised past beaches, mounts, lakes, and kiwifruit orchards. carol, in a familiar and pleasant way, offered informative commentary along the way. a picnic (on our own dime) was enjoyed at the government gardens. the things that we especially enjoyed on the tour were the stops at whackarewarewa in the geothermal area of rotorua where we saw a living maori village and were entertained by the maori people with song and dance, and the visit to the kiwifruit orchard where we learned about how the fruit is grown and had the opportunity to sample products featuring the fruit. carol was an excellent host...well-prepared, helpful, informative, but never intrusive. the price of the tour was significantly lower than the prices we paid for other private tours in new zealand, yet the quality remained comparable! well done wicked wanders!
November 17, 2017 -
This trip is well worth it, especially if you want to quickly learn more about the history of NZ. We've tried a few other cultural experiences here but they felt... read more impersonal and weren't as fun or knowledgeable.
Since it's a small tour we got to ask a bunch of questions, and Russ knows his stuff. He's also great to have a laugh with & I recommend asking for him when you book.
We went with a family group including parents, grandparents, Aunts etc. but it'd be perfect whoever you're with.
Thanks for the great day!
December 27, 2022We really enjoyed our 4-hour tour. Interesting and fun. The town is very near the port so you can walk in or take the ship shuttle. We were met at... read more the port gates by Russell and on our return we walked along the beach road which is very close to the ship. It was lovely.
March 3, 2020Our tour guide, Russell, picked us up at the dock as soon as we arrived. We drove to Hobbiton and had a delightful time visiting the movie set followed... read more by a delicious lunch. On our return, we stopped and walked trails through a beautiful park with waterfalls. Russell was very knowledgeable and able to answer all our questions and give us details. It was a grand day on our trip and all our expectations about seeing the beautiful New Zealand countryside were met.
January 17, 2023 -
We were looking for an affordable excursion getting off the cruise ship. We found Wicked Wanders which offered a four hour tour provided by Carol and was very affordable.... read more We went to the Manuka Honey attraction, a kiwi orchard, stopped at a local place and got take out fish and chips. Carol took us to a scenic place overlooking the water for us to eat our lunch. These are just the highlights, there were other places we went as well. Carol is a wonderful tour guide, extremely knowledgeable about her country. When the time for our tour was up and there were still other things we wanted to see, she asked if we wanted to continue on or go back to the ship. We ended up with a 5+ hour tour which was absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend this tour.
March 9, 2016When cruising it is easy to book excursions directly from the ship. We have found these can be very expensive and very impersonal. You have 50 on the coach and... read more time taken to get on and off can be wasteful. On our recent trip to NZ and Oz we compared the ship's prices with independent operators. They were often almost half price and everyone worked out really well.
This was our first excursion from our cruise ship and we were not sure what to expect. It was an excellent tour and Carol was a great driver and guide. She was very informative throughout. We visited a small town and the countryside that really gave us a view of NZ life. We visited a Honey farm, Kiwi farm and Avocado farm. She was very knowledgeable about all the growing processes. We tasted honey but were advised not to buy any honey products as banned from Western Australia and we were disembarking in Perth. We were introduced to Golden and Green Kiwis and she bought us kiwi ice creams. Finally she provided bread to enable us to taste the oil at the avocado farm. It was a most enjoyable trip which gave us our first introduction to New Zealand.
March 24, 2019Carol from Wicked Wanda Tours was waiting for us as stated just outside the gates to the port. She gave us a cheerful welcome and said as soon as we... read more had everybody we would be on our way. Once every body arrived we set of to see the sights of Tauranga accompanied with her expert commentary. She said she liked showing and telling people a little bit of the area she calls home and I might add she was very good at it. At our visit to the Bee Farm she told us all about how a working hive operates and the jobs of all the different types of bees. Her wealth of knowledge was unbelievable. All to quickly we had seen all that was planned and she stopped at the port side shopping centre as well as at the port so that those that wanted to could stroll around shopping and still get back in time for "All Aboard".
A job well done.
Thank You Carol All 4 of us in our group had a good time and I never heard any unhappy words from the other travellers.
March 18, 2019 -
Cruising New Zealand on Celebrity and booked the trip with Wicked Wanders on line before we arrived - though you could book on the day.. Meet and greet well organised... read more in Tauranga and an excellent tour led by Carol In a small van. Really enjoyed the visit to the Manuka Honey factory and the kiwi farm - great guides in both. Rain held off and saw a good range of the area round Tauranga - felt we learnt a lot. Really good tour and very fairly priced.
February 20, 2017Had a fantastic tour in Tauranga, Russell was superb on the tour and I would recommend this tour over the excursions offered by the cruise lines. He takes you to... read more genuinely interesting places where you have time to absorb the stunning scenery.
December 28, 2022We booked our trip through Viator, but you may be able to book w/ Wicked Wanders directly online. Wonderful tour around Tauranga with stops for local Tea & Kiwi... read more Fruit tasting. Russell is an excellent guide and I'd highly recommend booking w/ him early.
November 22, 2022 -
The sites are lovely. Russell knew his history. Disappointed about the tea stop being closed but the elms were fascinating
December 28, 2022Russell responded quickly after purchasing our tickets. Meeting off wharf was easy. Vehicle is well suited to the tour.
Best of all it was a great informative tour - highlight... read more was the visit to kiwi fruit farm.
Lovely day - definitely recommend this tour run by enthusiastic owner operator.
March 8, 2020Our experience with Wicked wanders was EXCELLENT. Carol was an excellent guide showing us Tauranga. great value for money and we saw so much, Had a great... read more lunch at a farm on top of the hills over looking Tauranga. Fish and chips lunch was cheap and was ordered before so we just needed to drive there and pick it up. Well organised. Wood train blocked our way but Carol knew another way to get through. Very informative lovely person and great driver. Great overall. Was a great adventure in Tauranga.
January 16, 2016 -
Russell has a van that holds 6 people. It is a perfect size for a four hour tour. The atmosphere was relaxed, Russell was knowledgeable and friendly; he provided very... read more interesting information as we drove through beautiful countryside. The tour was well paced and thoroughly enjoyable.
February 29, 2020Had a tour with Russell and it was fantastic!
Saw lots of interesting stuff, learned plenty of cool facts about what we were seeing, and had a great... read more time all round! Very knowledgeable and helpful, great sense of humour and very approachable!
Highly recommend these guys, cannot speak highly enough of their services!
December 28, 2022Our guide Russell was a local man who was at the pier to greet us. The tour showed us around the town of the "Mount", beaches, harbour, the adjoining... read more community of Tauranga, working port, shopping precinct. We then headed out from there to a honey producing company and samples the famous Manuka honey and other blends. Coffee break welcome. Then to a small farm seeing avocado trees laden with fruit (no sample sadly). We did though sample the oil from same. Following this we headed to another farm producing the famous Kiwi fruit and were told about the two main varieties (green and gold Kiwi fruits). Overall I enjoyed the tour and found Russell to be an engaging and helpful guide, but we (as older persons),found getting in and out of the mini bus a bit of a challenge. I enjoyed the visit to the greenhouse on the harbour, but would have liked to go inside the old missionary complex instead of looking from the street.
February 26, 2020 -
The Kiwi farm was fascinating and our Kiwi sample tastings along with Ripe NZ Avocados and NZ cooking oils dipped in bread were a treat. Russell was most interesting in... read more his history and culture of NZ along the way. We enjoyed perfect stops to embrace the views, ocean, rose garden and shady green ancient Monmouth Redoubt. Russell is a good driver and clearly embraces a keen knowledge for all questions.
November 29, 2022had a ball,Carol the driver operator had a idea of where we wanted to go but was very accommodating & suggested changes to the original ittinary that we had asked... read more for, her knowlage of the local area was excellent .can highly recommend this company to anyone visiting this area .
February 8, 2016We were on a cruise that unexpectedly visited Tauranga for 2 days. The fist day we did a hop on & hop off bus tour around Tauranga. The second... read more day we booked a tour with Russell who took us on sight seeing tour around the town and told us bit of history of the region - very interesting. We then headed out of town to Comvita Manuka Honey factory, then to a kiwi fruit farm & finally an avocado farm. Russell was an informative, welcoming & good humoured host - very enjoyable.
March 14, 2020 -
My wife and I have been lucky enough to do a tour with carol today around Tauranga this lady is fantastic her knowledge of the area and itinerary is great... read more we visited the honey farm and kiwi fruit farm and then had a great fish and chips lunch up on a hill overlooking the harbour that our ship was docked a fantastic day and I would highly recommend her if you come this way by cruise ship
January 19, 2017Very worthwhile tour for cruise passengers. Carol is very informative and friendly. Had a lovely time and still had time for a walk round.
February 13, 2019Four of us got off the cruise ship at Tauranga and started looking for a small van tour for several hours. We found Carol of Wicked Wanders right at the... read more wharf and signed up with two more women from our ship. What a wonderful, fun, informative time we had for the next four hours! Carol was fun and full of great information which made our tour special. We loved the fresh fish and chips she picked up and then drove us to the perfect picnic spot to enjoy. Be sure to check our Wicked Wanders when in Tauranga!!
February 27, 2016 -
Could not find a tour that suited us with the cruise line, so found Wicked Wanders online. really enjoyed the small group, the well thought out tour, the super tour... read more guide, Carol, and the Fush and Chups!!, and talk about service, Carol returned my Jacket to Australia after I left it on the bus
February 24, 2017We were very lucky to be the only ones on this trip that day, our guide was excellent new what he was talking about and answered any questions we had... read more also the van was very clean. Started with a tour of the city then made our way to a kiwi fruit farm was very interesting and lots of different foods to sample bought quite a few things, the honey farm was good has a nice little cafe also very interesting. The just a quick visit to a avocado farm were we sampled some amazing avocado oils yummy. All up a great day would recommend this tour.
March 8, 2020We were on a cruise ship and wanted a low key tour that didn't go too far or for too long. Wicked wanders tours was the perfect choice. Carol was... read more prompt, professional, and pleasant. Her pride of her lovely hometown was evident in the great information she provided along the way. She made several photo stops. The highlight for us were stops to see how manuka honey was made and how kiwis grew. Interesting...
We enjoyed seeing lovely tauranga with a local expert. Thanks, Carol.
March 25, 2019 -
Russell from Wicked Wanderers met our cruise ship on time for the 4hr scenic tour of Tauranga. Small group, very comfortable air conditioned van. Tour commentary was excellent & well... read more informed, Russell was very personable & helpful too. The trip needed to be adapted slightly due to poor weather to ensure we had a great time. Well done, Russell!!
January 6, 2023Small bus was lovely. Very informative and flexible. Enjoyed by all of us including the teenagers. Need ot be able to walk on uneven ground but we are not particularly... read more fit and were fine with the walking so it's not a big issue.
January 9, 2023What a great time. I was up from Christchurch at a conference in Tauranga with some time to kill and decided to do this tour. Russell was a great guide... read more and made the trip really enjoyable. The guides at Te Puia were great and I learnt a lot about the local geography and local culture. Highly recommended.
October 2, 2022