The house that friends and visitors are staggered that no one has bought!

 

Reality is not one potential buyer has stepped into the property let alone visited it.

 

We invited many but only 2 agents took up the challenge of selling it. Once was and still is a very close friend and he owns up to the fact for him its in the too hard basket. He specialises in East Auckland properties and ours almost 5 hours away is just not his cup of tea.

 

The second agent had stayed at the property and was blown away by it and asked us if he could have a 3 month exclusive. We told him after some slick words and his brimming confidence we would give him 3 months. Not an exclusive but we agreed for the 3 months it would not be marketed anywhere else.

 

This agent tried but again I suspect it just became the too hard basket plus change in immigration rules did not help. I think it was right to give him the 3 months.

 

Why do we want to sell beach front luxury that has a business with 6 figures attached. Ideally we don’t want to sell but we don’t have the time to run that business. And we have big plans to further grow our tour business. Plans that are starting to take shape and bring rewards.

 

So one of our many real estate agents friends on facebook and other places come visit us beach front Ninety Mile Beach New Zealand. See what our property offers. While here take the day trip on the Ninety Mile Beach bus or one of our 4wd tours. Be blown away by the far north of New Zealand. Then go find us a buyer.

 

You find a buyer at a price we agree and I will give you or your buyer a free 7 day South Island tour with Peter and Xiaoli Tours at a time and date we mutually agree. I will drive you. I will guide you and I will pay your accommodation (4 star). All you need do is sell my property Ninety Mile Beach.

 

http://www.peterandxiaoli.com

We take in the orphaned

 

Spring it seems has come exceptionally early this year given June is only the first month of winter in New Zealand.

 

Each year we help out Bird Rescue in Auckland by taking in orphaned wild ducklings, pigeons, and whatever they think we can cope with. Last year I believe we raised about 300 ducklings which were slowly released into the wild.

 

Well as I said spring has come early and Thursday Bird Rescue phoned and said can we help. Every 1 we take from them means 1 more they can take in. Without us they used to rescue about 700 per year. With our help they can now rescue over 1,000 a year. And I suspect this year pressure will be put on us to take more.

 

Yes it costs and one could say but they are just a common wild duck. The cost doesn’t matter and I don’t care common or not, they deserve a chance in this world since their mothers went to the effort of sitting on eggs for about 28 days to bring them into this life.

 

One would hope by us bringing them 350km north to the very far north of New Zealand they also have a better chance of a long healthy life away from city traffic etc.

 

So yesterday we bring home 23 beautiful ducklings. The start of what is obviously going to be a long winter/spring and summer of many orphaned ducklings wandering our farm until they are ready to fly off.

 

Pigeons I hope are further away and waiting to warmer weather to have their off spring.

http://www.peterandxiaoli.com

Planning tour routes

 

People think being a tour guide is a job that they would love. I guess they believe it easy. How wrong they are.

 

I have just spent a whole day planning a 9 day tour to meet a prospective client brief. I finished that then the brief changed. Partly my doing as I told them time was far too tight to do what they wanted given they wanted to travel at a slow pace. So amended and then emailed off to our overseas contact. A full days work and chances are we may not win the business.

 

Another enquiry this week for a 15 day tour but given the looseness of the brief I queried some points and in the end declined to quote. I think that surprised them but given how the brief kept changing then they added a component it all just became to hard. My guess is the brief went to multiple people and they were playing one off against another.

 

People just don’t see this side of a tour guides life. Some guides work for consultants and are doing routes they are presented with. For us we do work for some consultants but we prepare the tour agendas and sell them at a wholesale rate. They then put their margin on and sell to the prospective customer.

 

This off season we have done a huge marketing push into 4 different countries and have met with some success. We targeted countries we know the cultures of and know we get good reports following our tours. We have had help from Northland Tourism and Tourism New Zealand supplying the contacts. Very happy with the level of support they have given us and continue to do.

 

Chances are now we need visit some of the contacts that have given positive replies. We know they like our product so now we need convert talking/emails into business. And sitting here in the far north of New Zealand will not achieve that.

 

We have a 5 year plan and of attack to grow our business to the next stage. We know what we need achieve and now set out to do that. Sitting here on waiting on business to come to us will just keep us in cruise mode.

 

We are a tour company. We love our product we need sell. New Zealand. We know our product well.

http://www.peterandxiaoli.com

A fishing tour – Should we or should we not plan one

 

Its no secret, Xiaoli and I are both passionate about fishing. Not sure which of us is more addicted to it.

 

We have been asked many times to take people fishing. In days by gone I used to often if I wasn’t busy but in more recent years I went off taking people fishing. Its my hobby and I am just not into having to bait peoples hooks then take the fish off when we catch them. So when I bought my current boat I bought it just for me and Xiaoli. And I love it. Don’t get to take it out often but when I do I thoroughly enjoy drifting out there on the ocean and pulling up the Snapper when they bite.

 

Today we borrowed a friends boat. Smaller than ours and therefore easier to launch and retrieve. A great fishing boat and given its winter we did okay today. But the reason I borrowed it was so we could discuss whether in fact we design a fishing tour mixed with New Zealand’s beautiful scenery. Tow a boat behind the 12 seater and not necessarily every day, but take some of the guests out to catch the dinner.

 

Just target the in shore fish or even the lake fish. But just add a bit of kiwi adventure to the tour.

 

The friends boat today would allow the concept to happen. And its light and easy to tow which in turn makes it easy to launch and retrieve.

 

But imagine a tour where we have a bit of that kiwi magic. Maybe a bbq on the beach afterwards. A completely different concept to a tour and as far as I know, nobody offers.

 

http://www.peterandxiaoli.com

 

Todays 4wd tour up Ninety Mile Beach to Cape Reinga

 

Four guests from Shenzhen China. Lovely people. The day was beautiful albeit a little chilly when exposed to the westerly wind.

 

We took the beach route from our base exiting at Hukatere through the forest. The tide was still well in making the sand extremely soft and hard going for the 4wd. A couple of seals resting up at the high tide mark.

 

The forest route we got up and close to some of the famed wild horses of the far north before heading on to Rarawa Beach on the East coast and the beautiful silica sand. Tied was out far enough for us to get the 4wd on to the beach. No wind so absolutely gorgeous.

 

On to Cape Reinga and the light house. An hour stop why the 4 took many photos. Li Li (the dog) and I stayed with the 4wd.

 

No Tapotupotu Bay this tour as the guests wanted to get to Ninety Mile Beach. No sand dune stop but a good flow of water through Te Paki Stream making for a great experience for my tour group.

 

Down the beach to meet with my lovely Xiaoli who was fishing the beach with another of the tour party that had opted for beach fishing over the Cape Reinga tour. They had nothing to show for their endeavors so back down the beach to our base at Waipapakauri Ramp.

 

Another tour over. Our group have headed back to Auckland having had 2 nights up here. For us we are locked away at the farm in front of the heaters. Even our dogs must be feeling the chill as they enjoy the heater.

http://www.peterandxiaoli.com

Another tour over

 

Yesterday over 10 hours driving with a number of stops as we headed back from Ninety Mile Beach to Auckland. A very happy group of 11 sitting behind me. I love happy tourists.

 

They had feasted on fish we donated them for their dinner. They loved the Harrison Beach Bus Tour.

 

On the way I gave them a history lesson. Sometimes I find it surprising how few actually know where the first capital of New Zealand was. But all 11 do now. Some a bit surprised but now know.

 

Stopped at the Whangarei Falls on the way back. We couldn’t stop there as intended on the way up to the beach. A little issue with rain and heavy flooding. Fortunately that rain abated for the rest of their tour.

 

Today first chore was help Xiaoli find the 17 missing geese not seen since Friday. It took us quite a bit of time. Phone calls to neighbours but most are now back in their pen. Not sure what we do over coming days but that is the first time in 9 months they hadn’t come back at the end of the day.

 

Now its evening and I must follow up on marketing efforts to the Asian countries I have been targeting. The chance of a Singapore and Malaysia trip on the cards I coming months. I guess I may need cure my fear of long haul flying because if I go that far then I need to go see family in Guangxi

http://www.peterandxiaoli.com

People miss me when I don’t blog.

 

Its only over a week since I blogged but apparently readers miss me. That puts the guilt trip on me to write again.

The reason for no blog is purely work pressure and feeling a little exhausted.

Earlier in the week has been full on costing tour packages following contact by several overseas companies interested in being an agent for Peter and Xiaoli Tours. So all my marketing efforts the quiet season may be paying off. But now progressed past getting the name out there to requests for tour agendas and estimated pricing. Looking highly likely a trip to Singapore and Malaysia I on the agenda to cement the business which means also head up to China for meetings there plus catch up on Xiaoli’s family. Not sure I look forward to long haul travel but I may not be able to avoid it.

Also on the positive currently day 2 of a 3 day tour with 11 lovely people. An easy tour for a guide as being a Northland tour I get day 2 off why they go on the beach bus. So fired the boat up and down the harbour we went. Not an overly successful days fishing but enough to bring back so we could donate some to our guests for their dinner and enough for my dinner.

Yesterday’s drive up with the 11 I broke a windscreen. Stone from a passing car. The second broken windscreen in a fortnight. The insurance company not going to be happy.  But 70,000 o 80,000 km a year and one must accept the odd windscreen break, I guess. Haha

Tomorrow back to Auckland with the group then the 5 hour drive home again. The body especially after being out on the boat and pulling that anchor up a few times is starting to feel a bit tired and battered. One of these days I guess I will admit I am aging but not ready to do that yet.

I forgot we saw a double rainbow today when out with the 2 boats. In both cases the total rainbow arch. The cell camera obviously didn’t capture it the way I would have liked. And even worse, we couldn’t find the pot of gold at the end.

http://www.peterandxiaoli.com