About New Zealand Water Journeys
Showcasing New Zealand’s varied ecosystems using waterways and culture, to help preserve them for the future
Our mission is to help you experience and create memories of the natural world by living the stories of ancestors who have gone before us so we can protect, preserve and enhance the treasures that have been gifted to us.
Meet our experienced guides
Alex Malcolm
I grew up in Vanuatu but am originally from New Zealand. Ask me where that is and what it was like when you meet me. I started my career in tourism in 2010 as a Dive Master in Vanuatu and have worked on live aboard dive boats in the coral sea and Ningaloo reef of Australia and Fiordland, New Zealand. I have worked as a hiking guide throughout New Zealand and parts of Australia and I have run multiple programs in South East Asia.
I studied Adventure Tourism Management in Queenstown (the adventure capital of New Zealand/world) in 2012 and since then, worked for three years guiding two-week tours around the North and South Islands.
Find me on Instagram: @alexthemissionqueen
Ross Hore (Horey)
I grew up in the South Island of New Zealand with a father whose idea of a good holiday was hunting, fishing and Scuba diving or pitching a tent beside the river, swimming and having a BBQ. Simple and wholesome which has left me with a passion for eco systems, especially waterways and their interconnectedness to literally everything.
After completing a diploma in outdoor recreation in Nov 2000 I migrated down to Milford Sound, Fiordland where I did my first guided sea kayak trip and I was hooked on the place. I then spent the next 15 years managing and working in kayak businesses in Abel Tasman and Milford Sound New Zealand and I also worked in Norway, Turkey, Slovenia and Australia. Recreationally I have a background in climbing and mountaineering in the Mt Cook national park, Arthurs Pass and in and around Fiordland. I was also contracted to the Outward Bound New Zealand School for three years as an instructor specializing in personal development.
Find me on Instagram: @rosshore18
Why travel with New Zealand Water Journeys?
Quality verses quantity.
Our trips are designed for small groups. Five couples with the ability to have one single traveler or on request an extra person accompanying a couple and sharing accommodation. Some of our preferred accommodation providers only have six rooms.
The tours we offer have been specifically designed by the owner/guides and high quality operators around the South Island. The independent traveler does not have access to some trips we have developed.
The aim of our journeys are to escape the crowds.
Escaping crowds means leaving early or dictating to operators when we want to go and how we want to do it. We have a passion and the experience to know what a great trip should look like and that’s what we have created.
Our trip has been designed to spend as little time in wheeled transportation as possible. No back tracking to cover the 1600 miles or 2500km journey from end to end of the beautiful South Island.
The beautiful parts of the South Island we do not cover on this trip are all very accessible by vehicle. If you decide to stay on in New Zealand or come back at a later stage, we can help you out with some of the details at the end or during your trip with us.
Our trips numbers are small. A maximum of 11 clients and 2 guides. Any more and we would literally not be able to provide you with the experience we want to give you.
Safety first
Horey has worked on safety audits within the Adventure Tourism industry which has been complemented by the safety conscious standards of Outward Bound New Zealand which endeavors to be a workplace leader in NZ for Outdoor safety standards.
Horey is also a full member of The New Zealand Outdoor Instructors Association (NZOIA).
All employees for NZWJ will have comprehensive first aid certification and all operators contracted by NZWJ will have the applicable licenses to operate to their specific industry standards of which New Zealand are world leaders in.
Responsibility & Sustainability
New Zealand Water journeys is a small owner operated business. We not only care about the environments we operate in, but are also passionate about protecting them.
It is the great David Attenborough who said, No one will protect what they don’t care about and no one will care about what they have never experienced’. At New Zealand Water journeys we want you to have a taste of paradise on planet earth from our little corner. We believe that by you putting in some effort and experiencing a sprinkling of the amazing waterways we have to offer in this country you will walk away thinking that not only is paradise amazing but worth protecting as well.
Learn about the New Zealand Tiaki Promise (Care for New Zealand)
'Locals Only' Knowledge
The areas we will take you to, we know well.
We have lived and learnt in them, adventured in them, reflected in them and laughed in them. We hope that your journey with us has started by surfing through this website and we hope it ends in Queenstown, New Zealand. We also hope that we have created a journey that will exceed your expectations and leaves you with a passion and a desire to experience new places to care about.
How it all began
Alex and Horey the co-founders of New Zealand Water Journeys, met in Milford Sound New Zealand in 2011 (at the base of a waterfall of all places).
Alex worked on the tour boats and Horey was manager of a sea kayak company. Alex left to work on a dive charter boat in a different Fiord and later to guide land based tours around the South and North Island of New Zealand. An opportunity then presented itself for Horey to work at Outward Bound New Zealand, one of the most esteemed outdoor schools in the country. From there we made the shift to the Marlborough Sounds/Abel Tasman region at the other end of the island…
Te Wai Pounamu Journey
— teh : wai po : na : mu journey
On the Te Wai Pounamu Journey you will experience an epic 13 day journey through some of New Zealand’s premium waterways.
The waters of greenstone are what we will be following on this journey. Te Wai translates to The Water and Pounamu is the Indigenous Maori word for greenstone or jade. Originally used for tools, weapons and jewelry, pounamu is steeped with tradition, culture and spirituality and is the old name for the South Island of New Zealand.
New Zealand Water Journeys caters to all experience levels, ages, and ethnicities — speak to one of our friendly management team
NZWJ promotes excellence in outdoor instruction
