Grant Mowlem

"Grant was great although a bit of a mountain goat when it comes to the trails. He had some great stories and is a good cook. He was always looking out for our best interest, even when we gave him a hard time. "
-- Lynda Orzen Szeplakay (Oregon City, Oregon, United States) October 2011 Kauri

"Grant was great - very knowledgeable and obviously very keen on what he does. His enthusiasm was infectious."
-- Kimberly Wills (Balmain, New South Wales, Australia) April 2011 Kauri

"Grant is the best. Great sense of humor and sooo organized. I like that he had everything under control, completely unflappable. He was also flexible and accommodated our need to swim every time we saw a beautiful beach. Grant also went out of his way to help me - I had an ear problem on the last day of the trip and he took me to an urgent care clinic and came back to check on me and pick me up. Very Sweet. "
-- Jennifer Wray (Smyrna, Georgia, United States) February 2011 Kauri

"Best guide we had."
-- Rick Fingeroth (Newbury, New Hampshire, United States) December 2010 Kauri

"Very professional guide. He did everything to make the trip enjoyable. Extreme patience with the one slow-poke, high maintenance guy on the trip. I sure couldn't have done it!! Grant was a great cook! Always plenty to eat. Didn't think I'd gain wait on an active trip!! "
-- Sara Santoski (Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States) November 2010 Kauri

"My favorite parts were experiencing the hikes with our guides Grant and Lucas, and the other members of the trip. Grant was a terrific experienced leader. He told good stories along the way and in the evenings. He was always in control and made sure that things were the best they could be for us. He offered up fun and interesting alternatives to scheduled daily activities for those who wanted something different."
-- Dave Smith (Colorado Springs, CO, USA) January 2010 Kauri

"We enjoyed our time with Grant. For us, he was not just a tour guide but also an ambassador for NZ. He shared with us very interesting perspectives, aspects about NZ across a variety of areas including history/economy/geography etc. "
-- Amit Sarkar (East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA) December 2009 Kauri

"Grant was great! He knew so much about the North Island and the history and the culture. He had a great sense of humour! And he loved his job, that was totally obvious!"
-- Jolene Bergeson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) October 2009 Kauri

"Grant was terrific! He was very friendly, social, and ensured that we all enjoyed every moment of the trip! Honestly, the trip would have been nothing without Grant; he made it what it was. Grant was flexible with the schedule and only did the activities we wanted to do. And he was a great chef! I wish he could have stayed with us on the South Island trip, we were really sad to leave him. Our Rimu guides were amazing too, but ideally we could have all three! :-)"
-- Georgina Lean (San Juan Capistrano,California,United States) January 2009 Kauri

"Grant was very personable and approachable from the outset, and always keen to answer any (of my many!) questions. He showed an obvious pride in his country. A good sense of humour and helped the group to gel."
-- Anna Morse (Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia) December 2008 Kauri

"Grant was amazing -- a great guide with vast amounts of info to share. We learned a lot about NZ from him -- history, botany, economy, culture. Doing the Kauri with him was the perfect introduction to all things Kiwi."
-- Julie Harvey November 2004 Kauri

"What can we say about Grant? He's absolutely wonderful. His knowledge is just incredible, and he has a great sense of humor. He definitely made our North Island trip an awesome experience."
-- Bob and Joyce Hillebrand (USA) November 2004 Kauri

"Grant is extremely knowledgeable and is a very patient teacher of the culture, sports, and current issues surrounding New Zealand. He obviously has a passion for his country and he is eager to share with others."
-- Scott Shakir (ON, Canada) February 2004 Kauri

"10 out of 10. Grant was a great guide - very knowledgable and friendly. Very interesting guy."
-- Mary Janowitz & Alan Grinberg (CA, United States) February 2004 Kauri

"Grant was great. I like the fact that he always filled us in on Maori culture so we didn't see just a 'Europeanized' version of the culture. "
-- Brett Roberts (CA, United States) January 2004 Kauri

"Grant was outstanding. We loved the historical background he gave us on the locations we visited as well as on New Zealand. Grant is one of the best guides I've ever had and I've take numerous active trips."
-- Kate & Russ Benedict (NJ, United States) December 2003 Kauri

"Grant was a great guide - shared heaps of information on the Maori culture and tales as well he had a great knowledge of the country."
-- Sandra Delaney (BC, Canada) November 2003 Kauri

"Yes, Grant did a fantastic job. I enjoyed all of his cooking. He knows so much about the country. Is very easy going, relaxed and at the same time stays organized and on schedule."
-- Jody Holl (CA, United States) March 2003 Kauri

"Grant particularly impressed me with his knowledge of animal and plant life. He is a very friendly guy, and you can sense his interest in his topic when he is telling you about it. Plus, he patiently explained to me many of the rules of cricket when we were watching it on TV during dinner. Cricket was a game that I had heard of, but never seen played before. His skills as a cook are pretty good, too."
-- Stephanie Leong (BC, Canada) March 2003 Kauri

"Grant did a nice job trying to make an enjoyable trip. He did a great job cooking meals, which were far more enjoyable than eating out. He also had quite a bit of knowledge of the area, which was nice for all the questions I had. "
-- Paula Cocanour (HI, United States) January 2003 Kauri

"Grant was absolutely brilliant as a guide. He was full of knowledge about the country, the sights we were seeing, the flora and fauna, NZ culture, etc. He was very good about finding out things that were of interest to individuals and going out of his way to provide knowledge in those areas. He also knew when to talk and when to let the scenery (or whatever) do the talking. Grant's maturity was very helpful, as he clearly had worked with a lot of different types of people and was able to take a variety of personalities and make them work as a team, while at the same time understanding that the group was made of individuals and allowing them to do things at their own pace, etc."
-- Brian Tague (MI, United States) November 2002 Kauri

"Grant did a great job. He is very knowledgeable about New Zealand. He told us all sorts of information about history and culture. Grant also remembered what types of things tour members were interested and would be sure to mention sailing information to those interested in sailing, or music information to those interested in music, etc. It was a great personal touch. I was not planning on going mountian biking but Grant encouraged me that I would be able to keep up with the group. I ended up loving it so was very glad that I tried it."
-- Jennifer Nadey (IL, United States) November 2002 Kauri