“We had a wonderful day with Les, learning about the history of Tauranga Moana, interwoven with the wider cultural and historical context, and Les’s own story. It was of particular interest to our First Nations friend from Broome, who could share his own story, and exchange information about the different experiences and ways forward in Australia and here. A very worthwhile and enjoyable experience, and Les is a great teacher and raconteur.”

“This tour was incredibly educational and insightful, and is great if you want true local knowledge about Tauranga, it’s surrounds and history. It was awesome to have a guide - Les, who is so involved in the community and knows the whole area like the back of his hand. Les is clearly very experienced, loves the area, and is proud of his history and heritage.
Unfortunately, due to some council events, some of the original planned activities were unavailable, but Les was able to quickly plan and tailor around what we were interested in and we were able to see and learn just as much!
A highly recommended experience to anyone visiting Tauranga!”

“We took a fascinating private shore excursion when we docked - world cruise on the HAL ZUIDERDAM - inTauranga with local Maori guide - Les Millard. We were three couples.

The focus the tour was local Māori culture. We visited Worcestershire Māori Cemetary, learned the battles between the Colonial Forces and local Maori, entered a kiwi farm. Ha visits stops, heard oral history stories about Maori and much more.

We learned about the Gate Pa wars of 1864 - the first use of trench warfare and use of mutually accepted rules of engagement.

Les has a comfortable, a/c eleven seat van.

If you are in any way interested in Maori regional history , take from us as often visitors, going with Les is a most.”

“17 of the Royal NZ Corps of Transport Re-union Team were taken on a bus tour by Les from Travel Ed to see the former Maori Pa (village) sites around the Tauranga/Maketu Bay of Plenty area. It was a great day out learning about the history of the area, particularly the NZ Wars 1864 battle at Gate Pa between local Iwi and the Colonial Forces. Les was very knowledgeable, articulate and friendly. Highly recommended.”

“We had such a fun time with Les as our guide. Although it was raining during our visit, he was still able to show us so many amazing sites and his passion for the culture heritage of New Zealand and sharing it was fabulous. We wrapped up our tour with a lunch at a restaurant he recommended and it may have been some of the best food we had during our time in New Zealand. He made a rainy day visit to Tauranga during our cruise memorable for all the right reasons.”

“We had a fabulous day on a small group tour with our family and friends organised by Ravel Ed. Our travel guide, Wereta (Les), was friendly, and extremely knowledgeable. He organised a ‘tailor-made trip’ to suit our group’s travel interests. This has definitely been the best experience of our holiday so far. Nothing was too much trouble for our guide. He was patient, informative and the pride he has for his people and land was evident as he shared stories from his ancestors and answered our many questions. All opportunities provided, allowed us to gain an appreciation of the Māori culture and to see the natural beauty of the places visited. Importantly, our guide ensured that we were back to the ship on time. A truly memorable day! Thank you, Wereta.”

“Les was amazing full of knowledge and such a lovely man, learnt so many different things about the Maori culture around Tauranga. would definitely recommend it.”