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Years ago, Peter Foster’s auntie started a travel club, taking friends and acquaintances on shows, day trips and tours in her Toyota Hiace van.
The hobby business proved enormously successful, the customers, mostly seniors, booked trips again and again, delighting in both the fun excursions and getting to know their fellow travellers.
When aunty decided it was time for her to move on, club members were dismayed.
So Peter and partner Lynette Clothier decided to take on the business themselves – upgrading to a 12-seat Ford Transit passenger van, developing a website and monthly newsletter, and generally putting the business on a more professional footing.
At the same time, Peter and Lynette, who describe themselves as “Ministers of Fun”, have strived to maintain the friendly, club atmosphere that made auntie’s venture such a hit in the first place.
They’ve also broadened the appeal of Nor East excursions to reach younger clients in their forties, fifties and sixties.
“There’s seldom any need to put on a CD on in the van. Everybody is so busy chatting and sharing their stories,” Peter says.
The variety of trips Nor East organises is enormous. It could be a picnic on Great Barrier Island, an eight-day tour of the South Island, a trip to the Chatham Islands, a visit to an exotic country, or an evening out at the ballet, the opera or a musical.
“We’re coming up with new ideas and devising new trips all the time,” Lynette says.
Upcoming shows planned include Chicago, The 10 Tenors, Beyond the Barricade and the World of Wearable Art Show in Wellington.
Peter and Lynette specialise in taking care of every tiny detail, from helping with bags, picking up guests from their homes, and ensuring guests don’t have to walk in the dark to reach a theatre or restaurant.
Peter says it’s all about taking the hassle out of travel.
“It’s informal, it’s relaxed, it’s fun, and it’s about developing relationships with fellow travellers,” he says.
