Nomad Safaris exists to help you experience the very best of Queenstown and the surrounding backcountry in an authentic, comfortable way, with a genuine sense of connection to the land.
We specialise in small-group, personalised 4WD adventures that explore the breathtaking landscapes of the Southern Lakes region. From iconic Lord of the Rings filming locations to historic gold-mining settlements, our journeys bring the stories of this region to life. Our guides are locals who know these valleys, rivers, and mountains intimately and are passionate about sharing the legends, history, and natural beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand.
With purpose-built off-road vehicles, including classic Land Rover Defenders and rugged Toyota Land Cruisers, we take you into terrain most visitors never get to explore. Each vehicle carries a maximum of six guests, ensuring a relaxed and personal experience where you can ask questions, enjoy the scenery, and feel the spirit of the land around you.
Whether tracking the footsteps of film crews, following the trails of early pioneers, or simply soaking up the views, you will discover a side of Queenstown that stays with you long after your journey ends. We are here to create moments that are meaningful, immersive, and truly memorable, the kind that connect you to this extraordinary corner of the world.
Our Culture
At Nomad Safaris, our culture is centred on connection, to the land, to our community, and to every visitor who joins us on a journey. Every choice we make reflects our commitment to kaitiakitanga, the guardianship of the environment, our people, and the stories we are privileged to share.
We encourage our team to live these values every day by caring for the places we travel through, honouring the histories woven into the landscape, and offering genuine hospitality to all who explore this part of Aotearoa with us.
Our Origins
Duncan’s Tale
Duncan Ferguson took off his hat and mopped his brow. Leaning against the sweat-drenched withers of his draught horse he surveyed the land it had taken so many months to arrive in from Britain.
Instead of the miles of terraced red brick slums he’d grown up in he was surrounded by an arid, tussock-covered hillside in stark contrast against the brilliant, cobalt Central Otago sky. And instead of the dull, grey cobbled streets, a startlingly clear, aquamarine river tumbled through the dramatic gorge.
Somewhere down there, amid the crumbling schist rock and ice-cold mountain water lay his future. The unseen gold called him with a silent siren song. Inspired, he replaced his hat, leaned into the harness and grunted as the mighty horse dragged his cart deeper into the valley.
More than a century later another pioneer steps down from the driver’s seat of his 4WD, helps his passengers out and shows them the same, astonishing vista. He tells them tales, the story of Duncan Ferguson and the thousands of other men just like him who dragged their families from the cities of the world to conquer an unrelenting land resplendent in its savage beauty.
As his tales come to an end he deliberately lets the silence take over and allows the surroundings to tell their own story. Aided by the scenery, the clear, clean air and the distant sound of the river far below, in each of their minds the scene comes back to life.
This is New Zealand’s pioneer heritage at its best. This is the NZ Nomad Safaris experience.
Safety and Compliance
Best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to any alternatives because it produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing things, e.g., a standard way of complying with legal or ethical requirements. Or both.
At Nomad Safaris best practice is pursued vigorously with continous assement using both internal and external audits to ensure that legal compliance is just a part of quality control.
Using various external bodies a framework has been built where all new staff, products, procedures have to be carefully evaluated before implementing within the organisation.
The following are the various external tests Nomad Safaris subjects itself to comply and exceed:- Check out our Disclosure of Risks.
| Name of Qualification | Authority | Frequency | Description |
| QualMark | Tourism New Zealand | Annual | Intense inquiry in to all aspects of organisation. Policies, procedures and customer feedback. |
| Adventure Mark | New Zealand Government | Annual | Vigorous testing of safety practices relating to all off road activities. |
| Enviro Gold | Tourism New Zealand | Annual | Multi level environmental audit. Highest level, Gold, requires significant conservation initiatives. |
| Certificate of Fitness | Land Transport NZ | 6 monthly | Every vehicle has detailed mechanical check |
| Land Concession | Department of Conservation | Annually | Report to the Conservator regarding activity. Contributes to 5 yearly review for concessions |
| Resource Consent | Queenstown Council | Annual monitoring | Permissions to operate on public lands |
| OneMusic copywrite | One Music International | Annual | Play music in shop and Lord of The Rings themes. |
| Radio Telephone | Radio Spectrum Management | Annual | User Licence |
| Business Support Group | Queenstown Chamber Commerce | Annual | Training support, bi-annual awards |
| Business Networking | Skål International | Annual | Discussion forum |
| Tourism Business Group | Tourism Industry Aotearoa | Annual | Awards, training, lobbying, forum |
Awards
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavour.” Vince Lombardi
“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Aristotle
Our mission for excellence
We will persistently create better ways of doing the things we do. We will not rest on our accomplishments, but will rather build on them in our personal and professional journey to be the best we can be and set new standards in our industry. We will expect more of ourselves than our clients do. We will endeavour to exceed expectations in every project.
Our definition of excellence
Excellence is when we demand more of ourselves than our clients do. It is something that happens when you make the right choices over and over again, especially when no one is looking. Excellence in the little things always adds up to excellence in the big things – and the diametric is also true. We get to choose where we live on the bell curve of excellence.
Our Awards:
- Queenstown Chamber of Commerce – Excellence in Innovation 2023
- Qualmark Gold 2023
- Qualmark Enviro-Gold
- Queenstown Lakes District Council Champion Recycler
- Adventure Mark
- New Zealand Tourism Awards 2004 Winner
- Tourism Industry Awards New Zealand 2006 Winner
- TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence (awarded every year since it started) now called Travelers Choice
- 2022 Trip Advisor Travellers’ Choice
