Old School Tours is now offering fully-supported walking tours on the Alps 2 Ocean, providing an experience for walkers seeking an active holiday at a more relaxed pace.
The venture is the brainchild of Craig and Blanche Sturgess, who previously remodelled the historic Enfield School into a boutique bed and breakfast that opened in 2017. The couple followed it up with another schoolhouse renovation, the Windsor School house, which they also operate as accommodation.
They’ve now started Old School Tours as a way to bring more visitors to the region and encourage people to spend more time exploring the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark and the Alps 2 Ocean corridor.
"We provide accommodation for many A2O cyclists, and we love hosting them," Mr Sturgess said.
"However, we saw the need for a visitor experience for non-cyclists, people who want to explore our region at a more leisurely pace and spend more time enjoying the Alps 2 Ocean and the other great things Waitaki has to offer."
Guests simply choose their tour dates, and Old School Tours does the rest, organising accommodation and daily trail support — a restored 1972 Bedford J2LZ2 model Department of Education school bus.
The idea is being backed by Tourism Waitaki.
"Experiencing winter on the walking trails would be just spectacular," Tourism Waitaki RTO general manager Heather Matthews said.
"Those crisp, sunny, windless winter days we get here in Waitaki, they might only be seven degrees, which can be too cold for cycling but great for walking.
"By showcasing both our natural beauty and rural life, visitor-focused initiatives like Old School Tours benefit the local economy by helping to spread visitor activity throughout the year."
