Thanks for visiting GuidedBySam. Established in 2024 after identifying a need for visitors to Aotearoa/New Zealand to learn more about our country without always needing to go on a tour. Many visitors to Aotearoa drive to iconic places such as Piopiotahi/Milford Sound or Aoraki/Mount Cook and miss out on the full experience of what they are seeing along the way. By listening along to GuidedbySam as you drive, we bring to life the environment you are passing through. Along the way you will learn about ecology, geology, history and of course ‘filmology’.
I have a personal interest in the ecology of New Zealand, having worked for the Department of Conservation and am currently a specialist wildlife tour guide. I have worked in Tourism around the world including Australia, Norway, and The Netherlands. Today as a contract tour guide, I regularly visit all 3 main islands with a variety of guests of all different interests. With the GuidedbySam app you get all that information without the expense of a tour.
Along the way I introduce some of the iconic birds that you may see on a particular route so that hopefully you will be able to identify them for yourself if you are fortunate to see them. If you get a photo of a bird, feel free to share it with me and hopefully we can help you with more information. I am also in the process of setting up pages of the birds you might see on each trip as a convenience.
By listening along as you drive, you get to hear the same information as if you were on a group or private tour with a guide.
Terms and Conditions
While there is an attempt to be accurate in all our content, in some cases the research has produced conflicting information or a complete lack of verification of a story. And we don’t want to not share something interesting just because it isn’t verifiable. As the saying goes, Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. So don’t use our content to study for exams!
The app and content isn’t for commercial use sorry, if you want to play this on your tour, get in contact – we are working on a version that won’t embarrass you when you play it without recommending photo stops etc.
In order to limit abuse of our app, each user account is limited to being used on 5 devices only.
You have paid for this product so you shouldn’t listen to ads! We don’t receive any funding for talking about particular products or services, we may include them because they are good, because they have significance to the region or its history. I will however encourage you to visit all manner of ecological and scenic sights managed by the Department of Conservation and local Councils. Again we receive no funding from them.
Discounts may be offered on occasion, time limits and other special conditions may apply.
Your subscription is valid for 12 months when you purchase a tour.
Tours are subject to availability, if there is 1 we don’t have
We cannot guarantee the product works for everyone on all devices all the time. Hopefully if something goes wrong it won’t ruin your holiday. But if you cannot get it to work, let us know and we will see how we might be able to help.
Please download the tours for offline use while you have wifi! Then you can put your phone on flight mode, activate Bluetooth and use the GPS function for your tour without using roaming data, without running your battery flat and without interruption when there is no mobile signal
Please drive safely! Pull over if you are enjoying the scenery and need a photo. We take no liability for accidents while using this app and you should not need to make any changes to the app while you are driving.
Sometimes you won’t be able to complete a tour due to road closures. If this happens, get in touch and we can refund you if the tour has not been used.
