Author Topic: Question for Australians/New Zealanders  (Read 1562 times)

Offline GZRPWR

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Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« on: January 15, 2019, 01:54:09 PM »
Looking at travel options for coming (Northern Hemisphere) summer.  Find a very appealing offering from an Australian/New Zealand company I have never heard of before and can find very little about online.  Odyssey Travelers is the company.  Anybody know anything about this company, their reputation, reliability, etc?
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Offline Murray

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2019, 02:04:28 PM »
Never heard of them but it might be worth mentioning what service they provide, although as a general rule of thumb locals don't generally use travel providers and keep in mind Aust is the size of the mainland USA NZ is LA to NY distance from Aust depending on what they are offering there is a lot of ground (and water) to cover.

pete roper

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2019, 02:07:23 PM »
They sound like one of those companies that specialise in the 'Older' demographic. Is that what you want?

Let me know and I can do a bit of digging, our pal Tenele is a TA I can get the good oil off her if my own research turns up nothing.

Remember northern summer equals southern winter so while it's the best time for visiting Tropical Australia and NZ will be in Ski season the South Eastern parts of Oz can be fairly bleak in the middle of winter. What do you actually want to do?

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Offline stubbie

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2019, 07:08:26 PM »
https://www.odysseytraveller.com/tours/. They have a Facebook page also. According to the reviews on there site they are terrific but you don't put bad reviews on your own web page do you.
« Last Edit: January 15, 2019, 07:10:27 PM by stubbie »

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2019, 07:08:26 PM »

Offline GZRPWR

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2019, 07:48:12 PM »
Thanks for the responses guys.  We have been looking for organized tour of Scotland including specifically the islands of Orkney and Shetland.  Scouring lots of catalogs we are on mailing lists for and lots of on-line listings.  Its almost ironic to find the best fitting tour is organized by an Au/NZ company.  All I've really been able to find about the company is from their own website.  Before I commit to a not insignificant expenditure I would like some independent assurance that I'm dealing with a reliable/reputable company that delivers on its promises.

Thanks again for the help.
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Offline Rhodan

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2019, 09:13:46 PM »
I took a look around online too.  I think it's really odd that there aren't any external reviews.  They're also evidently listed under a couple different (but similar) names.  ehhhhhh.

I did find where they're located.  Their website lists a PO Box for their Australia and New Zealand locations. 
If you look for Odyssey and EdgeCliff NSW (their Aus. PO Box is located there) you'll find a couple Internet hits for Odyssey Travel.  Found a person who is evidently a guide?  Also an actual address. 

https://www.whitepages.com.au/odyssey-travel-10681888/edgecliff-nsw-10681882B  The phone number for Odyssey Travel matches the phone number listed by Odyssey Travellers.  Also:  https://au.linkedin.com/in/rouna-daley-78590821?trk=pub-pbmap

I see them listed as "5" some places and "3" in others.  Not sure what that designates.  The street address is:
235 New South Head Road, Edgecliff NSW 2027  and the 3 or 5 is written as 5\235 New South...etc.

You can look it up on your favorite mapping program.  Here's an example from Google maps:

3:0xbca0316e0deb4d01!8m2!3d-33.8793654!4d151.2365664" class="bbc_link" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.google.com/maps/place/235+New+South+Head+Rd,+Edgecliff+NSW+2027,+Australia/@-33.8795231,151.2363826,19.08z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x6b12ade17367cf7 3:0xbca0316e0deb4d01!8m2!3d-33.8793654!4d151.2365664

If you drill in, you'll see them list Odyssey Traveller as one of the businesses there.

« Last Edit: January 15, 2019, 09:26:18 PM by Rhodan »

Offline Rhodan

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2019, 09:24:49 PM »
And a street view of 235.
Ehhh.  The link isn't working correctly.  Deleting.  You can get to it from a link in the previous post too.

Here's the only TripAdvisor entry I could find.  It appears to be written by someone associated with the company.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i13626-k5876199-Odyssey_Travel-Senior_Travel.html 
Natalie N from Wollongong was the responder there.

In this spot and in another, it appears they claim to be a non-profit and associated with numerous universities.  However, I haven't been able to find anything which supports that claim. 
« Last Edit: January 15, 2019, 09:46:02 PM by Rhodan »

pete roper

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2019, 10:50:18 PM »
Thanks for the responses guys.  We have been looking for organized tour of Scotland including specifically the islands of Orkney and Shetland.  Scouring lots of catalogs we are on mailing lists for and lots of on-line listings.  Its almost ironic to find the best fitting tour is organized by an Au/NZ company.  All I've really been able to find about the company is from their own website.  Before I commit to a not insignificant expenditure I would like some independent assurance that I'm dealing with a reliable/reputable company that delivers on its promises.

Thanks again for the help.

Ah! That changes things.

When are you going? If summer you'll definitely need to book for the Hebrides as despite their remoteness they do get busy and, quite frankly, there aren't a lot of places to stay.

When we go back to the UK we usually go in winter and after landing at Heathrow we just flee north. Far north Scotland and the isles are fantastic in winter. At that time of year you can also basically 'Roll your own' trip. Caledonian McBrayne are the ferry company I believe.

Pete

Offline Sasquatch Jim

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2019, 07:05:23 AM »
 But for riding down there, you need the special sealing gas cap to hold the fuel in your tank.
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Offline Huzo

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Re: Question for Australians/New Zealanders
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2019, 01:04:13 PM »
But for riding down there, you need the special sealing gas cap to hold the fuel in your tank.
It's also a major problem when you take a pee.
Wear a raincoat...! :wink:

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