Mike Stearne

Guide at a Glance

• Company

  Obsdian New Zealand

• Locations

  Wellington, North Island, New Zealand

• Activities

  Car Tour, Sightseeing

• Guiding Experience

  20 years

• Languages

  English

• Favorite Trip

  Private Wellington Day Tour

• Licenses/Certifications

  Licensed Commercial Driver, Certified in First Aid, Concession to guide in Department of Conservation (DOC) area, Member of TIA (Tourism Industry Aotearoa), Member of ProGuides (Professional Guiding Association of New Zealand).

Guide Bio

I fell into guiding back in 2002 after playing as an extra in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. I’m a passionate LOTR fan and ended up helping find locations for the official Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook. I’m the only private guide recommended for nationwide tours in the official Hobbit Location Guidebook.

I don’t just do LOTR, I love creating adventure themed itineraries around your timeframe, budget and interests. All of my tours are tailored to best suit your needs. Some examples are the Automotive and Aviation themed tour of visiting museums and motor sport events and airshows, the Beer and Food tour and adrenaline fuelled tours where you strap in for many of NZ’s most famous jumps, swings, rides and flights.

I love guiding now more than when I started and in order to keep my passion, I’ll soon start restricting my availability to six long duration, 10 days or more, tours per season.