About Us - this is what you should know
NZdirect is an award-winning inbound tourism company based in Nelson, New Zealand. Specialising in travel services in relation to international education, the company organises travel for visiting families as well as for international students during their stay in New Zealand. The company successfully operates the NZdirect International Student Tours since 2002.
All tours and programs are strictly in accordance with the requirements of the New Zealand Code of Practice for international students under the age of 18 years, which is taken seriously.
The overarching desire of the management and team at NZdirect is fun-filled, authentic travel experiences in New Zealand that enhance the lives of the tour participants and respect the natural and cultural environment of New Zealand.
The company is a member of the New Zealand Tourism Association and the German New Zealand Business Association.
Contact us anytime for more information on any aspects of our program.
Our Team
NZdirect – International Student Tours are organized by our experienced, competent and dedicated staff to give international students a unique travel experience.All our tours are accompanied by experienced, responsible guides and supervisors who are Kiwi experts. We choose our guides carefully to ensure that students are looked after well and have fun on our tours.
In addition to the principal guides, NZdirect International Student Tours also employs tour assistants and student liaison guides.
David Monopoli & Birgit Neumann – Tour Directors
Having spent more than 10 years working with international students in Europe and New Zealand, the tour director of NZdirect takes his own share in guiding our international student tours. David is passionate about what he does, be it building houses, cooking or travelling. As a true Kiwi, David loves to share stories and a laugh with the students. A father of three kids himself, David knows how to entertain and always creates a fun and adventurous atmosphere on tour.
Raphael Stahl – Booking Coordinator/Tour Manager
Raphael came to New Zealand in 2017 and fell in love with the South Island from the moment he arrived, after travelling all the way down from Auckland in a Campervan. Several roundtrips and adventures later, he got happily stuck in Wanaka, in the Southern Alps, where he stayed until 2023 and made friends with people from all around the world. After relocating to Nelson, Raphael joined NZdirect. With a sound knowledge of navigating through New Zealand and a love for learning new languages, Raphael enjoys sharing his explorative nature with young people, who want to learn more about Aotearoa - where people from far and near come together to share an adventure.
Nicola Mustill – Booking Coordinator/Tour Manager
Nicola is originally from Hamburg, Germany. In 2012 she made the decision to explore the world for herself and started her Around-the-world trip. This one-year adventure took her first to Singapore and Australia before she came to New Zealand on a Working Holiday visa and has traveled especially the South Island extensively.
After spending 8 months in NZ, climbing on glaciers, bungy jumping, kayaking and exploring the Fiordland (and much more) she continued her travels to Fiji, Hawaii and the Westcoast of the USA.
Having lived three years in England she has decided to come back to beautiful New Zealand to explore it some more and help other people get to know this gem of a country as well.
Linda Schulz – Tour Manager
Linda fell in love with travelling when she turned 19 and went to Australia for the first time to work and travel for a year. After coming back to Hamburg, where she grew up, she worked for an Icelandic travel agency for a few years. In her spare time, she continued to travel around Europe, but eventually she felt drawn to this side of the world again and came to New Zealand in 2018. She worked and lived in the Bay of Islands on the North Island for 8 months before exploring the South Island. Nelson is her home of choice, but she still very much enjoys travelling around the country showing other people the beauty of New Zealand whether that is on the North or the South Island. She is very enthusiastic and loves sharing her passion with the students.
Our partners and cooperations
