Bushwise Women was the brain child of Cynthia Roberts and her partner Roz Heinz. They gave up their careers in education and set up this company to take women into the outdoors. They took trips for women into much of New Zealand’s South Island back country.
They started mostly with day walks and kayaking from their Bushline Lodge on the West Coast, but they quickly expanded into overnight trips, sea kayaking and eventually some overseas adventures in Australia, the Pacific and France.
They quickly grew a great reputation that had women doing one or two trips a year, and guiding some overseas groups in NZ.
12 years ago the business was sold to Yvonne Jenkins in Australia who expanded the international trip calendar.
Womens Holidays
Yvonne has teamed up with Leonie, Kim and Alison and Bushwise Women has been re-invented as Womens Holidays, with new energy and new website. Some of the popular regular tours are still on the calendar, but new ones are being added.
Current Trips on Womens Holidays include:
- Lesvos Greece
- Walking Wales
- Bike and Barge the Canal du midi
Walking Cinque Terre- Sailing in Turkey
- Venice
- Sea Kayaking the Bay of Islands New Zealand
- Vietnam and Cambodia
What of Cynthia and Roz?
After Bushwise Women and Bushline Lodge were sold, Cynthia went onto complete a PhD in Ecology at Hobart, Tasmania. Roz remained very active in community groups before she died in Hamilton 4 years ago. I married Cynthia in Waipu a year ago, and we have returned to Christchurch where she has family and is feeling her way into local environmental projects.
Women Travel Links
- Womens Holidays website
- Find Womens Holidays on Facebook
- Current tours on offer by Womens Holidays
- Other tours for women
I was at University with Cynthia, completing my PhD at the sametime, and got to know Roz and Cynthia well. I am so happy to read of Cynthia’s new relationship and marriage, and return to Christchurch and the old Bushwise Women, revamped as Women’s Holidays. My partner Jim has also died, and I am now deep in playwriting. Please Cynthia, accept my congratulations, Carol.
Thanks Carol, have passed that on to Cynthia who says hi 🙂