Knit, sip and gossip: women are flocking to these NZ yarn tours

A seasoned tour guide says a chance peek into the rear-view mirror during a gourmet food trip through New Zealand led to a booming new business embracing people's love of knitting, crocheting and crafting.

"I was always one for going down the road less travelled," Anne Stewart, founder of Yarn Craft Tours and Gourmet Journeys, told The Senior.

After developing a business focused on gourmet food tours through New Zealand, Anne decided to pivot her focus to yarn and craft tours, after she noticed the majority of the women travelling with her were stopping into wool shops and spending their time knitting on the bus.

"There was a definite growth and interest in handcrafts again, everything old was new again," she said.

"Looking in the rear-vision mirror I saw that probably three-quarters of the women on board the coach were knitting or crocheting."

After organising a craft and yarn-based tour, it quickly sold out in the "blink of an eye", she said. Her third craft tour, scheduled for October, with stops in Queenstown, Dunedin and Christchurch, is also selling fast with one-third of tickets booked.

Ms Stewart has more than 50 years' experience in the industry, including time working for airlines, tour operators and as a TAFE educator, and is a keen crafter and knitter.

She said the tours are often made up of mature women who love their crafts with a few younger women in the mix, and the odd male will sometimes join the group too. As they travel they gossip and share their love of crafts, everybody always gets along famously.

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"The group forms instantly, just straight away," Ms Stewart said. "There's no people feeling left out or anything like that.

"They meet each evening after dinner and sit and talk and gossip and do what women do."

The Yarn Craft Tours brings the best of microtourism, with fully-escorted trips including visits to local farms and craft demonstrations organised using Anne's local knowledge, her connections to the local fibre and crafting industry, and her own love of knitting, crocheting and craft.

"I'm a member of [New Zealand woolcrafts group] Creative Fibre, and its members are very keen to engage with the groups, and they put on special little talks and afternoon tea," she said.

The group also stops into internationally renowned handicraft spots, including Ashford Handicrafts where they are given a guided tour of the factory by a member of the Ashford family, get crafty with four half-day workshops, visit the historic towns of Cromwell and Clyde, and stop into various yarn stores including Touch Yarns and The Wool Press.

Throughout the trip, travellers also enjoy guided wine tastings, long-table luncheons, four-star deluxe hotel accommodation, with all breakfasts, three lunches and four dinners included.

Places are still available for Yarn Craft Tours nine-day, eight-night October trip to New Zealand, with spots selling fast. Further information is available at the Yarn Craft Tours website.