I am booked to go on the New Zealand tour on the 8 October 09 with the Fiji add on.I suffer from Coeliac disease which means I need a gluten free diet as I have an intolerance to wheat, oats, rye and barley.

Your customers service dept are aware of my needs and as I have taken a number of holidays with you in the past they have always been very good and tried to ensure I have a suitable diet. I usually land up taking 1/2 a suitcase of vacuum packed bread/cakes etc.with me.

A couple of friends have visited New Zealand recently and told me Gluten free food is widely available in a lot of hotels/restaurants, I also believe customs are very strict at airports about food being taken into the country and as the tour looks quite hectic I don't think I shall have a lot of time to do food shopping.

I wondered if any of the tour managers would be able to advise me as to the availability of GF foods. I would be grateful for any information.

Do you know yet how many people are booked on this trip and who our tour manager will be?. This will be my 5th holiday with Just You and I am really looking forward to it.

Thank you Pam

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you - we've been having some website problems recently.

As I understand it, New Zealand is a good destination for those who require gluten-free foods. However, it's probably a good idea to take some of your own food too, as you suggest. From my own experience, dried foods, vacuum-packed cakes and similar foods are generally OK at airports. It's more meat and vegetables that they airport staff are worried about, so you should be fine.

You might like to try posting this message on the tour manager page too - our tour managers are more likely to see it there. I'm sure they'll offer some help if they can.

There will be nine people on your holiday, and your tour manager will be Kim Clark.

Kind regards

Olly, your editor