The gannets may be back for summer, but they aren’t the only thing to check out on the Cape Kidnappers peninsula this season. Photo / Supplied
The gannets may be back for summer, but they aren’t the only thing to check out on the Cape Kidnappers peninsula this season. Photo / Supplied
The Cape Kidnappers gannets are back for summer and Gannet Safaris Overland has partnered with The Cape Sanctuary to offer an exclusive wildlife experience that will sit alongside its popular gannet tours, while teaching visitors about the restoration and regeneration of the Cape Kidnappers peninsula.
Cape Kidnappers is more than just gannets. The Cape Sanctuary has been working since 2006 to make the cape predator-free and create a space for native wildlife to thrive.
The partnership between the two groups gives tourists a 3½-hour tour that shows visitors the nursery, the East Cape’s best-preserved sand dune system, and the pest-free enclosure where guests have a chance to spot takahē, colourful kākāriki, tuatara, giant wētā, and learn about the sanctuary’s expanding seabird project.
Gannet Safaris Overland general manager Sophie Phillips (left) and Aimee Pitcher, of The Cape Sanctuary, join forces for a new wildlife tour. Photo / Supplied
Gannet Safaris Overland general manager Sophie Phillips explained the partnership cements a thriving relationship between the business she manages, and the sanctuary.
“We’ve always had a close relationship with Cape Sanctuary,” Phillips said.
Gannet Safaris Overland drivers and tour guides were finding that when passing through The Cape Sanctuary en route to the gannets, visitors would ask how they could support the work the sanctuary does to nurture and protect native species.
The tour set up an optional carbon offset programme adding $4 to the tour fee, and established donation boxes, so there were ways for guests to have an impact on the special place they were seeing.
During last season the tours raised $3654.60, which will go towards nursery production and planting of a further 70,000 trees.
Aimee Pitcher, of The Cape Sanctuary, said the team was ecstatic to learn of the efforts to support their work.
“The sanctuary runs at a huge deficit every year. Volunteer labour and donations are key to our longevity, it was wonderful to hear that locals and international visitors were happy to donate towards making a positive environmental impact on the peninsula,” Pitcher said.
Gannet Safaris Overland and The Cape Sanctuary are teaming up for new wildlife and native nursery tours this summer. Photo / Supplied
Some species such as miro and matai require several years in The Cape Sanctuary nursery before they are ready to plant and Pitcher explained it costs a significant amount to care for each tree.
“However, being able to share these amazing trees with generations to come makes the wait, and the cost, worthwhile,” she said.
The two groups turned to other ways Gannet Safaris Overland could enable guests to experience the acclaimed wilderness area, and a partnership was formalised in August.
The Cape Sanctuary tour departs from Ocean Beach daily, dependent on demand, and uses luxury private vehicles to transport visitors to the protected site — the brainchild of its benefactors, Andy and Liz Lowe, and American philanthropist Jay Robertson.
There will also be plenty of gannets on site because their breeding season begins in Hawke’s Bay.
The Gannet Safaris Overland general manager believes this year is set to be the busiest yet. “We’re looking at a record cruise season and high visitor numbers which is a huge relief for every local operator after our efforts were cruelly cut short by Cyclone Gabrielle in February,” she said.
“Last season we were tracking to nearly 95 per cent of pre-Covid numbers until the cyclone hit,” says Sophie. “With our existing tours already booking out, and our collaboration with Cape Sanctuary bound to be popular, we can’t wait to welcome visitors again.”
