Manea: Footprints of Kupe is a 75-minute guided multisensory journey, located in Opononi, Hokianga. Photo / Jeff Wood
Manea: Footprints of Kupe is a 75-minute guided multisensory journey, located in Opononi, Hokianga. Photo / Jeff Wood
For many years tourism businesses were like most commercial operations - money in, money out and hopefully making some profit somewhere along the way.
But so much has changed in recent times and many operators are moving towards regenerative travel - how they can give back to and improve the community or regions they serve.
Sometimes this means improving the physical environment, sometimes supporting people in the community, and sometimes investing in nationwide conservation efforts.
Either way, it's all about taking care of our country and preserving its beauty and health as we showcase it. Here are some Kiwi tourism operators who are changing their local environment for the better.
Manea: Footprints of Kupe is a 75-minute guided multisensory journey; a story told through art, taonga, film, performance, digital interaction and the natural beauty of the Hokianga area.
It's run by the Te Hua o Te Kawariki Trust who return all profits to community projects. From supporting local youth to embrace their traditions, knowledge and history of their ancestors, to community planting days, it all benefits locals. maneafootprints.co.nz
When Coromandel legend Barry Brickell devised the Driving Creek concept in 1973 it wasn't just about pottery and the bush railway (and now zipline) it's known for today.
A keen conservationist, Brickell began a programme to return the property to its pre-European natural forest state, planting thousands of young native trees and erecting a 1.6-hectare predator-free fenced wildlife sanctuary and sculpture park. Driving Creek operates as a social enterprise. drivingcreek.nz
Hamilton Gardens
Waikato
Te Parapara, a traditional Māori garden, showcases long-established practices, materials and ceremonies relating to food production and storage. Kumara crops are planted and harvested each year, then distributed to local iwi and charities - and surplus produce from the other producing gardens (like the Kitchen Garden) is given to Kaivolution, a local charity that provides fresh food to local people in need.
Hamilton Gardens has a plan to become totally carbon neutral by 2030, including the introduction of carbon offsets and alternative power generation. Not bad for a place that started off as a rubbish dump. hamiltongardens.co.nz
Rotorua Canopy Tours
Rotorua
Anyone who has experienced ziplining at Rotorua Canopy Tours will know it's so much more than just whizzing through trees and traversing swing bridges - but that part is pretty fun too. In 2012, the forest they operate from was overrun by predators which had killed almost every bird in the area and decimated the surrounding ecosystem.
The team created a 35km trapping network and now birdsong fills the forest once more. Even better, guests get to learn about the conservation efforts and witness many native birds close up, even hand feeding them. canopytours.co.nz
Managara Eco Lodge
Hawke's Bay
Set in gorgeous rural Hawke's Bay, Managara Eco Lodge has been a fascinating work in regenerative progress since 1990. Owners, Rachel and Greg Hart are always finding new ways to give back to the environment that sustains them.
In 2008, in partnership with Air New Zealand, they were part of an operation planting 85,000 native trees and have also partnered with Million Metres Streams to successfully raise more than $30,000 to plant the riparian margin of Horseshoe Lake, that borders their farm and Eco Lodge. And the lodge isn't just a lovely place to stay.
The family also educate through farm tours, workshops and events as they operate a Holistic Management and Planned Grazing system designed to maximise ecosystem, animal and human well-being. mangarara.co.nz
Set in gorgeous rural Hawke's Bay, Managara Eco Lodge has been a fascinating work in regenerative progress since 1990. Photo / Supplied
Zealandia Te Mārā a Tāne
Wellington
Guides at Zealandia in Wellington, the world's first fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary, will proudly tell you that because of the amazing success of their reintroduction of 18 species of native wildlife, local residents often see tūī, kākā and kererū - once extremely rare in the region - in their backyards.
What was once farmland and a dam is now a 225-hectare conservation project that has had impact beyond its wildest dreams. Visitors love seeing native birds flying freely and tuatara bathing in the sun (some of the species of wildlife had been previously absent from mainland New Zealand for more than 100 years). visitzealandia.com
What was once farmland and a dam is now Zealandia, a 225 hectare conservation project in Wellington that has had impact beyond its wildest dreams. Photo / WellingtonNZ
RealNZ run many of the tourist operations Kiwis know and love - Milford and Doubtful Sound cruises, Jet Boat Queenstown, Te Anau Glowworm caves, Stewart Island tours and so many more. But not everyone knows about their commitment to conservation.
They are involved with Cooper Island Restoration Project, Walter Peak Land Restoration Project, Predator-Free Rakiura, Birds of a Feather Conservation Ball, Whio Blue Duck Recovery Programme, The Kārearea Project and Leslie Hutchins Conservation Foundation. Their Chief Conservation Officer, Paul Norris has received a New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the tourism industry and conservation. realnz.com
Southern Discoveries
Queenstown and Fiordland
Southern Discoveries also have an exciting array of South Island activities, in Milford Sound and Queenstown - scenic flights, kayaking, boat cruises, jet boating. They are more than aware of the privilege they have running tourist operations in some of New Zealand's most beautiful places and are dedicated to preserving that beauty for future generations.
They do this through sponsorship of the Sinbad Sanctuary Project and the Tawaki Project in partnership with the Department of Conservation, Fiordland Conservation Trust and the University of Otago. southerndiscoveries.co.nz
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