Staying eco-style in New Zealand
New Zealand’s reputation for sustainable practice and environmental awareness has prompted growth in eco-tourism as more travellers seek eco-friendly accommodation.
World acclaimed five-star lodges in dramatic natural settings through to self-catering eco-lodges and basic trampers’ huts in the wilderness give environmentally-conscious travellers many options throughout New Zealand.
New properties are constantly gaining Qualmark Green status - the country’s official tourism rating for quality and environmental performance.
Exclusive eco lodges
A New Zealand-wide group of luxury properties accredited with Qualmark’s highest environmental rating - Enviro-gold - has recently banded together to offer tourists a sustainable travel package.
Exclusive Ecolodges has a list of members who must meet a series of stringent criteria covering both luxury and eco-friendly requirements, which are measured on the standard of accommodation facilities and hospitality of the owners.
The group also puts together "sensible itineraries" for the North and South Islands, which encourage tourists to slow down and enjoy their visit rather than embark on "an endurance race".
In addition five percent of the value of each eco-friendly accommodation booking or sensible itinerary purchase is donated to conservation or community projects within the relevant area.
Spray Point station
Sustainable practice and eco-awareness is also spreading through New Zealand’s farm lands.
One of the largest farm properties to concentrate on eco-tourism is Spray Point station in Waihopai valley, in the South Island region of Marlborough.
While the 2000ha farm was carrying 3000 stock when Roland and Jenny Mapp took over in 2004, the Mapps realised that diversification was essential for long-term viability.
The land was overgrazed and eroding, invasive weeds were gaining a foothold, fencing was inadequate and an iconic musterer’s cobb cottage was on the verge of collapse.
Scenic location
The scenic location with 15km of river frontage, native bush and the unusual bonus of freehold ownership of the mountains added to the property’s natural attributes, so the Mapps decided to concentrate less on merino sheep and more on the native flora.
"The aesthetics of the property are the drawcard," says Jenny Mapp.
"The biodiversity is quite large" with a range of native species, including pink broom, fierce lancewoods and broad-leaved coprosma on the station.
Change of focus
The change of focus has resulted in a 50% reduction in sheep numbers, and 1000ha is now in conversion to regenerating natives.
About 20km of walking tracks have been established, using existing stock and wild game routes as routes.
The farm's fencing, which had been neglected for the past 100 years, is also being improved to better control grazing pressure.
Native New Zealand falcons fly over Spray Point, and nests on the property have recently been under video surveillance as part of a research project in partnership with the University of Canterbury.
Restored cobb cottage
The Mapps have also restored a cobb cottage that was built in 1910 for shearers and drovers travelling the main stock route through the valley.
Character features have been retained, and details such as the old lanterns swinging from original timber ceilings, wooden sink, open fire and furniture handcrafted from recycled timbers add to the historic ambiance.
Toilet rolls hang on deer antlers, horseshoes double as towel holders, and recycled cattle-yard timber has been transformed into vanity units.
A gas califont camouflaged in an old-fashioned meat safe provides endless hot water, and supplies an outdoor rock-face shower. Guests can also relax in two companionable outdoor claw-foot baths, perched on a cliff-top with views of snow-capped mountains.
After five years of loving restoration, the historic cottage opened late last year, and has been in hot demand ever since, according to the owners.
"It'll take a tramping party of six, a couple wanting a weekend escape or a family. It's for people that want peace and quiet and interested in history," Jenny Mapp says.
Guests can also take on a three-day walk, or guided hunting expeditions for red and fallow deer, wild goats and pigs.
‘Little Greenie’ energy saver
A remote holiday cottage on the northern end of the Abel Tasman track, in the South Island, is New Zealand’s most energy-efficient house.
The ‘Little Greenie’ cottage was awarded a 9/10-star rating by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) - the highest-ever rating - for its design, materials, water and energy efficiency.
Owner Lawrence McIntyre, a former Christchurch businessman, says he hopes people will visit the house so they can see how they could build one themselves.
The design of the house was kept simple with no fancy features so every extra dollar could go into materials.
A solar system provides most of the heating and hot water, and a composting toilet sucks fresh air in each time the toilet is used.
Double-glazing, wool insulation and a polystyrene break between the concrete floor and the ground keeps heat in. Sun-warmed air is directed into the walls for storage and to release heat.
Takou River, Bay of Islands
At the opposite end of New Zealand, three boutique self-catering cottages set in five acres of sub-tropical gardens are another new addition to New Zealand’s eco-friendly accommodation list.
The Takou River property is near Kerikeri, in the Bay of Islands. It is surrounded by 150 acres of organic pasture and native bush, and borders the Takou river near Takou Bay.
Magic Cottage, voted one of the ‘Top Ten Luxury Lodges’ in New Zealand by XtraMSN, is perched on the banks of the river nestled among pohutukawa trees.
The two-bedroom timber cabin, and larger River and Garden cottages nearby - each completely out of sight and earshot - are made of recycled timber and rely on solar power.
The cottages feature alfresco claw-foot baths on secluded decks, which have panoramic views across the gardens and river.
Native planting
More than 10,000 native trees have been planted around the property over the past three years with the aim of increasing the biodiversity of the area and create a "kiwi corridor" joining surrounding zones for the native birds.
Owners Ian and Anna Sizer have an interesting background. They were both raised on farms in the South of England before meeting in Algeria while running an ecological survey of the central Sahara.
The Sizers have put their environmental and community beliefs into practice while developing the holiday cottages and organic beef farm.
Their own six-bedroom, three-bathroom cedar weatherboard home operates completely off-grid. It is not connected to an electricity supply or water mains and there’s no local waste collection service.
Sustainability programme
Like the holiday cottages, the lodge uses solar power but also has photovoltaic panels for electricity. Energy efficient light bulbs and eco-friendly cleaning products are also part of the sustainability programme.
The lodge is constructed of recycled timber, and rainwater is distributed from concealed tanks via a pump system pioneered in African villages.
Double glazing, wool insulation, an onsite septic system for reusing black and grey water in irrigation all add to the eco-friendly nature of the home.
More information:
'Little Greenie' tops NZ eco homes
Tourists strike gold in NZ enviro experience
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