Nature / Sustainable Tourism

It’s the buzz word of the New Zealand tourism industry but what is kaitiakitanga? If you don’t know then tread carefully because it could hold the key to the future of the world.

Imagine hiking for six days, never seeing another soul and not even stepping out of a national park? If you don’t believe there’s such a place left on earth then you haven’t discovered Kahurangi National Park.

Ask most people what a ‘fairy tern’ is and you’re likely to get an answer that relates to the latest moves on the TV hit ‘Dancing with the Stars’.

Visitors to the Abel Tasman National Park in New Zealand’s South Island may think they’re experiencing a modern trend in eco-friendly tourism, but practising sustainability is nothing new around here.

One of New Zealand’s rarest birds has surprised conservationists by breeding within months of their release on Mana Island, off Wellington’s west coast.

The tuatara is a lizard-like creature that is only found on certain small islands around New Zealand and in a number of mainland sanctuaries.

Kapiti Island is home to an internationally famed nature reserve protecting some of the world’s rarest and most endangered birds.

Taiaroa Head on the tip of the Otago Peninsula on the South Island is the only mainland breeding colony for any albatross species found in the southern hemisphere.

New Zealand - a land of four million people - is a country that's punching well above its weight when it comes to helping the environment and working towards reducing carbon emissions.

Travellers with a 'green' conscience can take heart because getting around New Zealand doesn't have to be hard on the environment.