Nature / Sustainable Tourism

A British zoologist who had an encounter of the mating kind with an endangered kakapo during filming for the BBC in New Zealand, has had the honour of naming one of the rare parrots.

New Zealand has a new international celebrity – parrot pin up boy Sirocco the kakapo has shot to stardom after his unusual mating attempt with a zoologist aired on BBC television.

New Zealand is turning the concept of a wildlife ‘Big Five’ upside down by developing its own ‘Small Five’ list aimed at encouraging travellers to come and see some of the world’s rarest creatures for themselves.

Kiwis are reputed to be great global travellers but the discovery of New Zealand’s national icon in the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy in outer space has to be off the planet in anyone’s book.

A traditional Māori medicine garden planted on an East Coast marae during Conservation Week could be repeated elsewhere in New Zealand, as part of a Department of Conservation campaign to raise awareness.

A global peace movement is set to take its first steps in New Zealand this week when a flame lit during a ceremony in Waitakere, West Auckland begins a journey that will take it to more than 90 countries.

New Zealand’s wide open spaces and unique environment provide a mecca for freedom campers but tourists are being advised to check with the locals before pitching a tent or parking their campervan.

Kiwis (the non-feathered variety) have gone to the polls to elect a new top bird and - in what’s promising to be a closely fought election - some native species have even hired campaign managers to boost their roost.

Five rare kākāpō chicks – the last from the 2009 breeding season – have been released from their temporary outdoor pens, and are now roaming free on an island sanctuary in New Zealand’s deep south.

Conservation Week 2009 promises some close encounters of the environmental kind as New Zealand celebrates its unique wildlife, natural areas and historic places with many nationwide events.