Nature / Sustainable Tourism

The ubiquitous iPod might be a familiar sight on the street these days, but in New Zealand the digital music players are being used in remote native forests to train rare birds.

Environmentally-conscious visitors are looking to New Zealand as eco-friendly accommodation, sustainable activities, and organic food and wine industries continue to develop.

A New Zealand initiative to establish a World Heritage Starlight Reserve is underway, with 2009 as the goal for the Lake Takapo and Aoraki Mount Cook skies.

Eight New Zealand conservation projects have been named among the top ecological projects in Australasia after an 18-month search by an expert panel.

The hatching of five new chicks has boosted New Zealand’s kakapo population to 91, with two more chicks expected in the coming weeks.

A new environmental rating system believed to be a world first, for tourism businesses, has just been launched in New Zealand

Whale watching and the study of New Zealand’s diverse marine life is a major tourist attraction and a national pastime, but come winter the recreational activity takes on a more serious note.

Staff at a Christchurch, New Zealand, wildlife park are mourning the loss of the “Christmas miracle” kiwi chick that they'd painstakingly hatched and hand-reared for the past three weeks.

New Zealand’s biggest eco-tourism development, Karori Sanctuary in Wellington, has a new name – Zealandia - a further step towards returning a significant part of the nation’s capital to its pre-human state.

Whale watching is a year round pastime in New Zealand but come winter, the popular activity takes on a more serious role, and this year a busy migration period is providing valuable data as well as entertainment.