Our Responsible Tourism Mission

At Back to Nature we are too aware that the beautiful ecosystem that inspires and sustains businesses like ours is a fragile one. We are committed to providing a high quality, sustainable wildlife tour that educates and inspires our customers about conservation. We endeavour to ensure our activities have the least negative impact on the environment and the community possible, and to work with other ecotourism operators and government agencies to help build on conservation efforts that preserve the Dunedin area’s diverse environment and wildlife. We have made it our mission to regularly assess our effect on the environment and to maintain and update an environmental plan to ensure that we have as small a negative effect on the environment, and as large a positive effect as we can achieve.

Our Commitments

• We uphold the interests and reputation of New Zealand as a quality destination for visitors and travellers, offering friendly, hospitable service.
• We keep wildlife disturbances to a minimum by educating clients on the needs of local wildlife, viewing from our purpose-built hide at Sandfly Bay, or taking them to Penguin Reserve, where a system of hides and trenches allows customers to view Yellow eyed penguins with minimal disturbance. We provide our customers with binoculars and make sure we view from appropriate distances in all other situations.
• We work with relevant government agencies, and other eco-tourism operators to protect our environment. We ensure we hold and update all necessary licenses, permits and consents to practice eco-tourism.
• We follow all laws and processes to ensure we help preserve and celebrate our history and culture. We consult with local authorities before undertaking any new building or earthmoving work, and we consult with local iwi on Maori history, and how to respectfully and unobtrusively enjoy places of historical and cultural significance.
• We donate at least 100 hours a year to support local conservation efforts like the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, and Yellow Eyed Penguin conservation at Sandfly Bay.
• We endeavour to limit our use of paper, plastic, and electronic equipment and ensure that anything we can’t reuse, and can be recycled, is recycled.
• In the interests in lowering our carbon emissions, we use only diesel vans, and try to fill a van rather than use more than one. We will park and turn off when waiting for passengers rather than idling. We regularly tune our vehicles to make sure they are using fuel efficiently
• We use only non-toxic cleaning products in our vans, and clean on grass to prevent polluting drains.
• We show respect for the community by consulting with local iwi on interpretation of Maori history. We proudly promote Dunedin culture and business and we encourage our clients to shop at local stores and enjoy locally made food, beer and wine at establishments in Dunedin and on the Otago Peninsula. We drive courteously and pull over periodically when there is traffic on the roads to minimise disruption to locals.
• We regularly review our impact on the environment and the community, and update our policies accordingly.

If you have any feedback we'd love to hear it.