Real Journeys Fiordland threatened species sponsorship

In 2004 local tourism company Real Journeys began sponsoring the blue duck/whio recovery programme in Fiordland.

Real Journeys

$10 of the ticket price Milford Track walkers pay to book a scenic cruise at Milford Sound/Piopiotahi is donated to the management of this unique and endangered bird.

Blue duck/whio have been steadily declining in Fiordland over the last 30 years. Stoat control carried out by Department of Conservation and community groups has significantly increased the survival rate of whio, but Real Journeys sponsorship has enabled the wild population to receive a boost by funding the captive rearing and release of whio ducklings into the stoat control areas of Fiordland.

In 2007, the support of threatened species in Fiordland was extended to include New Zealand’s only native land mammal - the bat/pekapeka.

Real Journeys and DOC staff with newly
released, captive reared whio.

Trampers booking the Kepler Track and a Te Anau Glow-worm Caves trip have $10 of their ticket price donated to bat/pekapeka recovery work in Fiordland.

This is the first sponsorship deal for the two species of endangered bats/pekapeka, the long-tailed and short-tailed bat.

Real Journeys staff at Milford have also taken the initiative to maintain stoat traps in areas of the fiord where penguins are known to nest. In Harrisons Cove, where the overnight boat moors throughout the summer months, the traps are checked weekly by the overnight crew. The rest of the traps are checked six-weekly using a tender vessel supplied by Real Journeys and this takes the best part of a day.