Real Journeys

Blue duck/whio sponsorship

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

A proportion 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. However, this trend is slowly being reversed.

Whio population has been given a boost

The sponsorship by Real Journeys is helping boost the wild population by funding the captive rearing and release of whio ducklings into the stoat controlled areas of Fiordland.

Bat/pekapeka sponsorship

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

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.