Bringing you Closer to Nature

Nature can change your perspective; it gives you a feeling of connection with something bigger than yourself. Whether you’re reinvigorated under the mass of a thundering waterfall or feeling alive in the presence of a wild kiwi. It’s a game changer.

Our founders Les and Olive Hutchins felt all this when our journey began in 1954. They pioneered a movement, helping people experience powerful, real places, and helping them to understand why they need to be respected and cherished. This still holds true today.

All our experiences are as real as they get, but these are our all-time favourite ways to get closer to nature.

Milford Sound

Explore Piopiotahi Milford Sound, one of the wettest places on earth, experiencing 180 days of yearly rainfall with as many waterfalls on rainy days. Cruise up close, get soaked and be stunned by this marine reserve as surrounding masses of waterfalls crash from hundreds of mountain crevasses. This majestic ‘eighth wonder’ brings uninterrupted views, and can really change your perspective, especially when staring up 531ft at Bowen Falls.

Doubtful Sound

Your front-row seat to watch wild Bottlenose Dolphins leap from the waters. Spotting dolphins in this stunning and remote fiord, you start to understand the power of untouched and secluded wilderness. Frequently surfacing, bottlenose dives last approximately 4 minutes, so you’ll have a great opportunity to spot the pod of 50+ that live here.

Stewart Island

Discover the well-protected wild tokoeka (southern brown kiwi). Though their population is almost fifty times the people of the township Oban, they are strangely elusive. So follow one of the Island’s 33 scenic trails, soak up the scenery, breathe the fresh air, and you may spot our feathery friends. You’ll feel close to them when listening to their call, filling the night with their sound.

Walter Peak High Country Farm

Greet the locals at a working high country farm when you sail across Lake Whakatipu Waimāori on the TSS Earnslaw. Meet Dougal the Highland cow - a legend in his own right. Standing at 4ft tall in acres of reclaimed farmland, this stout and fluffy guy commands any paddock he’s in while capturing your heart too.

Te Anau

Get closer to the night sky and discover the hidden and mesmerising glowworms nestled deep in Te Anau’s 12000-year-old underground cave network. Drift into a grotto, carved out by the force of river water, and watch their bioluminescent woven strands fall from the cave ceiling.

Get out there and explore, feel a connection with the world and take inspiration from nature’s wonders. Whatever you take from nature, getting closer to it is one of the best things you can do.