Milford Sound :
Our Commitment to our Environment

Southern Discoveries, under the new ownership of South Island family business - Skeggs Group Limited, is committed to working towards more environmentally friendly practices across all businesses in Milford Sound from vessel management to onshore office procedures.

Southern Discoveries incorporates Milford Sound Red Boats, Encounter Nature Cruise, Discover More, Milford Discovery Centre and The Blue Duck Bar and Café.

In 2009 Southern Discoveries announced a partnership with the Fiordland Conservation Trust and DOC to instigate the Sinbad Sanctuary Project.  The Sinbad Sanctuary is located in Sinbad Gully which sits to the left of Mitre Peak in Milford Sound.
Learn more about the Sinbad Sanctuary Project.

Our Commitment to Environmentally Friendly Practices includes:

• A mammal viewing permit-issued by the New Zealand Department of Conservation-to ensure the protection of all mammal life in Milford Sound. Not all operators have this permit.

• New Zealand Coastal Permits are issued for all vessels. This ensures not only safe operating practices, but that all vessels operate below certain noise levels, that no discharge is allowed into the fiord and that all emissions are closely monitored.

• Our vessels are powered by small efficient engines ensuring less diesel is consumed reducing our carbon foot print.

• We practice a zero tolerance of discharges into the fiord.

• We do not use detergents when washing vessels to protect the fiord from pollutants.

• Our Obento boxes, Gourmet and Indian Style Lunch Packs are all prepared in reusable packs.

• Anti waste packaging purchasing decisions are mandatory across all business thereby reducing the amount of waste being removed from Milford Sound resulting in the reduction of fuel required to remove waste.

• With regard to our offices, we recycle all paper and rubbish.

• Southern Discoveries is a shareholder of the Milford Development Authority responsible for the Milford Sound Community. Apart from maintaining an Award winning self contained sewage scheme, the village of Milford Sound is a self contained community with regard to power, water and discharges. The village is powered by a renewable resource, hydro power. Water is obtained from waterfalls and all discharge and rubbish is removed from Milford Sound. Keeping the area as pristine as all visitors expect it should be.

• Our brochures are proudly printed in New Zealand using environmentally friendly paper and vegetable-based, mineral-oil free inks.

• Our brochure paper is sourced from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). FSC is an international, not-for-profit membership-based organisation that brings people together to find solutions to the problems created by bad forestry practices and to reward good forest management. FSC Chain of Custody provides a consistent, international basis for claims about the sourcing of wood/fibre material and products. FSC COC certification is a requirement for labelling products with the FSC name or label. Look out for their logo on all our brochures.

• Southern Discoveries is a Qualmark endorsed visitor activity. Qualmark is New Zealand tourism’s official mark of quality. By carrying the Qualmark logo, shown on all our brochures, you prove that you have been independently assessed as a professional and trustworthy tourism activity which gives faith and confidence to the consumer.

• Our coach partner, ICG operate Great Sights and Awesomenz, a modern fleet of low emissions luxury coaches.