Trade & Media :
Southern Discoveries DOC Awards Finalist

Media Release from Southern Discoveries

Thursday 9 September 2010 

Southern Discoveries a DOC awards finalist for helping to protect Kiwi heritage

Premier New Zealand tourism company Southern Discoveries has been nominated for a prestigious Department of Conservation award.

Southern Discoveries is the oldest and most well-established operator in Milford Sound, and has been nominated for the Southland Conservation Corporate Conservation Award for its role in helping to preserve wildlife at Sinbad Gully, at the base of Mitre Peak.

In partnership with the Fiordland Conservation Trust and DoC, the Sinbad Gully Pest Control Project has been set up to establish a pest control programme that will see the valley of New Zealand’s most photographed mountain become a sanctuary for native species.

Southern Discoveries is one of six finalists from the Southland region up for the Corporate Conservation Award, the winner of which will be announced at the Southland Conservation Awards in Invercargill on September 15.

Southern Discoveries’ General Manager John Robson said the company was “delighted” to be recognised for its work alongside other finalists in the corporate division including the Fiordland Lobster Company, Chalkydigits, Peregrine Wines, Rio Tinto Alcan New Zealand Limited and Mitre 10 Takahe Rescue.

“We’re delighted to be nominated for the award.  Our Sinbad Gully team of volunteers is extremely passionate about supporting a cause that is integral to protecting the magnificence of Milford Sound for future generations,” he said.

“The aim of the Sinbad Sanctuary Project is to see the remote valley of Sinbad Gully become a sanctuary for many endangered and native species with hopefully an increase in numbers in years to come.”

In the 1970s Sinbad Gully was home to the last known New Zealand kakapo (the world’s rarest parrot) living on the mainland. Since then new species of gecko and skink have been discovered there. Southern Discoveries’ financial support and volunteer work helps protect native species like the whio (Blue Duck) and encourages the return of bellbirds, tui and kiwi.

“Fiordland is one of the last true areas of remote wilderness in the world. Milford Sounds is such a magical place and we simply want to preserve its beauty.  The Sinbad Sanctuary Gully project is right on our doorstep so is incredibly important to us,” said Mr Robson.

The Southland Conservation Awards are presented by the Southland Conservation Board in partnership with the Southland Conservancy. The awards are an opportunity for the Department of Conservation to recognise and celebrate the ‘can-do’ attitude and valuable contribution that businesses, individuals, schools and organisations make to conservation in Southland.

The Southland Conservation Corporate Conservation Award is sponsored by E. Hayes and Sons Limited.

Businesses are nominated by DoC staff, who take into consideration the involvement with, or contribution to conservation, including the community conservation initiatives that the business supports.

Organisers said they had received a large number of nominations for the corporate award, making selecting finalists and a recipient extremely difficult.

The theme for this year’s Southland Conservation Awards is ‘Love New Zealand Arohaina I a Aotearoa’, which is all about showing love for New Zealand and protecting the special things that make the country so unique.

For more information please contact:

Anita Golden

Marketing Co-ordinator

Southern Discoveries

03 441 8821

Or 

Fiona Woodham

Southern PR

03 441 1117

 

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Information about Southern Discoveries  

Southern Discoveries is the oldest and most well-established operator in Milford Sound, taking in unique wildlife, tumbling waterfalls and the towering beauty and majesty of Mitre Peak on cruises run on a fleet of modern, comfortable boats.

Southern Discoveries is unique in operating the Milford Discovery Centre incorporating Milford Deep, New Zealand’s only floating underwater observatory.

The Discovery Centre is the only structure of its kind in the Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, where visitors descend more than 10m below the surface to marvel at spectacular marine life in its natural habitat.

Sinbad Gully background information

The Sinbad Gully is located close to the head of Milford Sound within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wāhipounamu - South West New Zealand world heritage area.

In 1974 Sinbad Gully was set apart as a “Special Area” because of the presence of kakapo and the largely unmodified state of the vegetation.  This status was lifted in 1992.  At this stage deer had become established in Sinbad Gully and kakapo were thought to be no longer present, therefore it was considered no longer necessary to restrict public access under the special area status.  Sinbad Gully is now classified as part of the “Eastern Remote Zone” under the Fiordland National Park Management Plan (2007).

The Sinbad Gully has a natural barrier of steep terrain, combined with a cold, wet climate which has limited the invasion of mammalian predators. These attributes have contributed to making it a safer refuge for the rare lizard species such as the Sinbad and Mahogany skinks and the Cascade gecko.  All three were only recently discovered in the Sinbad Gully and the Sinbad skink is known only to the Sinbad Gully. Other species present include rock wren, kea, whio, kiwi, weka, large weta and other large colourful invertebrates.  The valley was also one of the last refuges of kakapo in Fiordland.

The animal pests that DOC proposes to control have a serious impact on native wildlife through direct predation and competition for food.  Control of both possums and stoats will be the key focus for the project.  In time if funding allows rodent and deer control may also become a focus in the Sinbad.

Once the initial knockdown of possums and stoats has been achieved, ongoing control work will be required to maintain low predator densities.  Maintenance control will be achieved through regular servicing of stoat traps and by monitoring possum densities and controlling as required.  The valley walls surrounding the Sinbad Gully form a natural barrier that will limit the re-invasion of introduced predators.