Field Trips

Kaikoura Field Trip

In September, the Ecotourism Certificate students went to stay in Kaikoura to see what it had to offer as an Ecotourism destination and to see the industry in action. It is fair to say that the students were suitably impressed.

To start with they went on a trip with Maurice Manawatu of Maori Tours (www.maoritours.com ). This tour really impressed the students as it was a true representation of Ecotourism which includes cultural tourism, nature tourism, heritage tourism and often some aspects of adventure tourism. Maurice Manawatu’s trip is small and allows tourists to engage with the guide and each other and also with the environments that they visit.

The second day of the week saw the students head out with Encounter Kaikoura (www.encounterkaikoura.co.nz ). This trip involves getting in a boat and heading out offshore about 10 km to the food rich environment of the Kaikoura Marine Canyon. This place in abundant in seabird including Albatross of various types, petrels and Skua, all birds of deeper oceanic areas. There is expert commentary which not only seeks to entertain but also to educate clients about these unique species.

The third day involves a very early morning wakeup to go and visit the whales in their deep sea environment which is a real ecotourism success story – Whalewatch (www.whalewatch.co.nz ) The particular whale species are the very large Sperm whales which feed in this remarkably deep area so close to shore. They are in fact bachelors building up their size and strength for when they are ready to breed.

Our accommodation while at Kaikoura was spent at the Maungamanu Marae which is a fantastic example of a small friendly Marae in an absolutely stunning location. When the students and staff arrived, they had a Powhiri (Traditional Maori welcome) and settled in to a very intimate and cosy stay. This backs up the learning the students take part in while studying Te Ao Maori or the Maori world.

Overall the students gained a lot from their experience and could apply many of the things they have learned to what is going on in the wider Ecotourism industry.

If you could want to find a better location to have a fieldtrip for an Ecotourism class, you would be hard pressed as there is all the sea related activities, bush walks, the Maori tourism activities and to top it all off, the town’s council has taken on Green Globe certification ( http://www.ec3global.com/products-programs/green-globe/ )

Travelling from the West Coast, which is a stunning location for an Ecotourism education programme in itself, Kaikoura provided a great example and contrast which helped broaden the student’s perspective, we would love to travel to Costa Rica as well but we just couldn’t fit it into our tight schedule.

Author: Geoff Button