Te Urewera Treks is committed to
operating sustainably - environmentally, culturally, socially,
and financially.
Joe and Joanna commit a large amount of
time, much of it on a voluntary basis, to a range of community
organisations and projects. These include Te Urewera Rainforest Route, Tuhoe
Tourism Federation, Te Manawa a Hiwi Trust,
Tuhoe Tuawhenua Trust and Lake Rerewhakaaitu School. We are also in the process of setting
up a new trust that will focus on the restoration of indigenous
rainforest in Te Urewera -
Rainforest Restoration Charitable Trust.
To date, in partnership with Dutch tour wholesaler TravelEssence, we have planted over 1,000 native
trees and raised almost NZ$5000 towards their ongoing
maintenance, as part of this rainforest restoration project.
More . . .
In addition we
belong to the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter and the
International Ecotourism Society. We are
committed to continuously improving the way we operate to ensure
you have the best possible trekking experience with us.
Our operational
principles are underpinned by the
Maori concepts of kaitiakitanga and manaakitanga.
The basic meaning for the term ‘tiaki’ is ‘to guard’ but
it has other closely related meanings depending upon the
context. Tiaki may therefore also mean, to keep, to preserve, to
conserve, to foster, to protect, to shelter, to keep watch over.
The prefix ‘kai’ with a verb denotes the agent of the
act. A ‘kaitiaki’ is a guardian, keeper, preserver,
conservator, foster-parent, protector.
The suffix ‘tanga’ added to the noun makes it active and
means guardianship, preservation, conservation, fostering,
protecting, sheltering.
ude Te Urewera Rainforest Route, Tuhoe
Tourism Federation, Te Manawa a Hiwi Trust,
Tuhoe Tuawhenua Trust and Lake Rerewhakaaitu School. We are also in the process of setting
up a new trust that will focus on the restoration of indigenous
rainforest in Te Urewera -
In addition we
belong to the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter and the
International Ecotourism Society. We are
committed to continuously improving the way we operate to ensure
you have the best possible trekking experience with us.