Operator Details
Heritage Expeditions
New Zealands award winning expedition travel co.
web site: www.heritage-expeditions.com
phone: +64 3365 3500
address: Antarctic House
53b Montreal Street
Christchurch, 8023
Destinations:
South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica
Activities:
Nature, Bird watching, Wildlife, Photography, Scientific Expeditions, Expedition Cruising, Educational, Whale Watching
Description:
New Zealands award winning expedition travel company. We specialise in worldwide natural history small group expeditions for the discerning traveller.
Our knowledge and experience of the Subantarctic Islands, the Ross Sea and East Antarctica is unsurpassed. It enables us to make landings that other vessels would miss. We own permits to visit areas that no other operator has; an important consideration when planning your voyage. Our vessel, the Spirit of Enderby, is in a class of its own. To find out more about Heritage Expeditions.
Responsible Travel Policy
To travel with Heritage Expeditions is to travel responsibly. As biologists and ornithologists, we are intimately aware of the many issues that confront animals and their habitats, the worlds oceans and isolated ethnic groups. We also take action. We actively contribute to the conservation of the places we visit in several ways: we buy local and employ locally; we make sure that travellers are respectful of local customs and traditions; and we dispose of waste responsibly.
Conservation
Heritage Expeditions supports conservation by providing advocacy through responsible travel and giving funds and logistical support for research and management. We make significant annual contributions to the New Zealand Department of Conservation; the Tasmanian National Parks and Wildlife Service; Antarctic Heritage Trust and the Russian State Reserve Agency. In addition to these contributions, Heritage Expeditions provides transport of freight and personnel to and from nature reserves. We support the New Zealand Meteorological Service and non-governmental research agencies, including the World Wildlife Fund (Russia) and the University of Canterbury.
For the 2010-2011 season we have chosen our February Antarctic voyage to promote, as well as collect and submit, donations for The Last Ocean Charitable Trust. This organization was established in August 2009 to raise awareness of the unique values of the Ross Sea. The Trusts objectives are:
1. To raise public awareness of the Ross Sea being the last large, intact ocean ecosystem on Earth.
2. To educate the public on the value of the Ross Sea ecosystem to humanity and science.
3. To educate the public on the unique dynamics of a relatively untouched marine ecosystem and how human impact could change these dynamics.
4. To promote the Ross Sea as a unique ecosystem requiring protection from human influence.
For more information about the Trust and the issues facing the Ross Sea, please visit www.lastocean.co.nz
We travel in small groups and endeavour to maintain a guide-to-client ratio of 1:12. Each voyage is led by an experienced Expedition Leader who is familiar with the region we visit. When selecting our specialist expedition equipment, vehicles and vessels we research carefully to ensure the most suitable and the most environmentally responsible. All waste generated on our expeditions is disposed of in a responsible manner; onboard it is treated as prescribed by MARPOL and on land expeditions recycling is encouraged. Non-recyclable waste is brought back for disposal at approved sites.
Heritage Expeditions owns and is covenanted to protect an area of native forest in New Zealand. We employ a part-time Conservation Officer to implement predator control and to replant native species. We partner with the Enderby Trust to provide scholarships for young people to join our expeditions who could not otherwise afford to travel. Heritage Expeditions is an active member of a number of conservation and travel organisations, including the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) which promotes responsible travel to Antarctica.
www.heritage-expeditions.com
