Conservation

We are committed to preserving the environment we live and work in.

Ultimate Hikes is proud to work with the Department of Conservation and Wildlife Trusts on conservation and sustainable tourism in our World Heritage National Parks.

We work closely with DOC on predator control in the region and particularly on the tracks themselves.

Since 2018 the company has increased its commitment to reaching a real tangible goal in our National Parks, not only by our own methods of predator control, but by investing in organisations that actively work to bring back endangered birds to the areas of the Routeburn and Milford Tracks.

Our main focus in the Mt Aspiring National Park is on working with the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust on predator control. The Braided River Project, whose aim is to create a predator free corridor to ensure birds such as the Rock Wren have a safe environment in which to breed and survive.

In the Fiordland National Park, and in particular on the area surrounding the Milford Track, we work with the Kea Conservation Trust to identify, band and monitor Kea in the area. Kea are increasingly becoming endangered due to close human habitation and they are susceptible to lead poisoning from old building materials and lead nails previously used in buildings in the Park.

In 2022 we completed a programme of removing all lead from our buildings on track.

How can you help?

You can join us in protecting the birdlife in our National Parks, by directly supporting our partners - the Kea Conservation Trust and the Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust.

Kea Conservation Trust

Kea are very curious birds and they love shiny things. Their beaks are extremely sharp and they love to find new objects and take them apart.

They can be seen on the Milford and Routeburn Tracks - some seasons there are more of them than others. In such remote areas it is hard for the Kea Conservation Trust to set up tagging and monitoring systems to study the birds' habitats in the Fiordland region.

Over the last two seasons Ultimate Hikes have welcomed teams from the Trust on to the tracks to monitor the Kea population in these remote regions. They have successfully banded over 30 birds across the Milford and Routeburn Track.

In 2021-22 our walkers were very generous in their support of the programme and raised over $18,000. Support for the Trust is ongoing and we are now working to raise funds for transmitters to track breeding pairs and protect nests from predators.

Find out more

Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust

Saving the birdsong

The Routeburn Dart Wildlife Trust is committed to saving the birdlife in the Routeburn Dart Valley. The core method is predator control and the trust has laid 50 Kilometres of traplines in the valley forests, starting near the Routeburn shelter, targeting rats and stoats. We are supporting the trust and assisting in checking the trap lines and doing our own predator control around our lodges on the Routeburn Track.