Catlins holiday cottages, New Zealand
| country: | New Zealand |
| location: | Catlins River Valley, South Island |
| price: | From NZ $135 per night per cottage for up to two people. NZ $20 per extra person (Cottages take up to 4 persons) |
description
Enjoy a holiday knowing that you are being careful with the environment. Each eco cottage is self-contained and private, and they are located on the edge of our 10 hectare native forest reserve in The Catlins.
The cottages are warm, comfortable, private and quiet with lovely views. There are private forest and public forest walks and river fishing nearby in. The location is three kilometres from the beech forests of The Catlins Rainforest Park.
Our eco cottages are designed primarily for two people. However, family groups, and good friends who are travelling together can share a cottage as there is an additional fold down double bed in the living area, and single stretchers can be added to either the bedroom area or the living room, allowing four people to stay. We have four eco cottages in total, so groups of eight can be accommodated with two in each cottage, or up to 16 with four in each cottage.
The eco cottages are TV and phone-free zones of peace and quiet and they provide stunning self catering accommodation retreats in the heart of the Catlins. To be as sustainable as possible we have provided the cottages with solar water heating, double glazing, extra insulation and an energy efficient solar design.
Eco-tours Private & public walks Fishing Tramping Birding Mountain biking Exploring
The cottages are warm, comfortable, private and quiet with lovely views. There are private forest and public forest walks and river fishing nearby in. The location is three kilometres from the beech forests of The Catlins Rainforest Park.
Our eco cottages are designed primarily for two people. However, family groups, and good friends who are travelling together can share a cottage as there is an additional fold down double bed in the living area, and single stretchers can be added to either the bedroom area or the living room, allowing four people to stay. We have four eco cottages in total, so groups of eight can be accommodated with two in each cottage, or up to 16 with four in each cottage.
The eco cottages are TV and phone-free zones of peace and quiet and they provide stunning self catering accommodation retreats in the heart of the Catlins. To be as sustainable as possible we have provided the cottages with solar water heating, double glazing, extra insulation and an energy efficient solar design.
special things to do and see here
rooms, food and facilities
Each cottage is fully self-contained with: .jpg)
Family & baby friendly: Families are welcome. Baby facilities such as high chair and cot are available on request. Disabled access: One of our cottages is set up and approved for wheelchair access.
Pet friendly: Pets by request only.
how to find us
We are located 10 km south of Owaka, signposted off the Southern Scenic route. This location is two hours drive South of the city of Dunedin where there is an international airport.how this holiday makes a difference
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Our eco cottages provide tranquil holiday bases where visitors can be comfortable with making a small ecological footprint. Based on a philosophy of sustainability, the cottages are of an innovative solar design and are self-contained for water supply and sewage disposal. Of significant ecological value are the 10 hectares of protected native forest at the Park. This enterprise is a showpiece of sound environmental practice in the Catlins community.
We support the local community by being on the management committees of the following local organisations: Papatowai Forest Heristage Trust, Lenz Reserve management committee(NZ Forest and Bird Protection Soc.), Tourism Catlins, Catlins Promotions, Papatowai Rural Fire Force. We support local businesses by employing the local builder, electrician and plumber as well as making our regular purchases of fuel and food at local outlets. We are sensitive to the rights of the people who have chosen to live in this area and the mana whenua. We restrict the number of people we take on our tours and vary our activities and timing to ensure that there is no disruption to the local people’s quality of life, their enjoyment of peace and tranquility. The significance of historic use of local sites by Maori is explained to our visitors and we are committed to keeping an open dialogue with present Maori owners about current issues. We actively endeavour to minimize our impact on both the physical and cultural environment of the Catlins area in which we live and work and work in partnership with the Department of Conservation, providing them with reports and observations, and actively work to keep the environment free of litter. We are volunteer rangers for the Department and active campaigners on environmental issues, making submissions to local body organisations as well as at a national, political level. We believe that our own example is a most valuable asset in the environmental education process. We are lifelong strong supporters of environmental and conservation organisations, we both have served on the Otago Conservation Board and Fergus has served on local and national committees of the Forest and Bird Protection Society. Fergus was honoured by the Queen in 2007, being awarded a MNZM (Member of New Zealand order of Merit) for services to conservation and tourism. Unlike other tour operations we live and spend locally in The Catlins and employ our neighbour for cleaning duties. We employ local trades people and support local causes such as the Catlins Historical Society. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |