White Heron Sanctuary Tours

White Heron Sanctuary Tours is a long-running specialist operator based in Whataroa on New Zealand's South Island West Coast, established in 1987. The company is the only one authorised by the Department of Conservation to access the Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, the country's sole nesting colony of the kotuku (White Heron), and trips combine a jetboat ride up the Waitangiroto Stream with a short boardwalk approach to a hide overlooking the colony. Tours run roughly from September through early March during the nesting season, with daily departures and a separate rainforest nature walk option available year-round. The colony also hosts breeding Royal Spoonbills and Little Shags, and the surrounding kahikatea swamp forest is a draw in its own right. The business holds Qualmark Gold for sustainable tourism.