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Kaitiakitanga guardianship and conservation of the land

Surfsup Kayaks has long invested in the moral pursuit of Kaitiakitanga around the islands overlooking the beach town of Whangamata. Whenuakura island in particular is a wondrous attraction created by nature that would be an experience to kayak to whilst on your travels through the Coromandel. Due to the wishes of the local Iwi who hold ownership of the islands, and the Department of Conservation that have a mutual obligation to preserve the islands flora and fauna that call it home; the island is a wildlife sanctuary.
Kaitiakitanga is the guardianship and conservation of the land. A unification of the natural World and its inhabitance. It does not focus on ownership, but on authority and responsibility, thus utilising its benefits whilst prioritising the sunstainability of the environment.
Anyone can be considered a Kaitiaki (Guardian) any where you go, whether you are travelling to new locations or nestling in a paradise. The simple quest is to protect for the longevity of a sustainable world.
We are amidst new generations that will need to grow up knowing how to protect and conserve our environment and resources; Surfsup looks to spread knowledge to our youth regarding reusability and limited waste known as the Eco-Project.

Tunaiti Kaitiaki Group

With the idea of preserving our local the islands, SurfSup help to start the Tunaiti Kaitiaki group which aims to protect the Whangamata Wild Life Sanctuary so our next generations can enjoy them.
For the last 2 years the group formed by local operators, community and the local Iwi has been working on researching the fauna and flora of the islands, pest control and enforcing no landing policies to reduce the tourism impact.
For more details about the islands, volunteer work and future plans, check our Tunaiti Kaitiki Ropu page here.

Reduce – Reuse – Recycle

All our processes aim to reduce the amount of plastic utilized within the company. We provide guests with re-usable bottles of water to eliminate the use of Single plastic. Also our operations are  plastic bag free, and all products we sell are eco friendly.
Reduce
In order to reduce our environmental impact we have installed energy saving bulbs within our premises and have started monitoring our power usage. We noticed a positive change since.
Another initiative was in regards of cleaning our gear. Instead of hosing it down we started using buckets with Eco friendly cleaning products to reduce water consumption.
Reuse
Lots of features within our shop are made our of reused materials specially wood. It helps us to reduce waist and it looks good. Last year we have started using old wetsuits to line our kayak racks as a form to protect them and extend their life usage. The wetsuit material works great as cushioning and sliding the boats back on the racks after each use.
We currently looking to partner in with other to engage on using gear made out of recycled wood such as surfboards and skates.
Recycling
We have recycling bins to our customers and staff to use within our premises.

Enviro friendly cleaning solutions

Our equipment is consistently exposed to weather and salt from the ocean. In order to keep them in good condition causing minimum impact in the environment, we utilize eco friendly products provided by our partners Little Foot (https://www.littlefootonline.com/). We also utilize essential oils with anti-bacterial proprieties diluted in water for specific jobs.
We are also aware of reducing the amount of water utilized during the cleaning process so we always make sure we use a bucket of water in stead of just hosing things down.