Kiwi Experience is committed to green New Zealand bus travel - and not just by painting our buses and wearing the t-shirts! We’ve done a few things to take the first steps towards protecting our stunning environment and have some tips for you to help us along the way. We’re passionate about sustainable eco-tourism and keeping New Zealand beautiful, and we like to encourage people who travel with us to look after it too. After all, it’s the backdrop to one of the most exciting and amazing trip you’ll ever make, so let’s keep it green!
Kiwi Experience already has a head start in this department by using one of the most modern fleets in the business. It helps as well that the buses are full more often which lessens the carbon emissions per passenger, and makes it an even better alternative when compared to car transport. However, that’s not going nearly far enough. The fleet we use is currently undergoing emissions testing with VTNZ – New Zealand’s leading vehicle testing company. This information is used to identify any inefficient vehicles, sell those older buses and buy new fuel efficient ones. As new emission reduction technology comes aboard we will be quick to adopt that too.
When you decide on New Zealand bus travel with Kiwi Experience you’ve already made a good start by sharing your transport needs with others. As you travel around you’ll also notice our Driver Guides keeping a close eye on rubbish disposal, and giving you tips on how to protect the landscape during those stunning walks, swims and adventures you do all along the way. For more information check out the green tips below that we give out on the bus, included in the Kiwi Experience Exposed magazine.
Us Kiwis love our country so we’ve written a few tips to help you care for New Zealand while you’re cruising around on the big green bus. Make sure the only footprint you leave here is on the beach! Aroha Aotearoa (love New Zealand).
Rubbish n’ stuff
- Don’t spit or litter - do the right thing and put it in the bin!
- Chewing gum and cigarette butts count as rubbish - in the bin, not the gutter.
- Recycle paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and cans.
- Be careful with pollution around waterways, it can kill New Zealand’s marine life.
Water and electricity
- Change that 20 minute shower to a 5 minute one instead.
- Turn taps off while you shave and brush your teeth.
- Use the half flush button on the toilet...when you can.
- Only turn on a heater if you have to and close your curtains and room doors to keep the heat in. Sleeping in a shared dorm helps keep you warm!
- Turn off the lights when you’re not in the room (or need to set the mood...)
- Turn appliances off when not in use.
- Once your cell phone, MP3 player or camera is fully recharged unplug it. Even when fully charged the charger still uses electricity.
- Team up with a fellow traveller and share your laundry loads.
Shopping, scoffing and guzzling
- You don’t need a plastic bag for an apple and a soft drink. If you need a bag take an old bag or use a recyclable one.
- New Zealand drinking water is some of the best in the world, so reuse your plastic water bottles (saves you money too). The only place you need to boil it first is in the small town of Geraldine, by Christchurch.
- Get refill packs for washing detergents, buy smaller packs, or share with others so you don’t throw chemicals away at the end of a trip. Give your leftovers away to other travellers.
- Reuse your beer or wine glass.
- Avoid buying plastic cutlery and using straws for your drinks.
- Wash vegetables in a large bowl together rather than one at a time under running water.
Nature is awesome – help keep it that way
- Be “fire wise” and always observe our forests fire risk status (the colourful signs you see on the side of the road).
- Follow trails and support conservation by paying entrance fees where requested.
- Didymo (also affectionately known as rock-snot) can threaten New Zealand lakes and rivers. Make sure you rinse yourself and your clothes with fresh water before re-entering another waterway.
Do your bit and help keep New Zealand green.
If you’ve got any great ideas around how Kiwi Experience or your fellow travellers can be more green share it with us on our community page.
Behind the scenes we’ve got a team keeping the buses, Driver Guides and passengers humming along, and these guys aren’t exempt from doing their bit to fight climate change either. It’s just a start but every little bit helps - here are some examples of what’s being done:
- Printing onto paper from responsibly managed forestry - we can even track an exact page from our brochure right back to the forest it comes from!
- Printing using mineral oil free soy based vegetable inks.
- Recycling of all paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and cans.
- Using old paper for notes instead of new notepads.
- Double sided printing on business documents.
- Creating a “paperless society” to reduce demands on paper stocks.
We love our country. Please look after it while you are here.