In 1987 when we purchased this property we made the decision to restore the homestead from the ground up. Although our sanity was in question at the time we were committed to preserve this slice of history.

In the 1980s many early New Zealand homesteads were demolished to make way for town houses. During this time there was an abundance of historic materials available for restoration. We were able to source most of our requirements from Dunedin and Invercargill demolition yards.

Wherever possible we have replaced like for like in the building. The restoration work carried out over the years is a testament to the benefits of recycling, reusing and waste reduction.

• We have also discovered the first owner of the property to be an artist and civil engineer  of some note and we pledge to bring more attention to this  forgotten prominent  New Zealander through our local  historians and Museum.
   
• We are the owners/caretakers of a historic building and are committed to preserve the homestead for future generations to enjoy.
   
• We will continue to seek advise from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust  when ever  there  is an issue with the maintenance of the homestead.
   
• We will continually seek historical information on the homestead and compile research notes to put an accurate history of the building together for future reference.
   
• We have introduced an ‘Environmental Action Plan’ to Safari Lodge to address any issues with excess waste, we are now monitoring energy usage and water consumption.
   
• We pledge to reduce energy used at the lodge wherever possible, offer recycling to guests for their waste and encourage environmentally friendly practices at the lodge.
   
• We will continue to trial new biodegradable cleaning products, sort waste for recycling, compost organic  waste and  find ways to reduce packaging.
   
• We will continue to supply natural environmentally friendly toiletries hand made in New Zealand for our guests.
   
• We will continue to buy local produce  and support local business services
   
• We will continue to support our selected charities in our community.
   
• We will  continue to support ‘Earth Lore’ by sponsoring native tree planting in Southland area for Carbon  Sequestration.
   
• We will continue to educate ourselves on environmental issues and be proactive towards promoting sustainability in all areas of our community.