Local Spotlight – Okarito Boat Eco Tours

What is passion? Is it a quest for wealth, where all other facets of life pale in comparison? Or could it be more? Perhaps loving something enough to create a life focused on caring for it. And even one step further, sharing what you love with others in the hope they will also look after it. Loving, caring, sharing and inspiring – the ingredients of true passion.

 

A Living Book of Nature

 

Swade Finch and Paula Sheridan own and operate Ōkārito Boat Eco Tours. Located in the historic village of Ōkārito, these two passionate souls spend their days showing people the diversity of South Westland, from the incredible landscapes to the flora and fauna that thrive there.

 

 

How did you get started?

 

Paula: We basically wanted to find a way to stay in Ōkārito (laughs). As guides, we’ve always been passionate about nature and the environment. I wanted to stop guiding between Canada and New Zealand. We came to Ōkārito and fell in love with it. We were walking along the beach one day and thought, “I wonder if we can stay here.”

 

Swade: How do you stay in a place you love? You either work for someone else or find your own way – do something on your own.

 

Paula: The business had been started by a local and run for a short time by the (Franz Josef Glacier) Guides, but it was sitting dormant at the time.

 

Swade: We had a naval architect coming to design a purpose-built vessel that could navigate through the waterways.

 

Paula: The Guides got word and called us saying, “Have we got a boat for you!”

 

Swade: Their boat was designed for the Ōkārito Lagoon, so we brought it back, and that was it.

 

Paula: The rest is history (laughs).

 

Swade: Yep (laughs)!

 

It seems like it was meant to be! When was this?

 

Swade: We started looking at things from 2005 to 2007.

 

Paula: And our official launch was in 2008.

 

 

You offer one trip per day, but that hasn’t always been the case, correct? Can you expand on that?

 

Paula: That’s true. We’ve reduced our tours from four to one per day. We turned away many people last year. The whole ‘less is more’ has sort of culminated. It’s much more enjoyable! We’re able to participate in other projects, which we can then talk about on our trips and get guests excited.

 

Swade: There’s also the economic side of it. If people wait until another day and the boat fills, it works out. We’ve realised we don’t need to take everyone out. We can live like this.

 

Paula: It’s empowering! Covid forced us all to slow down, and people in the area seemed to enjoy it. However, many felt pressure to crank things back up and compensate for lost business when things reopened. We didn’t want to do that, though. We found that our tours and lifestyle have improved. And to add to what Swade said, by stepping away from the archaic mentality of ‘bums on seats’, we’ve actually benefited economically by decreasing our operating expenses.

 

Swade: Yep! No need to keep up with the Joneses; less is more.

 

 

Operating hours aren’t the only area where you’ve cut back within the business. Can you talk about your sustainability efforts?

 

Swade: We wanted to be low impact from the beginning. When we first started checking it all out, we looked at different things, like going electric, but the technology wasn’t there yet. We’ve done everything we can. You have to replace motors relatively often because of the silt and sediment in the waterways. It corrodes the inside of the motor and destroys it. It’s quite interesting. Luckily, most motor places are low-emission now, so we have two low-emission motors. We aren’t fully electric, but we’re doing everything we can to minimise our impact on the waterways.

 

Paula: We both guided for a long time, living remotely and hanging out in nature. We love it and don’t want to make a lot of noise or have a negative impact. So we’ve tried to do something to improve every year.

 

Swade: We went low impact before it was cool (chuckles). We’ve seen the waterways change quite a bit over the years, and lowering our impact has benefited them.

 

Paula: What difference are we making in the world? It’s hard to say. But when we lead by example, we like to think that our guests go off to different places and carry what they’ve learned with them.

 

Swade: Not only do we try to minimise our impact through our tours, but also in our personal lives. We’re always learning.

 

Paula: That’s right! For example, since the Fox Landfill Disaster, whenever we find plastic butter containers and so on washed up on the beach, we pick them up. We’ve changed many things, and we’ll continue to do so.

 

 

Can you tell us about your perfect day on the job?

 

Swade: I love it when the conditions are calm and sunny. That’s why we run the early morning trip. Typically, there’s no wind, and the views are stunning, with Aoraki (Mount Cook), Te Horokōau (Mount Tasman), and Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere (Franz Josef Glacier) in the backdrop.

 

Paula: Six to eight people with cameras and binoculars on both sides of the boat. Everyone’s looking in different directions, oohing and ahhing because it’s 360 degrees of awesomeness! And we’re joining in saying, “This is so beautiful.” The people on the boat go, “I can’t believe you’re saying that. You’ve been doing this for so long.” But we can’t help it. That’s the perfect day! You’re blown away by the beauty and can’t believe it’s real.

 

Swade: Looking at people’s expressions while driving the boat. Nobody’s saying anything; they’re just… They’re into it! They’re focused on what they’re taking in. There’s no need for conversation. The beauty of the place speaks for itself.

 

Paula: People just feel it. When they get that feeling, we pick up on it. That’s perfect!

 

Swade: Yep! That’s it. That’s the best.

 

 

 

What do you enjoy most about living and working in Glacier Country?

 

Swade: We don’t have far to walk to work (grinning). We’re located right at the foot of our driveway (laughs).

 

Paula: Ōkārito! The diversity of it. Everything is sandwiched into this small area. Being out there and getting blown away every single day. Where else would you want to be?

 

Swade: Every day is different. Seeing the birds come and go, the changing waterways, meeting different people, and so on keeps our enthusiasm up. We’ve never gotten bored. It has never felt repetitive. There’s something new every time we go out. We still feel the magic!

 

Paula: It’s a sharing experience. It isn’t ours. It’s everyone’s. We’re just here to take people out and show them what there is to see. Our tours are like opening up a book of nature and not knowing what will come next. You just have to keep turning those pages and see what each chapter will bring.

 

 

What’s your favourite New Zealand plant, animal or insect, and why?

 

Swade: For me, it’s the Tawaki (Fiordland Crested Penguin). I guided at a Wilderness Lodge for 10 years, and seeing thirty to forty of them walking back and forth to their nesting sites was something else.

 

Paula: And that’s where we met (smiling).

 

Swade: Yes, we met at the Wilderness Lodge (smiling). So I’d say the Fiordland Crested Penguin.

 

Paula: I was doing cycle tours when I first began guiding in NZ. That’s when I got into NZ birds, and the Tūī (Tui) was the first one I noticed. You just can’t help but listen to their beautiful songs. You don’t hear them anywhere else. They’re special.

 

 

The Ōkārito Plant Project is also something you’re heavily involved in. Can you share a bit about that?

 

Paula: I started working in the (Ōkārito) Nursery in 2014. I didn’t know much about plants at the time, but I’ve learned a lot since then. We’ve managed to do so much in this community by having different people volunteer their time to work there. It’s been such an incredible opportunity to learn about the plants and how important it is to maintain the waterways we’re operating on. One of the things we talk about on our tours is how everything is connected, from the mountains, forest, waterways, sea, and everything in between, including farmland. We were trying to find a way to improve tourism and farming, as well as protect waterways and the area we live in. What began as a diagram during COVID days has become a very exciting new initiative where we can do much more planting while including more people both within our community and beyond. And we get to teach people what it’s like to give back. And we can change the world (laughing)!

 

 

Is there anything else you’d like to add that hasn’t been covered?

 

Swade: Also, since the restrictions on our operations during COVID, we’ve been involved with a lot more research. We’re doing eDNA sampling, taking water from different places in our wetland area, sending it away for analysis, learning what’s missing and abundant, working with land care research and understanding our local environment. It’s really cool! Doo dee doo!

 

 

What are you waiting for?

 

Ōkārito Boat Eco Tours is located at 31 Wharf Street, Ōkārito – just across from the Lagoon. ​Look for the white heron sign as you enter the village. Drop in to see Paula and Swade, or get in touch to experience local passion at its finest.

 

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Mike Bilodeau is a freelance writer focused on ecotourism and sustainable travel.