Jan and Stephen are very passionate about the West Coast, the outdoors and the environment and as such endeavor to ensure they make their environmental footprint as small as possible. We are proud to support and follow the Tiaki Promise - a commitment to care for NZ now and for future generations, acting as guardians to protect and preserve our home. We invite our guests to do the same when traveling in NZ and be mindful of the following:
Care for the land, sea and nature
Tread lightly and leave no trace. Remove, and when you can, recycle all of your rubbish and refill your water bottles. All of New Zealand has potable water from the taps and when walking in nature keep to the designated paths and do not destroy or remove the native plants.
Travel Safely, showing care and consideration for all
It is different driving in New Zealand. You are encouraged to be careful, allow plenty of time, consider other drivers, be prepared for all types of weather and drive to the conditions. See this website for information that will be helpful Driving safely | Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (nzta.govt.nz) . Your car rental company will also provide you with information.
Respect Culture, travel with an open heart and mind
Be respectful. We are a multi -cultural society with a very proud Maori heritage. As you travel New Zealand you will hear the stories, see the signs in Maori and hear the language (te reo) being used. Here are a few of our more common translations: Kia ora- hello and welcome, haere mai - welcome, come here, morena - good morning, haere rā - goodbye, farewell and ngā mihi - thank you, best wishes.
Breakers is set in a sensitive environment with its beachfront location and Paparoa mountain range in behind. There is a section of native bush at the entrance to the property that has Maori significance - a Wahi Tapu meaning sacred place or sacred site and as such a covenant has been put on the Certificate of Title for the land ensuring this piece of bush is never removed for development.
For Jan and Stephen this is exciting as Jan has Maori heritage through the Ngai Tahu iwi with descentants who were Ngai Tahu Elders back in the mid 1800s. Ngai Tahu is the main iwi of the South Island and the fact this property she fell in love with back in 2004 has Maori connections gives her all the more reason for believing things were "meant to be" . The Wahi Tapu for the property is regarding the discovery of skeltons back in the 1930s when the road was realigned and the skeltons have been dated to pre1800.
Due to their rural location and Jan’s Maori heritage and as a typical part of Maori culture, they do ask for removal of shoes inside. Clean slippers are provided for indoors or alternatively guests are welcome to use their own slippers or indoor house shoes.
Most people know of the three Rs in relation to the environment – reduce, reuse and recycle. Jan and Stephen try to reduce their rubbish accumulation for the most part and reuse when possible with recycling being the last resort. They monitor where their goods are coming from to ensure sustainable best practice is used and buy and support local whenever possible.
At Breakers we collect our own rain water and as such all drinking water is safe, fresh and delicious. Bringing plastic bottled water is not necessary when staying at Breakers and you are welcome to refill your water bottles for your onward journey. If you prefer carbonated water we can do this for you with our "sodastream" machine. Thanks to a local farmer here in Greymouth - CJ's Milk, we have reduced the amount of plastic from milk bottles going to recycling as we use Raw Milk direct from the farm collected in washable resuable glass bottles.
We are constantly working on the gardens at Breakers including our greenhouse and vegetable garden plots. There is nothing quite like getting fresh herbs and vegetables from your own garden sources.
To further reduce the environmental footprint at Breakers we monitor our electric and water usage and reduce both as much as possible turning off appliances, switches etc, using energy efficient electrical items and invite guests staying at Breakers to do the same. We use environmentally friendly in-room toiletries from Jeymar Soap & Body from Marlborough and eco-friendly cleaning products together with donating any unwanted items to charity. Through our actions and together with our customer service we are proudly awarded Qualmark Gold under the Sustainable Tourism Business Awards Criteria.
At Breakers we have a strong community commitment particularly with the local wildlife. We work with and support the West Coast Penguin Trust, local SPCA and Paparoa Wildlife Trust (including helping with tree planting) and make a yearly monetary donation to each of the organisations.
We are also strong supports of Life Education Trust West Coast and Westland Industrial Heritage Park with Stephen donating time and photography to aid in their marketing endeavours.
We have on occasion heard Kiwis in our backyard – a very exciting sound to hear as you lay in bed and you often see the footprints of the penguins as they enter or exit the beach below. We do call them elusive as we have only seen them a couple of times for ourselves as they come in for the evening from their day’s sea activities.
We hope our valued guests leave Breakers knowing that their support and actions help us maintain and enhance our lovely region of the West Coast and of New Zealand and ensure our country remains a wonderful place to visit for all ensuring the Tiaki Promise.
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