Our Story
Flying Kiwi Parasail is proud of the fact that we operate in an area that was one of the first points of contact between the two cultures of Maori and Europeans, this relationship culminating in the birth of modern Aotearoa by the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
It is fitting therefore that Flying Kiwi carries on this legacy, through the tourism industry, by introducing international and domestic travelers alike to Aotearoa, Waitangi and the Bay of Islands from the air and from the ocean.
This is done holistically through the ability of our staff to articulate our rich history to our customers in a friendly and informative way. When wind permits we fly in the vicinity of the treaty grounds giving our patrons a unique and exciting view of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.
We treat Moana (Ocean) and all creatures within it with great Manaakitanga (kindness and respect) as that is our duty as the Kaitiakitanga (guardians) of this earth.
He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
As a tourism operator we are part of Tourism New Zealand’s sustainability commitment to the TIAKI PROMISE. Tiaki means to care for people and places. New Zealanders have a special connection to the land, and want to help visitors travel safely and conscientiously. The Tiaki Promise has a set of guiding principles for visitors to follow, showing them how to contribute to preserving and protecting our land and our future.
We recognize that protecting the environment today is essential to creating a sustainable tomorrow.
Flying Kiwi Parasail is committed to providing a quality service in a manner that ensures a safe and healthy workplace for our employees and customers and to minimize our potential impact on the environment. We will operate in compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and we will strive to use pollution prevention and environmental best practices in all we do. In order to do so we will:
- Support local wildlife and cleanup projects
- Minimize our use of paper and other office consumables
- Recycle oil
- Water blast/clean boats where there is a containment facility
- Recycle any potential rubbish left onboard our vessels
- Where possible use local businesses for printing/embroidering apparel and media
- When possible source our supplies locally
- We upgrade our engine every two years to the latest Volvo diesel engines that have better emission systems
- Our Parasail skippers are trained in a way to utilize the wind to their advantage so that is to reduce the boat’s engine speed therefore saving fuel.
Celebrating our 20th year in the Bay of Islands and being in the heart of where modern-day Aotearoa first developed we found it appropriate to ask local legend and tattoo artist Paitangi to develop a new logo for us. Our office manager Julia worked with this fabulous lady to develop our current logo and Taniwha that can be seen at the bow of our boats.
We are forever grateful and humbled to be working and living in such a beautiful, historical part of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Our bit
There are many organizations in New Zealand that are working incredibly hard to keep our forests pest free, Planting trees and cleaning the ocean and rivers. Flying Kiwi Parasail is a member of Forest and Bird NZ which is New Zealand’s leading independent conservation organisation. Have a look and their website for the latest articles and donation options.
Bay Bush Action is another fabulous local organization that are working insanely hard to keep our Northland forests pest free. They are a bunch of local voluntaries that are spending countless of hours trapping in the Northland forests. Contact them and please give them a donation today (their honey is also incredibly tasty).
Sea Cleaners boat Bobby Stafford-Bush 2 is a well spotted boat in the Bay of Islands and they work hard to keep our ocean clean from different pollutants. This organization is also non-for- profit and heavily rely on donations so please have a look at their site as well for different donation options.
Our Mission & Vision Statement
We are fully committed to giving our customers an exceptional experience that is not only Parasail specific, but also cultural and environmentally focused where possible. We do not only give our customers a Parasail experience of a lifetime but are also giving them a piece of the Bay of Islands to bring home.