Where the wild breathes again
Across 850,000 hectares of mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes, Southern Lakes Sanctuary is uniting people and place in one of Aotearoa’s most ambitious conservation efforts.
Together, we are protecting biodiversity on a landscape scale and creating a future where native species can flourish.
Restoring nature at scale
Join the movement protecting nature in the Southern Lakes
Southern Lakes Sanctuary is uniting conservation groups, community and business in a mission to restore biodiversity across the Queenstown Lakes District – we’d love you to join us.
Takahē sightings
Heading to the hills? You might just spot a takahē in the Rees Valley!
Latest news from the Sanctuary
Stories from the rugged peaks, valleys and waters of the Southern Lakes — discover progress, people and projects driving biodiversity, native species recovery and conservation action.
What the night revealed: listening to pekepeka in the Rees and Glenorchy
What happens when the sun goes down in Glenorchy and the Rees Valley? In spring 2025, Southern Lakes Sanctuary, in collaboration with Tāhuna-Glenorchy Dark Skies and the help of a team of amazing volunteers, deployed 40 acoustic recording devices throughout the Rees Valley and Glenorchy to better understand the distribution and activity of pekepeka/long-tailed bats, a nationally threatened native species.
Rees Valley now home to largest wild takahē population outside Fiordland
The Rees Valley is now home to the largest wild population of takahē outside their original stronghold in Fiordland’s Murchison Mountains – a major milestone in one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most significant conservation recovery stories.
Southern Lakes Sanctuary Co-Chairs receive King’s Birthday Honours
Southern Lakes Sanctuary is celebrating the recognition of both of its long-serving Co-Chairs in the King’s Birthday Honours, with Dr Leslie Van Gelder appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to conservation and dark sky sanctuaries and Greg Lind named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to conservation and Search and Rescue.