The Place
Tamatea/Dusky Sound is one of the most remote wilderness areas in New Zealand. Located in Fiordland's southwestern corner, it's accessible only by boat or helicopter. Only a tiny fraction of New Zealanders will ever set foot there.
This is also where New Zealand conservation began - over 120 years ago. It's where Richard Henry, our first conservation ranger, started his pioneering work. Today, it's the focus of one of the most ambitious ecosystem restoration projects in the world.
The Partner: Pure Salt
Pure Salt is a New Zealand-based social enterprise run by Maria Kuster and Seán Ellis from their 27-metre expedition vessel M.V. Flightless. They take small groups (maximum 12) into Fiordland's remote wilderness - combining premium eco-tourism with hands-on conservation work.
We've been working with Pure Salt since 2018. What started as traditional filming evolved into something transformative when immersive video technology caught up with the ambition.
The Conservation Work
The Tamatea/Dusky Sound restoration plan aims to turn this archipelago of over 700 islands into one of the most intact ecosystems on Earth - New Zealand's largest "bio bank" of endangered native species.
Pure Salt's contribution: predator control on Indian Island/Mamaku and Long Island. The results are measurable.
- Rat tracking dropped from 30% to 0% on Indian Island
- 2,500+ traps protecting habitats across 4 islands
- 17km of tracklines cut and maintained
- Kiwi now appearing on motion cameras
The Challenge
How do you build empathy for a place almost nobody can visit? How do you get ministers in Wellington, philanthropists in Auckland, and corporate leaders making funding decisions to care about conservation work they'll never see?
Data is critical. But data doesn't make you feel anything. Photos are beautiful, but flat. Videos are better, but you're still watching a screen.
What if you could actually take them there?
The Documentary
In November 2024, we created "Guardians of Tamatea" - a 10-minute immersive documentary that transports viewers into the heart of predator control work in Dusky Sound.
Shot in 16K with the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive, the documentary lets viewers stand on mountaintops overlooking ancient forests, travel on the boat with the conservation team, walk through the forest, and watch trap checks alongside the crew.
Not watching it. Being there.
The Proven Impact
We've shown "Guardians of Tamatea" to 25 decision-makers - government officials, conservation leaders, philanthropists, corporate executives. The response has been 100% positive. Every single person has had a powerful emotional reaction.
The pattern is consistent: People start the experience chatty and excited. Two minutes in, they go quiet. Facial expressions fade. They lean back. They're not watching anymore - they're there. When they finish: emotion, often tears, immediate desire to act.
"It creates a beautiful magical world and takes people to the place. It shows good work is being done."
Steven Joyce offered to introduce us to current ministers - Conservation, Science, Finance. Department of Conservation officials have explored integration into their $5 million "Connecting People to Nature" campaign. Doors are opening because presence creates connection that no other medium can.
"All I want to do now is get into nature and get down there."
Why It Works
People protect what they love. You can't love a place you've never experienced. But if immersive video can make you feel you've stood in that forest, watched that team check those traps, seen those native birds thriving - you develop the emotional stake necessary to care about protecting it.
A place that almost no one gets to visit can now be experienced by anyone with Apple Vision Pro. This is the model: take viewers to places they could never reach, and let presence do what statistics cannot.
- Shot in 16K with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive
- Available to 100,000+ users on Explore POV
- 25 stakeholder demos with 100% positive response
- In partnership with Pure Salt since 2018
What's Next
We're seeking conservation partners for future immersive documentation projects. We produce each project at the highest quality, reaching a global audience of over 100,000 users.
The technology is ready. The platform exists. The technique is proven. If you have a conservation story that needs telling - a place that decision-makers need to feel connected to - we want to hear from you.