The research trail, in full
124 sources, cited inline across the site wherever a specific claim needed backing — Department of Conservation track and marine reserve pages, government agencies, scientific bodies, cultural institutions, official operators and regulators. Deliberately no travel blogs, guide sites, or tourism-marketing pages: if we couldn't find a genuinely primary source for a claim, we left it uncited rather than fake one.
Department of Conservation · Safety, Regulation & Legislation · Science, Earth & Environment · History & Culture · Food & Wine Industry Bodies · Government & Local Authorities · Official Venue & Field Operator Sites · Festivals & Public Broadcasting · General Reference
Every fact on this site that traces to an identifiable outside authority is meant to be checkable, not just asserted. This page is the full list, in one place, of exactly what was consulted and where each source was used — the same links appear inline in the actual articles, at the specific claim they support. A handful of facts we researched didn't make it onto this list at all: where no genuinely primary, non-commercial source could be confirmed, we left the claim uncited rather than force a weak one. See How We Vet for how this fits the site's wider two-tier trust system.