This Privacy Policy explains how Top Of The Lake Guiding collects, uses and protects your personal information when you visit our website, contact us or join one of our guided adventures.
We are a small, family-owned guiding business based near Glenorchy, New Zealand. We value your trust and are committed to handling your information carefully and respectfully.
By using this website or providing us with your information, you agree to this Privacy Policy. This policy is intended to be read alongside our Terms & Conditions.
This Privacy Policy is based on, and intended to comply with, the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 and any other applicable New Zealand privacy laws.
We collect personal information that you choose to provide to us, as well as some information that is collected automatically when you use our website.
Information you provide directly
- Enquiry and booking details – such as your name, email address, phone number, home country, preferred dates, group size, and the type of adventure you are interested in.
- Health, safety and ability information – information you provide in our Health & Safety Disclosure form or in correspondence with us, including relevant medical conditions, mobility, experience level and emergency contact details.
- Payment-related information – records of amounts paid, due dates and refund details. We do not store full credit card numbers if you pay via a secure third-party payment service.
- Travel and logistics information – such as accommodation location, transport arrangements and any special requirements or preferences.
- Email, phone and message content – copies of emails, messages and notes from our phone conversations that help us plan and deliver your adventure safely.
- Newsletter and marketing sign-ups – your name, email address and preferences if you choose to receive updates, news or offers from us.
Information collected automatically
- Website usage data – such as pages visited, time on site, referring website and general location (for example, city or country). This is usually collected using cookies and analytics tools and does not normally identify you personally.
- Device and browser information – such as your IP address, browser type, operating system and screen size, used to help keep our website secure and easy to use.
Information from third parties
In some cases, we may receive information about you from trusted partners such as accommodation providers, travel agents, helicopter operators, safety partners or friends and family who make an enquiry or booking on your behalf. We treat this information in the same way as information you provide directly.
We use your personal information only for purposes that a reasonable person would expect in the context of guided hunting, fishing, hiking and scenic adventures, and in line with New Zealand privacy law.
Main purposes
- Responding to enquiries – to answer your questions, provide trip ideas, pricing information and availability, and help you decide whether an adventure with us is right for you.
- Creating and managing bookings – to confirm your booking, send you trip details and updates, and manage changes or cancellations.
- Planning safe and appropriate activities – to understand your experience level, health and ability so we can recommend suitable options, manage risk and meet our duty of care.
- Meeting legal and safety obligations – to keep required records for health and safety, incident reporting, insurance and New Zealand regulatory requirements.
- Processing payments and refunds – to issue invoices, record payments and process any refunds in line with our Terms & Conditions.
- Improving our services and website – to review patterns in enquiries and website use so we can refine our trips, information and online experience.
Marketing and newsletters
We may use your contact details to send you updates, stories, trip ideas or offers if:
- you have specifically opted in to receive marketing communications; or
- you are an existing client and we believe the information is relevant and useful to you.
You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us directly. Unsubscribing from marketing will not affect important service-related communications about an existing or upcoming booking.
Using information in de-identified form
We may use aggregated or de-identified information (which does not identify you personally) to understand trends, improve our planning and share general insights with partners. When we do this, we remove or change details so individuals cannot reasonably be identified.
We aim to store your personal information securely and to keep it for no longer than is reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy.
Where your information is stored
- Electronic records – stored in secure cloud-based systems such as email, document storage, booking records and accounting software. These systems may be hosted in New Zealand or in other countries with appropriate security measures.
- Paper records – such as signed Health & Safety Disclosure forms, may be stored in secure locations and are accessible only to people who need the information for safety or legal reasons.
How we protect your information
- Using passwords and access controls on our devices and systems.
- Using reputable service providers for website hosting, email and data storage.
- Limiting access to personal information to people who need it to perform their role.
- Taking reasonable steps to protect information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.
While we take care to protect your information, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we will act promptly and reasonably if we become aware of a suspected privacy breach.
We do not sell your personal information. We only share it with others where this is necessary for your trip, where we are legally required to do so, or where you have given us clear permission.
Operational partners and service providers
We may share relevant information with trusted partners who help deliver your adventure or support our business, such as:
- helicopter operators and transport providers, for flight or transfer arrangements and safety planning;
- accommodation providers, if we are coordinating bookings on your behalf;
- safety partners, medical services or emergency responders in the event of an incident;
- professional advisors, accountants and insurers for business, insurance or legal purposes;
- website hosting, IT, analytics and payment service providers who help us operate our website and systems.
Where we share your information with these partners, we request that they protect it appropriately and only use it for the purpose for which it was provided.
Legal requirements and protection
We may also disclose your information if we believe it is reasonably necessary to:
- comply with New Zealand law, a court order or other legal process;
- protect the safety, rights or property of you, our guests, our staff or the public; or
- assist with the prevention, detection or investigation of crime or serious incidents.
International transfers
Because we work with guests and service providers from different countries, your information may be transferred or stored outside New Zealand. When this happens, we aim to work with providers that have appropriate privacy and security safeguards in place.
We keep personal information only for as long as it is needed for the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by New Zealand law.
Typical retention periods
- Enquiry information (no booking made) – usually kept for up to 2 years to help us understand demand and respond if you contact us again.
- Booking and trip records – generally kept for 7 years after your trip or the end of our relationship, to meet legal, tax, insurance and business record requirements.
- Health & Safety Disclosure forms and incident records – kept for the period required by New Zealand health and safety and adventure activity standards, which may be several years after your trip.
- Marketing and newsletter details – kept until you unsubscribe or until we no longer need the information for the purpose for which it was collected.
When information is no longer required, we will take reasonable steps to securely delete it, anonymise it or store it in a way that it can no longer be linked back to you.
Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020, and in many other countries, you have rights in relation to your personal information.
Your key rights
- Right to access – you can ask us to confirm whether we hold personal information about you and request a copy of that information.
- Right to correction – you can ask us to correct any personal information that is inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
- Right to withdraw consent – where we rely on your consent (for example, for marketing emails), you can withdraw that consent at any time.
- Right to raise a concern – you can contact us if you have questions or concerns about how we handle your information. We will respond as promptly and fairly as we can.
How to exercise your rights
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in the “Contact Us About Privacy” section below and tell us what you would like to do. For your protection, we may need to verify your identity before actioning your request.
If we cannot meet your request (for example, where we must keep certain records for legal or safety reasons), we will explain why. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can raise your concerns with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in New Zealand.
Our website uses cookies and third-party services to help it function smoothly and to understand how visitors use it, so we can improve our information and offerings.
Cookies
Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your web browser. They may be used to:
- remember basic settings or preferences (such as language);
- help pages load properly and securely; and
- collect anonymous statistics about how visitors use the site.
You can usually choose to accept or decline cookies through your browser settings. If you disable cookies, some parts of the website may not function as intended, but core information should still be accessible.
Analytics and performance tools
We may use website analytics tools (for example, Google Analytics or similar services) to collect information about how visitors use our site, such as which pages are visited, how long people stay, and which country or region visitors come from. This information is generally collected in an aggregated form and is not used to identify individuals.
Other third-party services
We may use third-party providers for:
- website hosting and security;
- email and newsletter delivery;
- online forms and document storage; and
- payment processing.
These providers may process or store your information on servers located in New Zealand or overseas. We aim to work with providers that have appropriate privacy and security safeguards in place.
By using our website, you consent to the use of cookies and third-party services described in this section, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Where required, we will seek your consent before using certain cookies or similar technologies.
If you have any questions, concerns or requests about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your personal information, you are welcome to contact us.
Top Of The Lake Guiding
Glenorchy, New Zealand
Phone: +64 274 275 120
Email: topofthelake.guiding@outlook.co.nz
Website: www.topofthelakeguiding.co.nz
Please include enough detail in your message for us to understand your question or request. We may need to contact you to confirm your identity before providing access to, or changing, your personal information.
From time to time, we may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our services, our practices or New Zealand privacy law.
Any updated version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review this page occasionally to stay informed about how we handle your information.
If the changes are material, and where it is practical to do so, we may also let you know by email or in other ways.
Last updated: 4 May 2026