Hildegard and Ralf Lübcke and their three daughters arrived in Dunedin in 1985 on what was supposed to be a 2-year stay while Ralf was conducting research at Otago University. They soon fell in love with the country and made it their home.

Ralf works as a consultant at Dunedin hospital. He used to be an active rower, loves the outdoors, and rides his bike to work every morning. Ralf supports Hildegard in her business venture, particularly with marketing and promotion.

Hildegard trained and worked as a Biology and Chemistry teacher in Germany taking a keen interest in environmental education. In 1989 here at Dunedin University the opportunity for a Post Graduate Diploma in Tourism presented itself with Hildegard taking up this challenge focusing on interactions of wildlife and tourism. This lead to the establishment of a small-group nature guiding business, initially called "Wings of Kotuku" and renamed "Nature Guides Otago" in 2000. Hildegard is passionate in her guiding, concerned about conservation and particularly the Yellow-eyed Penguins. There are tremendous management challenges like predator control and habitat improvement for these increasingly rare birds which has prompted active involvement by Nature Guides Otago. Hildegard is grateful for the support of her guides who have proven invaluable in supporting these efforts and providing fun and informative tours for our guests.

Our commitment to the environment is rooted in our personalities and we contribute as much as possible to global sustainability. We encourage our guests to support us in this effort.