South Island Penguins – Nature and Conservation Tours
The Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust and the West Coast Penguin Trust, in association with Nature Quest, are presenting two trips for nature enthusiasts in September focused on penguins and penguin conservation.
Nature Quest is a small nature tourism business, established in 1988. Group sizes will be small, a maximum of 14, and will be led by an ornithologist with over 20 years leading nature tours.
This will be a perfect opportunity to become more acquainted with penguins and penguin conservation projects in the South Island. Trips will last 10 days with the optional extra of extending to Stewart Island. They will take in the West Coast – blue penguins in the Charleston area, and further south, plus Fiordland crested penguins with the West Coast Penguin Trust, and yellow-eyed penguins in Otago and Southland with the YEPT, including a visit to the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital.
You will hear all about work behind the scenes by the Trusts and the hospital, hearing from managers and rangers and recognised experts in the world of penguin conservation.
A baseline fee plus all profits from the trips will go towards the West Coast Penguin Trust and the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust.
Trips depart in September 2021. For further details, see the trip brochure or please contact nature@naturequest.co.nz
This is a fabulous opportunity for penguin enthusiasts and for the West Coast Penguin Trust and our friends at the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust.
While materials were chosen that would stand up to the harsh coastal conditions, those same coastal conditions are conducive to plant growth! Occasional checks of the fences have been carried out by volunteers and rangers so that any maintenance needs can be identified and remedied. The never-ending need for maintenance is managing the vegetation that can grow through the fence, for example gorse, blackberry and hydrangea, pushing it to breaking point in places, or flop over causing damage from the weight of rank grass, rushes and weeds such as montbretia.
Volunteers recently spent a few hours tidying up the main fence along Woodpecker Bay north of Punakaiki so a big shout out to them - thank you Fiona, Jony, Reef, Katrina, Mandy, Marty, Teresa and Deb! Flax had been pressing down on the fence, but now the fence has been freed up by these wonderful volunteers - and they picked up a fair bit of rubbish too.
Volunteer Natassja Savidge has offered to check and help maintain the Hokitika penguin protection fence and joined Ranger Lucy Waller and Manager Inger Perkins in May to inspect the length of the fence. Some minor issues were found but the main finding was the extent of the vegetation growth that was damaging the fence in places. Big thanks to Natassja!
