Bach owners Daniel Beetham and his Mum Anna McKay are penguin champions!
We love to share a story of our supporters now and then and Daniel and Anna are overdue for our enormous thanks and appreciation.
Based up in Auckland but falling in love with the West Coast, a few years ago Daniel bought a tiny bach, Woodpecker Bay Bach, on the edge of the ocean between Punakaiki and Charleston. His plan was to make it available for holiday bookings and his bach became a star – voted best bach in its first year!
Daniel and Anna were immediately aware of nature – how could they not be with the waves crashing beside them! They discovered that penguins could be close by and wanted to inform those who might stay in the bach and contribute to penguin conservation at the same time. They have linked bach occupancy to donations and managed to maintain that support during the lockdowns.
Daniel explained:
“The reason we choose to donate monthly to West Coast Penguin Trust… we know the value of regular continuous payments to charities. Helping with ongoing budget projections etc, as opposed to irregular though always welcome surprise donations.
“The reasons that we choose to help the penguins… we know it is a well run Trust with a lot of hard work put in by the team resulting in positive tangible outcomes for the penguins, but also, guests to our baches come for the wild west coast scenery and wildlife, so it is only fitting that we give back to nature, to the reasons why guests come in the first place. Guests absolutely appreciate knowing that their tourist dollars are directly helping nature in this case, simply by booking a Penguin Trust ‘Supporter Bach’.”
Since then, Daniel and Anna have bought a couple more for lucky folk to rent and the most recent has been christened Little Blue.
From the Trust’s point of view, regular donations are our lifeblood. They show that others share our values and our vision and we are encouraged by their lasting support. Donations enable the work of the Trust to continue and give others confidence to support us too, through donations and grants.
So, if you’re looking for a break in a stunning West Coast location that is also good for penguins, one of Daniel and Anna’s West Coast Penguin Trust ‘Supporter baches’ would be perfect.
Our very grateful thanks to Daniel and Anna.
Find the baches on Airbnb for a memorable break in a stunning location:
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!
