22nd May 2022

​Hello friends and family
Elaine came out on Sunday and so we took bloods from both penguins in care, and the Rock Hopper has Malaria. We cannot work out how he would have got infected and can only guess that mosquitoes now live further south than what we knew.

​On Monday, the work began on upgrading the main path in the reserve, so it is now closed until the end of August. It took less than 3 hours for tourists to find another way to get what they want. No surprises there! It is a timely reminder that a fence is so necessary to protect our penguins. It is being erected as a rabbit control measure, but it is also important as a people control barrier.

​On Tuesday morning we had our health and safety briefing with the contractors, before doing the rounds. After lunch we cut the plywood for the first lot of penguin houses.
On Wednesday afternoon, we were very lucky to be able to help out with a trapped seal. It had been caught on heavy duty fishing line and had the hook through its bottom jaw. Robbie and I helped Jim and Jules from DOC who were very proficient in their methods. The seal did not wait around for thankyous, but quickly returned to the sea.

On Thursday, we went to the Bluffs and checked out penguin access points at the south end. Robbie delivered the first native tree seedlings from the Garden Club. Thank you, Michelle!
On Friday morning I went to Oamaru to check out some wire-netting that the Sluters have offered to give us for our fencing projects, and in the afternoon went to visit Sue in Dunedin hospital. The high winds arrived but the cold has not reached here yet. Yesterday I did the rounds. There were no penguins at home.
Have a great week!
Rosalie