Monday 13th July 2022

A Spotted Shag in full breeding plumage

​Hello friends and family
The week began with glorious weather, getting up to 15 degrees in glorious sunshine. The big downer was missing out on Otago Regional Council funding. To justify their choices, the rest of us must endure random criticisms of our applications. There seems to be no understanding out there of the urgency of the penguin’s plight.

winter beauty in my garden

​It was my turn at the Toptip this week and after a quiet start, there was a rush on at midday that I did not indulge. It is always the same people who think it possible to be fashionably late. After the rounds on Thursday, Robbie and I went to the Bluffs and put out a trap line into the larger DOC area. It is very uplifting to be in a place that will ultimately offer sanctuary for penguins and other wildlife.

Oh dear!

​On Friday we had the Katiki Point Management meeting which started here in awful weather and then moved to the comfort of the Marae. On the way home, I was blocked by a tree blown across the roan and a short phone call to Dave solved that problem.
Then I got home to a power cut. A phone call to Waitaki network solved that problem too, but it took a couple of hours. The silver lining is that the corrosion breakdown up the pole happened before I went away, because other wise I would have come home to rotten fish.

me with Hugh Wilson - an icon of conservation in New Zealand

​I set out first thing on Saturday morning to pick up Dan in Christchurch. I arranged to meet him at the Riccarton Mall and was able to drive straight there without error which was an auspicious start to a fantastic weekend in Akaroa.

The lighthouse at Akaroa

​On Sunday we were able to visit Hinewai and meet the founder – Hugh Wilson. Then later in the day we went to Pohatu to see the home of Whitte-flippered penguins. Today we drove home via the Bluffs to see the great work that is being done there. Tomorrow we are expecting a year’s rain in one day – watch this space!

The wild side - south of Banks peninsula

Have a great week
Rosalie