Welcome to our December column, the last one for
2006. I enjoy writing our monthly snippet about the Centre and it is
always nice when you tell us that you like reading it.
Northpower is happy to sponsor the column again, so
there will be plenty more to read in the New Year. I look forward to
working on the column next year, the first of which will be out in
January.
General update…
We are getting lots of new chicks, all different kinds. The two
baby penguins we have at the Centre are eating plenty of fresh fish
and putting on lots of weight.
In the last two months we have been working hard on
organisational changes to obtain charitable status and become an
Incorporated Society. Rules are rules and although they are a pain,
we still have to follow them and the changes will be for the better.
We are going to be on TV…
The last week of November was very busy as we had a film crew
here doing a documentary about the Centre. It took the entire week;
we were shooting every day to get enough footage. It will be shown
on TV3 early next year. As the screen time gets closer we will be
given a date, so we will let you know. The documentary will
show-case a few of our sponsors. This is a great way for people to
see ‘who’ supports us.
Tours and worldly web visitors…
Small tour operators have started visiting the Centre. We hand
out our pamphlets and tell people about our website. The best thing
about the internet is, (thanks to the Bayer web cams) our
international visitors can go home and become regular web-visitors.
And, thanks to Igrin Internet our website looks great and it is just
as good as visiting us here at the Centre. The Centre is becoming
more appealing to a wider audience; more and more people are hearing
about and visiting us. In fact, one week I received two calls from
the Auckland airport. The calls were two days apart, from two
separate couples. Both couples wanted to know how far were we from
Auckland and if we were open to the public. They came to visit us. I
later found out that they had planned to head south on their
holiday. But, they hired a rental car instead and visited the
Centre, stayed overnight and then returned to Auckland to start
their trip.
The holiday season…
If you find a bird in trouble over the holiday season (or anytime
for that matter) bring it in a box, to the Centre. If no-one is
there, leave it in the box and place it in one of the cages on the
deck by the front door. Make sure the box is closed. Any small birds
should be put in the upright cage, this way if they get out of the
box they will still be in the cage with the fine netting on it. You
may think that leaving the birds like this is not good, but, the
resting time is the best thing for them. We will be open right
through the Christmas period. If you are visiting the city call in
and have a look at all the changes. Over Christmas we are still very
busy so phone the Centre if you want to be sure we are around.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone involved with the Centre
for their support during 2006. As I have said many times before, we
would not be where we are today without the support of our sponsors
and the community. We need your support no matter how big or small
it is. A special also thanks to our committee and volunteers.
With that said, we wish everyone a very "Merry Christmas and a
safe and happy New Year"
