​Hello friends and family
A new season begins. Thank you so much for all of you that supported our work during the last season. Each of the last 5 seasons has been an uphill struggle for the penguins and we hope that this will be the year when the numbers begin to recover, and we can start to re-build the population.

​A special mention to my big brother Richard who has been our honorary accountant all these years and is now finally retiring. We need a new accountant please – not that onerous, we use Cashbook, so it is straight forward. Thank you, Richard for all the support over the years.

​The week began with a dire weather forecast which turned out to be not as bad as predicted. The rehab penguins were released, the pens and enclosures cleaned out and now the lawn can recover. Robbie and Patrick came on Tuesday and we did the rounds and planted a few plants. I was on the Top-tip on Wednesday morning and it was very cold – sleet but no snow.

On Thursday, Elaine, Robbie and I helped Patrick clean up some of the rubbish down the hill. The reward was seeing juvenile penguins socialising with the adults, but we did pick up one skinny one that later tested positive for Malaria.
Elaine joined me on my trip to town on Friday. It was glorious after a hard frost. The mountains were covered in snow and the air was fresh. Yesterday was better and the Saturday team worked in the forest, out of the wind.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family.
This has been another great week. Hamish and I planted trees whenever we could, and for the first part of the week, the penguins were coming home and providing great entertainment as they porpoised through the water. 

​On Wednesday we went to Oamaru to stock up on fencing materials and then went to the Moeraki Tavern for dinner. They have a great range of gluten free meals so Hamish could enjoy his meal guilt free. As usual, I had a Fisherman’s basket – Yum!
Robbie came out on Thursday morning and got the roll of netting cut up before the rain. Stewart brought Helen and Roxie out for a visit in the afternoon and Hamish cooked Nachos for dinner.

​Hamish went home on Friday and I started the cleaning of Robbie’s rehab. I also got word from Ngai Tahu that they will waive the annual lease on the house which is a significant contribution to our conservation work. Thank you, Ngai Tahu!

The Saturday team came and did some more habitat work. The behaviour change with the penguins was very noticeable. Not a lot of flying penguins or beach politics!
Have a great week
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
Sunday and Monday morning where spent planting trees. On Monday afternoon we went to the section to begin clearing the gorse. It will be mostly a chainsaw job, but not impossible!
The team turned up on Tuesday and more trees were planted. By Wednesday afternoon Hamish was wondering if we did anything else, so we went back to Hampden and got more done. 

​Thursday was bitter and so Hamish and I did the rounds on our own and Robbie came in the afternoon to help plant more trees! From the planting site, we can watch the penguins coming home. They porpoise through the waves and move at a great pace. The first ones are coming home at around 2:15 pm so there is great viewing from then on.

​To add a bit of variety, on Friday morning we finished off the clean-up in the Aviary. This involved throwing a lot of rocks, so it is great to have that job done. In the afternoon we planted more trees until the penguins came home and it was time for us to go home too.
Hamish and I are taking turns with the cooking, so we are living the high life at the moment. He is gluten free so that means I need to be a bit creative and he eats leftovers for lunch so that is easy.

Hiltrun, Elke and Elaine came on Saturday and we did more blood tests on the 2 YEPs in care. One still has Malaria and the other, a bacterial infection. They will both be here for another week!
We saw the first returned Juvenile of the season – not for long though as the adults chased it back into the sea – something I have not seen for about 10 years.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
The weather was glorious for most of the week. I released the Christchurch chick on Monday and on Thursday we gave him a nudge and he swam off like a penguin should! I also released the Katiki Beach White-flippered penguin. He had sorted his feathers out and almost doubled his weight, so it was time to go!

​More trees have been planted – more circles made, and more Y posts banged in. Michelle and Charlie have done the watering. The Hugo wing is ready for next season. 

​Grandson Hamish arrived on Friday and so Saturday was the first planting session. We planted Kowhais and Kakabeaks. Wonderful! Hiltrun and Elaine came out and did some tree work. We all enjoyed watching the penguins come home fat and early.

Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
There is something satisfying about planting trees. It is very fiddly as well because we put in 2 layers of protection. The first is a biodegradable rabbit / wind protector and then around that, we put wire netting, secured with a Y post. It all takes time and when we have nice weather, it is great. Then the tree gets watered. We planted 15 trees on Tuesday. 

​I was back at the Top-tip on Wednesday. There was lots of hand – sanitising, social distancing and I had Chrissie to help me, so it was very social. I asked her (about 6 times) to get Owen to chase the cow around the paddock so she calves, and I can start making cheese again.

​It rained on Thursday, so Jan and I did the rounds and there were lots of penguin pairs at home. They were very skittish, so we had to be careful to not spook them as we want them to be comfortable in their nest boxes. It seems that the pairs have several boxes that they swap between, and we just hope they pick one!

​On Friday I went to Oamaru to pick up more netting and see the doctor. I am of an age where I need maintenance and my left shoulder has been painful for some time. I damaged it carting fish around over the summer and it has not yet healed. Now, with only 6 penguins in care – all a delight to feed, it should be on the mend. I may need some physio.

Hiltrun and Elaine came out yesterday and we had a great catch up until the rain stopped and then got on with monitoring and track clearing.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
​

​Hello friends and family
It is now so dry that we have started intensive watering of our new trees. Last winter we waited for the rain and ended up not planting much at all, so this year we are planting regardless of rainfall and will just keep the tap on!

​On Saturday we opened the soft release pen and by Monday, one of the chicks had gone. The other was slower out of the colony and did not leave so we brought it back in on Thursday. A blood test revealed a bacterial infection.  I released a little penguin on Tuesday so was down to only 2 in care.

​On Thursday we picked up an adult female that was only 3.5 Kg. Blood tests showed both a bacterial infection and Malaria. She will be with us for a few weeks to get back up to a normal weight. Robbie arrived with some plants from the Yellow-eyed penguin Trust nursery – thank you so much YEPT! 

On Friday we got a new chick in. It weighs only 2.9 Kg, has Malaria and a bacterial infection. We will do our best for it. Yesterday Hiltrun and Elaine came to do some clearing in the Moeraki colony. Hiltrun brought up another trailer load of trees. The weather was glorious and the sea beautiful. It was the day that I completed a run of 1000 days playing a game on my phone called FLOW. I only play the daily free puzzle and this milestone reflects how dull things can be around here because I still enjoy it!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
Elaine and Hiltrun came out on Sunday and began the habitat upgrade at the Moeraki colony. This involves clearing up fallen trees and keeping access for penguins and humans open – The key piece of equipment is a chain saw!

​On Monday I used up all the scrap netting that had accumulated over the summer and made enough tree circles to protect all the trees planted so far. On Tuesday, Robbie cut another 50 and so we will clip them up and hopefully be able to stay ahead of the planting! Later in the day, Kristina and Thomas brought two of our chicks home, that had floundered north of Christchurch. Both chicks were in excellent condition, so on Wednesday morning we took them to soft release where they will stay for a few days to orient themselves before re-joining the local flock.

​Michelle and Charlie came and watered the trees as the big dry continues. Elaine collected 50 Narrow-leafed Olerias from the nursery in Dunedin for planting in the most exposed spots. I spent Thursday morning at a video conference about the most recent penguin season. This was quite exhausting, trying to do the best for the penguins. It was a relief to spend a few hours afterwards, planting trees!

​On Friday I went to town early and then had a video conference with the AAPK (American association of Penguin Keepers). This one was on Zoom, and by blocking their video and sound, I was able to talk to about 25 people from all over the states. We have seen videos on Facebook of penguins walking around in empty zoos. These are challenging times for the whole world.

Yesterday Hiltrun and Elaine continued with their colony clearing and I walked the coast. 4 of our chicks have been found so far, and if any more need a hand, we have to keep looking to find them!
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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​Hello friends and family
It feels like freedom again! I have been so lucky with the whole Covid 19 scenario – most of what I needed to do could be done in the lockdown, but it is great to have it behind us. For a time, the team was at a low energy level, but now we are looking forward to our 500-tree challenge and next season.

​We have cleaned the hospital and our attention has now moved to Robbie’s rehab which needs serious work done on the floor. It will be reshaped for better drainage and new internal divisions put in, so the penguins do not jump pens quite so often.

​We have started planting trees at the Moeraki colony. On Tuesday we planted 12 and on Thursday we planted 20. On our way home, we were treated to some whale sightings. There was a small pod of small whales off the coast and they were breaching so we got a good look at them. Spotting whales does not lend itself to cell-phone photography. The tiny black dot in the vast swathe of blue does not capture the magic!

On Friday I went to town for the first time in over a month, to collect stakes and wire netting for the trees. There was not a lot of people about and I did not have to wait long to get into the shops I needed to go to. Kiwi Bank was closed so thank goodness for online banking.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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