BLUE DUCK LODGES
March 09

Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au
I am the river and the river is me

Welcome to the first Bush telegraph for 2009, merry New Year!!
A lot of water has flowed from the mountains to the sea since out last
newsletter…..alot!! All the lambs have been sold, the Blue Ducklings have fledged,
many top guests and eco warriors have visited us, each leaving their own mark and
the manuka honey is being harvested as we speak……mmmm.. manuka……

As always, more big plans are being hatched!!

Goings on in the bush……

· Welcome Wendi Lane, the new Blue Duck PA
· Massive conservation project, Kia Wharite, Launched
· Kiwi survey at Blue Duck 1st April…..volunteers??
· Blue Duck café and information centre
· Up coming events

Welcome Wendi Lane….. (Hello!!)
As we grow, good passionate people are needed to drive the business forward. Wendi comes
from farming stock at Miranda and has travelled the world extensively, for 17 years!?! (was
only meant to be 2!!) Wendi went on the website, liked what she saw, came and volunteered
and then moved here!! Her jobs include Blue Duck PA(well….Dans PA!), office manager,
lodge organiser and whatever else needs doing!

Kia Wharite
The largest project of its kind in NZ, Kia Wharite will help protect Blue Duck, Kiwi
and the entire forest ecosystem on private and conservation lands. Whakahoro is
the northern gateway for the project which covers 450,000 acres. Conservation
minister Tim Groser came and launched the project. He spoke about conservation
being the most important factor for NZ farmers, tourism and the economy, now
and in the future.

Kiwi Survey
Blue Duck is holding a large scale Kiwi call count over 3 nights from April 1st(or there
abouts, weather permitting). We are hoping to identify birds for future egg lifts and build a
profile of the local Whanganui Kiwi population i.e. age, sex and distribution profile.
All keen volunteers….give us a shout!!

Blue Duck café and information centre is on its way!
We have purchased the Wades landing canoe and jet boat base from Steve Carr.
This will become the centrepiece of Whakahoro as a Café, info centre, art gallery
and generally, just a nice place to hang out having a great cup of coffee whilst
finding out about the wildlife, history and future plans for the area.
The plan is that the café will become Whakahoro’s very own event’s centre, hosting
weddings, meetings and lots of parties!! We have already tested out the facilities
with a few warm up parties!?!......it’s all good!
It will be a gradual project over the next few months, so we will keep you posted.

Upcoming events – shoots and giggles…..
· We’re chasing roaring stags for the next month with top clients
· Latest word from National Geographic is, article due out in July issue
· Pre-lamb pig cull early July, before Dan buggers off to Canada (lucky …!)
· Music festival to celebrate Whakahoro centenary next Summer
· The next Whio fielday will be in May….... will let you know the date.

Well, that’s enough smoke signals from Retaruke. Come and see us, catch-up and
play. It would be bloody lovely to see you!

See you soon, from Dan and the team living the dream!

Blue Duck Lodge
RD 2
Owhango
07 895 6276