Experience a Kakapo Encounter

This spring you are invited to meet one of the world’s most fabulous creatures in a truly wild and beautiful place.

From September 26 2009 to October 26 2009, Sirocco the kakapo will be staying at the Ulva Island bird sanctuary in Stewart Island’s Paterson Inlet, in southernmost New Zealand.

Chairperson of Stewart Island Promotions Association, Ulva Goodwillie, said this was an opportunity not to be missed.   “It is an opportunity of a lifetime to see this large, flightless, nocturnal bird that is the world’s rarest parrot.”

Today, there are only 125 kakapo remaining on the planet. Once prevalent throughout New Zealand, kakapo now reside on the predator-free Codfish Island under the care of the Department of Conservation Kakapo Recovery Programme. Typically only scientists involved in the programme have had the opportunity to observe this rare bird but that changed three years ago with the inception of Kakapo Encounter. In 2006, the Ulva Island Charitable Trust hosted Kakapo Encounter on Ulva Island - a predator-free bird sanctuary, and invited the public to come and observe a kakapo. 

The response was phenomenal with visitors travelling from all over the globe to view this extraordinary bird. Due to the success of the event, Ulva Island Charitable Trust is excited to announce that Kakapo Encounter is back! 

From 26 September to 26October Kakapo Encounter invites the general public to view Sirocco, the exceptionally personable bird who will return to his special retreat on Ulva Island. Trips will depart in small groups every evening from Stewart Island’s Halfmoon Bay Wharf. The guided tour includes a boat trip through Paterson Inlet to Ulva Island and a walk to Sirocco’s enclosure where he can be observed close-up. Sirocco’s enclosure has been specially constructed with his safety and comfort in mind.

For millennia, these remarkable parrots roamed the forests and mountains of Gondwanaland. Unfortunately an all too familiar story unfolded: man arrived, and soon the kakapo faced centuries of predation. The traits that make this parrot so unique became its undoing: its magnificent plumage, its strangely sweet smell, and its inability to fly rendered the kakapo tragically vulnerable. 

Even without Sirocco gracing its shores, Ulva Island bird sanctuary is a special place. Step foot on Ulva Island and step back in time, for it features the ancient forest of primeval Earth. It has been predator-free for a decade, and a variety of birds thrive there including kiwi, kaka, saddlebacks, yellow-eyed and little blue penguins, rifleman, mohua, and the Stewart Island robin. Also watch out for the cheeky weka – these amusing, flightless birds are infamous picnic crashers!

Ticket prices: 

$90 per adult    

$50 per child (5-14yrs)

For more information:  

www.kakapoencounter.org  

Email:

kakapoencounter@xtra.co.nz