Urban Sanctuary

Wellington. April 2009. Ajr

I don't mean to boast but I've seen plenty of tuatara. But there is still something quite special about seeing one in the wild - well....almost the wild! I photographed this one at Wellington's Zealandia Sanctuary at Karori and no, it wasn't in a cage. They have many tuatara living 'wild' within this unique, fenced urban sanctuary - the first urban sanctuary in the world. The little coloured beads on the back on its neck are the tags that identify each lizard according to age, gender etc. The little green lizards 'laced together' enjoying the sun were in a cage - a glass house actually. They're the rare Wellington gecko, unique to the capital city. You can read much more about both at www.sanctuary.org.nz

Wildlife in the City

Sparrow. Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia. Nov. 2008 Ajr

When the Wildlife

Is Alert

To The Facilities

Meet the People - 15

Jo Heaton & Red Panda. Photo supplied.

Another in the series Meet the People – Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders Doing Interesting Things. Jo Heaton is a self-confessed culture-vulture and a firm believer in the fact that Wellington does it better than anywhere else. Jo, who is the International Marketing Manager for Positively Wellington Tourism and chair of the Classic New Zealand Wine Trail marketing group, is like most people in tourism – she gets to do all sorts of terrific things in the name of work….. feeding a red panda at Wellington Zoo for instance. It’s her job to attract international visitors to Wellington and that’s never difficult. “I arrived here many years ago during the International Arts Festival and the buzz was so infectious it’s kept me here,” she says. Food and wine are also a passion – “and you can’t beat Wellington’s bars, restaurants and the nearby wine regions. The fact that Wellington is such a walkable city is also a big plus. I love the fact that I can walk to work in 20 minutes and then go home on one of our most iconic tourist attractions, the Wellington Cable Car.” She’s also quick to point out the capital’s natural attributes and the fact that Karori Wildlife Sanctuary is doing amazing things to protect New Zealand’s endangered species – “and I get the benefit of that at home because birdlife is spreading all over the city. Come and see for yourself – and don’t stay for just one night because there’s way too much to do.” www.wellingnz.com www.classicwinetrail.co.nz