It is time to answer some frequent questions I have been getting so here are some specifics about our new work environment. For those not working in the zoo industry, some of these aspects may not mean anything at all. For fellow keepers, they may wet themselves with glee!
The Zoo – Hamilton Zoo is 14 hectares in size (approx 36 acres) compared to Adelaide Zoo's 8 hectares (approx 20 acres). It is situated amongst a low hilly area just outside of Hamilton, with room to grow and indeed already has a lot of land earmarked for future developments. It is a network of paths and boardwalks which criss cross through landscaped native forest and gardens, across lakes and through the biggest walk through bird aviary in the southern hemisphere - complete with waterfalls.

Browse – These are the trees and bushes that the animals eat and for keepers, good browse can be like gold to find. The zoo is so big that there are pockets of browse trees scattered around the zoo. This includes poplar, willow, paulownias, lucerne tree and mulberry. It is so easy to get enough browse, freshly picked, any time of the day. It’s such a luxury.

Again relating to the size of the zoo, we have gators and kobotas (two types of little buggies) with tray backs and trailers to zip around the zoo in. It’s great on a warm day to drive fast along the boundary roads to get a cool breeze blowing through your hair! It’s downright fun too!

The working roster is over a two week period. It is 3 days on, 2 off, 7 on, 2 off, then back to 3 on. If you don’t like the 7 days in a row, you can swap it with one of your other days off to break it up. Phil and I are both on the first roster I described, which is great for us as it allows us to go away for overnight trips on our time off. The hours are we start at 8am and finish at 5pm, with a morning and afternoon break and a lunch break. People tend to take a longer morning break or longer lunch and skip the afternoon break, which works really well. It is a very flexible working environment.

There is enough staff to cover all of the working areas each day, but we could always use more to allow for development and extra jobs that need doing. We have brief morning meetings each morning, just to get a feel for the big picture of the day ahead and sort out any extra jobs or issues that need to be dealt with. We have section meetings at least once a month, then all staff meetings every few months. Twice a year we have appraisals where we sit down with our supervisors and talk about our jobs, our roles, how we are doing and what do we want to achieve in the next 6/12/24 months. Our next one is in March and I am looking forward to that!

Please ask any questions you have about my New Zealand experience, as there is so much to tell I run the risk of boring you all to death. Better to be avoided, me thinks!

Never confuse motion with action. Benjamin Franklin