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at night and remove the chicks. Each is placed in a darkened box

and taken down on the low hillsides above where we were
walking on the Peninsula. There each individual is placed in an

already prepared nest box. Next, when hunger forces a chick out
of the comfy nestbox in the dark of night, he or she will imprint on

the star patterns and the skies above his new home. The
researchers believe that when it is time for these chicks to return
as adults in 5-6 years for breeding, they will come to this hillside

since it will be “home” to them. So far the program is working
well, but it cannot be called a total success quite yet since none of

the relocated chicks has become old enough to breed. It will be
another 2-3 years before the first of the “changelings” returns to

Kaikoura.

This is just another of the interesting and innovative projects that
DOC has initiated for the restoration, preservation, and
conservation of New Zealand’s native species. No wonder the

conservation world comes to New Zealand!

Chapter 8. Christchurch

In lovely, hyperEnglish Christchurch, we were to experience two

different kinds of wildlife conservation. This beautiful coastal city
calls itself “more English than England” and it certainly does strive

to earn that appellation. With its River Avon and the beautiful
Anglican Cathedral in the center of town, its English architectural

styles, and its English manners and customs, Christchurch is a
wonderfully comfortable city to visit. Its other claim to
importance is the existence of its peculiar “cottage industry”: the
th
staging arena for Antarctic Explorations from the 19 century
right up to today. The Antarctic Museum contains many artifacts

from the Scott and other expeditions, including diaries and

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