Join the fun at Orana Park

Press, 27 December 1985, Page 18

Join the fun at Orana Park

Christchurch’s wildlife park, Orana Park, will live up to its name as the people’s park this summer, as it will be encouraging children of all ages to join in fun and educational activities. Park staff have been working on the January holiday programme for more than a month. The main highlights will include an animal and antics fun day, and a series of art-in-the-park days. An adventure playground will be formally open at the park on December 28 at 11 am It has been constructed with many hours of hard work and voluntary labour by members of the Bishopdale Burnside Rotary Club. A series of activities and competitions for children will begin after the opening ceremony. Clowns, acrobats and staff dressed in animal suits will join in the fun and give away spot prizes. Games on the day will include childrens’ teams events, family competitions, tug-of-war competition, and time trials around, over and under an obstacle course. A Christchurch potter, Gaynor Thacker, will have a stall, where visitors can watch pots being made and even try their hands at making clay animals or other objects. Assistance will be given if needed. Aside from the games activates, the various animals at the park will be fed at different times throughout the day. Lions are fed twice daily, at 11.30 am and 230 pm Giraffes are

fed three times a day at 11 am, 1230 pm and 1.45 pm People are allowed to feed the giraffes by hand from a specially constructed platform. Wardens will supply the vegetation for the giraffes. Other novel and unusual events have been planned for January. An animals and antics fun day will be held on January 4, with the emphasis on family involvement and entertainment Several intriguing activitives have been organised, including a competition to find the best imitator of animal noises, a mystery treasure htmt, face painting and a lucky ticket draw. An attempt to form a world record-breaking snake of people around the zoo will be held in the afternoon. The snake line will start from behind the kiosk and extend past the tigers, camels, and zebra, across the foot-bridge, through the African Plains picnic area, past the farmyard and around the wallabies to the water buffalo. It will continue past the curious spider monkeys to the kiwi house and native bird aviaries, and will eventually finish at the tree-top viewing platform The leader of the snake line will be decided by a ticket draw. It is hoped to have one of “the world’s most dangerous” animals, a human, who will be housed in a cage for a day. Organisers have not yet discovered the right man for the job. The park’s promotions

officer, Mr Jim McGill, was confident of finding the right person. “We would like our human exhibit to talk to people about man’s history, how and why he acts as he does,” he says. Facts about § reservation and conserva;on would also be passed on tothe interested passersby.. Another highlight of the holiday programme will be a two-day art-in-the-park session of mural and face painting on January 8 and 9. Mr McGill is enthusiastic about the art days and says they will add a new and educational dimension to the park’s wildlife. reserve image. -The theme for the murals will be animals of Orana, Park, especially those species that are endangered. Several sheets of plywood will be set up in the farmyard, and paints and brushes will be available for those who want to paint a part of the mural. The outline of an animal of a child's choice will be stencilled on the mural Children would be able to colour the drawing and fill in the background. Children from Christ: church primary schools who entered Orana Park’s' “Create An Animal Competition” run at the end of the year, should bring their creations to the park on January 8 to be judged. There will also be spot prizes for the most original and unusual entries. Children can also help feed the farmyard animals.