CAPE KIDNAPPERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 185, 6 August 1936, Page 5

CAPE KIDNAPPERS

A NEW REST-HOUSE PROBLEM OF WATER • The building of the long-needed rest-house at Cape Kidnappers was commenced recently, the necessary equipment being conveyed to the site by means of a motor fishing boat. The erection of the building was made possible by the generosity of the Napier public by way of donations and through gilts ol material, etc., from a number of Napier business houses. The new building, though by no means large, will fill a long-felt want at the sanctuary, for at that isolated spot in the past there has be>?n neither fresh water nor shelter. The rest-house is a substantial building of its kind. It has been furnished with a large dining-table and an open tireplace where . kettle may be boiled or food cooked. Three 20Ugallon tanks are erected nearby, so that there will be an adequate supply of fresh water all through the summer. An area near the building is to be fenced off as a reserve, and trees are shortly to be planted. The site of the rest-house could not have been better chosen; it is on a fiat, grassy plateau about 20 feet above the level of the beach and just at the foot of the track leading to the gannets’ nesting area. The problem of taking the tanks, sheet-iron, and timber to the Cape was a difficult one, owing to the fact that the black reef prevents a vehicle from reaching the locality chosen. However, the Cape Kidnappers Sanctuary Board found a solution when it (•bartered a fishing vessel, the Ariel, and a surf-boat. The latter was loaded with some two and a-half tons of material, including the three iron tanks, several hundred feet of timber, and a quantity of sheet iron. The surf-boat was towed to lhe Kidnappers, when a working bee ran it ashore and discharged its cargo. Fortunately the sea was perfectly calm, and at the Cape there was only a small surf; otherwise ,the unloadi«v. of thp material fr?.m the surf-boat <iust have been no easy task. The only difficulty which confronted the party was to float the surf-boat—-weighing two tons—after the gear had been landed, for the receding tide left it high and dry. This was accomplished after nearly an hour’s work. The gannets’ nesting area is deserted at present, but the birds are expected back towards the end of t August. It is estimated that about * 5000 gannets nested at Cape Kidnappers last season. This total was estimated by the fact that there were '''Approximately 2500 nests there last summer. The ranger divided the area off into squares by means of a fishingline, and counted the nests in each square. He proposes to make another tally this summer, to find out whether the birds are increasing in numbers.