Major boost for Pukaha visitor centre upgrade
Contact:
Pukaha Mount Bruce Board chairman Bob Francis,
Ph: +64 6 377 0447
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Pukaha Mount Bruce
Date: 30 April 2008
Source: Pukaha Mount Bruce Board
A planned upgrade of the Pukaha Mount Bruce visitor centre has received a major boost with a grant of $300,000 by Trust House Charitable Trust announced today.
The grant is in addition to a grant of $100,000 by the trust to the project last year, bringing the total Trust House contribution to $400,000.
The $1.3 million project will see the creation of a high-quality, interactive interpretive facility, within the existing visitor centre building. A new entrance, foyer and retail shop will also be built. The project is stage one of a two-stage planned upgrade of facilities at Pukaha Mount Bruce.
Part of the interactive audiovisual
display proposed for Pukaha
Mount Bruce
Trust House chairman Brian Bourke said the contribution recognised the importance of Pukaha Mount Bruce as a national centre for wildlife and as a major visitor attraction for the region.
"This is an exciting project which will have positive spin-offs for regional tourism as well as providing a world-class facility for locals to visit," he said. "It represents our commitment both to increasing the benefits that tourism brings to the Wairarapa and to enhancing the quality of life in the region."
Pukaha Mount Bruce Board chairman Bob Francis said the Trust House contribution put the project on a firm footing. "The board is delighted with the support given by Trust House which has allowed us to move forward with work on the visitor centre, which is now well underway."
Mr Francis said the upgrade would add 'huge value' to the visitor experience at Pukaha and was expected to lead to an increase in visitor numbers by at least 10 percent to more than 40,000 per year.
Using state-of-the-art, digital technology and interactive displays, the new centre will tell the stories of the forest from pre-human times through to the restoration and work being done today. The stories of recovery of New Zealand wildlife through captive breeding will also feature.
Included will be detailed interactive displays presenting huia, kiwi, kokako, kaka, takahe and saddleback birds, the short-tailed bat and the tuatara. A virtual forest will show how the 940-hectare non-fenced forest is being restored enabling the birds to breed and multiply in their natural habitat.
Children will be able to experience what the forest is like at night through a virtual nocturnal encounter.
In a separate project, an easily-accessible, two-hour walking track through the forest is now under construction. Mr Francis said the track would further enhance the visitor experience by giving people the opportunity get in amongst the native forest and see the birds in their natural environment.
The visitor centre upgrade would take place in two stages with the first stage costing $1.3 million. More than $900,000 of the funds has been raised by the board to date with various funding applications outstanding.
Fundraising for the project was continuing and stage one of the upgrade was expected to be complete by the end of this year.
Mr Francis said the second stage would be a larger project and involve improving the outdoor experience, upgrading the aviaries and captive breeding facilities, and extensions to kitchen, café and education space. ENDS