It’s all happening at Seaview Wildlife Encounter! With only two weeks and two days left before we re-open the Park to visitors after the annual winter shut-down there’s still LOTS that needs to be done. Although we endeavour to pace ourselves with all the projects scheduled for the winter months there’s an inevitability about a last minute flurry of activities!
I sneaked about with my camera this morning to capture some of the ‘behind the scenes’ projects currently underway:
Graham has been our Head Chef for the past 29 years …. however, not only is he a great chef, he’s also a skilled carpenter – so, during the winter months, he replaces his apron with overalls and takes charge of a multitude of building and maintenance tasks around the Park. In this image (left) Graham is building a new covered patio as another alternative outdoor eating area.
There’s a new Park frontage being built – this shows the project in mid-phase. If you’d seen this space 8 weeks ago it looked like a Tsunami had swept through …. but now it’s coming together, the wooden fence is up, the wheel is in place and the plants are ready and waiting!
The image on the left shows Roger and Mark re-turfing part of the Caribbean Flamingo enclosure.
Sally is in the midst of re-organising, re-decorating and spring-cleaning the Gift Shop and Cafe area (as well as unpacking incoming stock deliveries).
Sally and Julie have been busy with a re-vamp of the furnishings for a few weeks now ….. we’re all looking forward to seeing the outcome ….
Here’s Julie adding the final touches to some of the wall murals in the Tropical House. Notice her peak-cap – this is one of the deterrents she has been using to discourage Damien, our very cheeky Green Crested Touraco, who has taken to dive-bombing Julie’s head and pecking her ears whilst she’s trying to work!
John has been doing a grand job of re-painting most of the interior areas of our various Park buildings – laying the foundation for a fresh start and setting the stage for new creative ideas. John has been really great company over these past weeks – he’s going to be missed!
Roy is our regular on-site plumber – he gets involved in a multitude of tasks – repairs, upgrades and new projects. I’m not actually sure what he’s doing here – but he’s contemplative and overlooking a pipe-filled hole in the ground – so I didn’t disturb him with a tirade of questions!
Kris is a ‘multi-tasker’ in our business. Depending on the time of year and what’s happening on site, Kris assists in the catering department, doubles up as car park attendant, and is currently helping with various tasks such as sanding down and re-treating outdoor furniture (as this image on the right shows).
Well done to everyone for all their hard work – every little detail contributes towards the bigger picture – and results in Seaview Wildlife re-affirming its status as a multi-award winning Wildlife Park and as being one of the Isle of Wight’s leading tourist attractions.
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