LETTER OF THE WEEK

27th October, 2009

Dear Miss Adams,

As Deputy Leader of the Isle Of Wight Council and Cabinet Member with responsibilities for Tourism, I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate you personally and on behalf of the Isle Of Wight Council following your recent success at the 2009 Tourism Excellence Awards, organised by Tourism South East.

There are many successful businesses within the tourism industry here on the Island and winning Silver in the Best Tourism Experience category is a huge achievement and further establishes and reinforces the developing reputation of the Isle Of Wight as a visitor destination.

Best wishes for your continued success,

Yours sincerely,

Councillor Cllr George Brown M.A. (Cantab)
Isle Of Wight Councillor for Cowes Medina,
Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Economy, Tourism, Leisure and Planning.

SEAVIEW WILDLIFE ENCOUNTER WINS SILVER AT SOUTH EAST TOURISM 'EXSELLENCE' AWARDS

We are incredibly proud to announce our success at last week's South East Tourism awards held at the prestigious Wentworth Club in Surrey. Seaview Wildlife Encounter was presented with the Silver Award in the category "Best Visitor Experience". Lorraine and Jules are both horrified at the only photo that has been forwarded of the event, but Gyles Brandreth is so dashing and hopefully makes up for the other two! The judges, who visited Seaview Wildlife Encounter during August this year described the Park as a "tremendous family-run attraction". This award marks the beginning of a new chapter of achievement and excellence for us. We're looking forward to the winter months to have some extra time to crystalise our many exciting ideas for the year ahead. Watch this space ..........................!

A few words from our photographer friend...

Our photographer friend Mark Harding has posted a nice note to congratulate us on our recent award, more news to come from us on that later, but here's a taster:

"I must say a heart-felt congratualtions to my friends at Seaview Wildlife Encounter, who this week were awarded SILVER at the Tourism South East TOURISM EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2009. Since working with Lorraine and Jules this year to help them with their imaging requirements for the park, I have seen how dedicated they are both to their animals, and to the visiting public.

Zoos and wildlife parks are sometimes criticised for keeping animals captive that might otherwise be out in the wild, but there is an undoubted importance to the role that parks play in the education of youngsters and adults in the importance of conservation, and such places are the first contact many people have with wildlife. Often that first contact grows into an undying respect for wildlife, and is the birthplace of many conservation minds.

I have just judged the annual wildlife photographer competiton that occurs at Seaview Wildlife Encounter, and you can see the winning images I chose over at their site.

Well done to everyone at the park, keep up the great work".

You can keep an eye on what mark is up to, we've linked to his blog over on the right.

Tara arrives in Africa!

Well after a long flight I finally arrived safely in Capetown on Friday! So far I have seen Southern Right Whales, African Penguins, Baboons, Lizards, Pelicans and Seals...a wildlife heaven! The picture here is taken along The Chapman's Drive which is beautiful like everything else I have seen so far! My first day at SANCCOB begins tommorrow which I am very excited about as I have missed the smell of fish and of course the penguins!

LETTER OF THE WEEK

Hi There,

I would just like to feedback on what an amazing day I had on Thursday 22nd October, 2009 while visiting your Park with my family (5 adults). It was the first and only attraction that we had visited during my week on the IOW where we spent a full day there without having to find something else to do in the afternoon.

I enjoyed the way that certain wildlife were allowed to roam freely around and mingle with the visitors (ducks, chickens, fowl). I also like how the wallaby's were allowed to hop onto the visitors path allowing you to pet them and get up close with them.

The different experiences such as the pelican, penguin, bird feeding etc.. were also a perfect addition to the experiences of the Park. I would especially like to commend Jake on his excellent and informative talks that he gave. He was very approachable when asking questions and able to answer them all with ease. He helped to make my day a very enjoyable one indeed, so please pass on my thanks.

If you would like any further feedback on my day then please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

Kind regards,

Andrew Anthony
Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

Our Photographer of the Year Competition Results (Adult).

Here are the long awaited results of the Photographer of the Year Competition. I was honoured when I was asked recently to be the Judge of this years contest. I have just got back from a long photographic expedition and conservation project in Ecuador, studying Manta Rays and exploring the Amazon. Just as I was looking forward to a dreary winter back in the UK, being asked to judge this competiton was a great reminder of the importance of the Seaview Wildlife Encounter's role in getting people to encounter wildlife from an early age, and hopefully then growing up with a passion for wildlife and conservation. I have always been impressed with the variety of animals and birds and how happy and healthy they always look at the park. This makes it such a great place for photography.

Next years photographic competition will hopefully be as well subscribed, and I have already spoken with Lorraine and Jules about some ideas for new categories and entry methods. If anyone is looking to improve their technique in preparation, I am going to host some photographic tuition days at the park during spring and summer of 2010. Look out on the website for more details. Incidentally, if anyone is interested in looking at what I have been up to in Eucador, my blog can be found at http://www.eyemocean.blogspot.com.

Mark Harding.

Now, here are the results:

First Place. Peacock Feather by Sandra Funnell. Beautiful image, great composition, and a real eye for the things that often pass us by unnoticed.




Second Place. Crowned Crane by Gavin Muncaster. A really lovely composition, and fantastic Colours. Well spotted opportunity.




Third Place. Asian Short Clawed Otter by Keith Robinson. A difficult subject, always running about a lot and difficult to capture in a good pose. This is a stunning pose and the black and white really brings out the texture of that fur.




Highly Commended. Pink Backed Pelican by Michaela Wild. I really like this image, and wanted to grade it higher, the lighting is beautiful. However, I felt a little more space in front of the subject would have helped the composition.

Our Photographer of the Year Competition Result (junior).

Again, the junior results showed some beautiful images. There are some interesting portrayals of life within the park and the winning junior image shows the character of the subject in a well composed shot.


First Place. Bianca Morrison.



Second Place. Jordie Wright.



Third Place. Bianca Morrison.



Highly Commended. Lucy Norris.