128 | REGIONAL West Coast Wildlife Centre BIOSUPPLIERS LTD Proudly Supporting West Coast Wildlife Centre • House�lies • Blow�lies • Mealworms • Waxmoth Larvae • Fruit�lies • Black Soldier�lies • White Streakers • Locusts • Crickets • Slaters • Whiteworms • Microworms • Earthworms 022 135 4740 bio@pl.net biosuppliers.nz Workwear for civil, construction & all trades Corporate gifts, conference merchandise & branded apparel Embroidery • Screen Print • Heat Transfer kerry@kgpromotional.co.nz Paul Tha Plumber Proud to haveworked for Gibb Construction for Plumbing &Drainlayingworks Proud to haveworked for West Coast Wildlife Centre for pool Plumbing & Filterationworks 021 141 3654 Franz Josef Glacier paul@ptplumber.nz T T Rosa Watson Supporting conservation and tourism The West Coast Wildlfe Centre it is one of the largest kiwi incubation and hatching facilities in the South Island. The West Coast Wildlife Centre at Franz Josef/Waiau is proving tourism and conservation can work hand in hand. The privately owned centre is home to one of the South Island’s largest specialist kiwi incubation and hatching facilities, and works closely with the Department of Conservation and mana whenua on programmes involving two of the rarest kiwi in the world — rowi and Haast tokoeka. Visitors can experience seeing kiwi in a purpose-built nocturnal habitat and also meet tuatara. In October last year, the centre introduced its Ambassador Penguin Encounter that provides a permanent home for blue penguins/ kororā. The centre is owned and directed by Richard Benton with Lisa Stevenson as general manager, supported by a committed team working across wildlife and animal care, kiwi husbandry, visitor experience, guiding, retail, hospitality, administration and management. There is currently a team of 10, with staffing fluctuating across tourism seasons. The centre opened in November 2010, with Richard bringing a wealth of experience as a previous owner of Christchurch’s International Antarctic Centre where a rehabilitation facility had been developed for little blue penguins. “That experience demonstrated that a tourism business could do much more than simply entertain visitors; it could actively contribute to conservation while giving people a genuine emotional connection with wildlife,” Richard says. Richard saw the potential to create something very different in Franz Josef. The centre became a public-private conservation partnership and an indoor base for the incubation and hatching of rowi, and later Haast tokoeka eggs recovered from the wild. The success of the programme meant the kiwi facilities had to expand, and over the years the centre grown both as a conservation operation and visitor attraction. Today it is one of the largest kiwi incubation and hatching facilities in the South Island and has helped return hundreds of endangered kiwi to the wild, has developed a world-class tuatara experience, and in 2025 opened a multi-million dollar Ambassador Penguin Encounter. Around 50,000 visitors go through the centre’s doors each year, including New Zealanders, international travellers, school and community groups and people with a particular interest in wildlife and conservation. Richard says the kiwi programme remains one of the things the team is most proud of. “In collaboration with the Department of Conservation, Ngāti Māhaki and other conservation facilities around New Zealand, the centre has now incubated and hatched 353 rowi and 143 Haast tokoeka that have gone on to contribute to their wild populations. “Those numbers are significant when you consider just how precarious the situation has been for these birds.” The $2.5 million West Coast Ambassador Penguin Encounter development includes a purpose-built 173sqm penguin habitat containing more than 50,000 litres of fresh water, with both above and underwater jets, flowing water and environmental enrichment. It provides suitable non-releasable birds with a permanent, high-quality home. The enclosure was designed to accommodate up to 22 penguins, with 10 currently housed there. The centre’s partnerships with the Department of Conservation and mana whenua are central to how it operates, Richard says. Its relationship with Ngāti Māhaki and Te Rūnanga o Makaawhio helps ensure that the protection and interpretation of these taonga species recognises the cultural relationships that sit alongside the conservation science. The centre also provides employment, buys goods and services locally wherever possible, supports the regional visitor economy and gives Franz Josef an all-weather attraction that operates throughout the year. Looking ahead, Richard says the centre will continue working with wildlife organisations around New Zealand to provide a permanent home for non-releasable kororā, and developing the educational story around those birds and the threats facing penguins in the wild. Kiwi work will also remain fundamental. The West Coast Wildlife Centre is a good example of how conservation and tourism can strengthen one another, rather than compete with one another, he says. “Tourism creates the opportunity for hundreds of thousands of conversations about wildlife that might otherwise never happen. “And it provides a commercial framework that can support facilities, people, education and conservation activity. The centre is a Qualmark Gold accredited and a fully accredited member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia which independently recognises standards around both tourism sustainability and wildlife operations. It was named a finalist in two categories of the 2026 Development West Coast Leading Light Business Excellence Awards, the Marsh Medium Enterprise Award and received the Department of Conservation Sustainability Award.
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