Meet the Locals is the newest “precinct” to be developed at Wellington Zoo, and aims to showcase New Zealand’s native fauna and flora, as well as farm animals. It takes up quite a large area, running along a flat, relatively narrow edge of the Zoo that previously held a few old bird aviaries and a Zebra paddock. The overall layout will be a single path from one end to the other, but is currently u-shaped, with an exit that takes visitors up to the centre of the Zoo. Despite being unfinished, most of the exhibits are complete and it opened on October 24. My visit was about a month later, on 22 November. The entrance is adjacent to “Green Zoo, Green You”, an exhibit that focuses on helping the environment through different initiatives, such as recycling. The entry area is coastally-themed, with signage, bach frontages, and a stream (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-entrance-432201/). It looks very nice, but is more or less a waste of space. At the end of the path is the first exhibit - for Little Blue Penguins. This exhibit is quite decent, certainly a lot larger than their previous home and with a larger pool (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-penguin-exhibit-432202/). The penguins have apparently moved in, but the pool was mostly empty, and I didn’t see the birds at all. Continuing around the penguin enclosure, you come to the Farm area, starting with a yard for Kune Kune Pigs, which looks very nice (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-kune-kune-432203/). To one side is the indoor housing for pigs and on the other side of the path is indoor space for lambs. These are viewed by entering the lamb paddock, which is walkthrough and quite interactive. After leaving the paddock, you pass a small pool for Eels, which backs on to the pig yard. This is an odd exhibit, a very shallow pool with a low fence that is currently uninhabited (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-eel-exhibit-432204/). Beyond this is the Barn, a large building with a range of displays about various farmed species in New Zealand, and its very well done (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-barn-432205/; http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-dairy-display-432207/). There is a large Honey Bee display in one corner, complete with a large colony (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-honey-bees-432208/). Outside are small vegetable gardens, free -ranging Chickens and other displays, and a lawn area and playground. This whole Farm area is the “Children’s Zoo” part of the Zoo, and I think it’s quite good and its inclusion in Meet the Locals is justified (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-farm-area-432206/). The next area is themed as an area of native forest, with a small stream running through it. Much of this area is garden areas planted with natives, with small paths and bridges running through it (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-native-bush-432209/). There were quite a few wild birds, including Tui, around here. To one side is an old hollow tree trunk, standing upright, with small holes inside for Weta, although they were yet to be added. At the back of this area is what was the Roost, a bird building that contained small glass-fronted exhibits on one side, and larger outdoor aviaries on the other, all viewed from outside. The glass-fronted exhibits have now been re-purposed for herps (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-herp-exhibits-432211/), with Otago and Grand Skinks on display, and an exhibit for Maud Island Frogs “coming soon” (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-maud-island-432212/). A doorway at the end of the viewing deck will take visitors into a walkthrough kea aviary, although this was far from complete when I visited (http://www.zoochat.com/15/wellington-zoo-meet-locals-kea-aviary-432210/). I don’t know if the other aviaries around the back will go back on-display or not, but I suspect not. The main exit will be from behind the Kea aviary, but is currently up a path along the hillside, which actually runs through the remnants of the old Falcon aviary to the Wild Theatre. Overall, Meet the Locals looks great. The theming is good, and the journey from coast, to farm, to bush, to (eventually) alpine areas flows well. But in terms of species diversity it is abysmal. As far as I know, when complete it will display just eleven species (seven currently). Having just two native bird species on display is hardly representative of New Zealand’s native fauna. And very poor for a city zoo like Wellington, Auckland and Hamilton’s native collections are far larger and more impressive. I suspect this may have been a deliberate decision to avoid replicating the species displayed at Zealandia, but there are still a number of additional species that could have been included. There is certainly room for additional animal exhibits within Meet the Locals, but I doubt any will be added in the next decade or so. So, in summary, Meet the Locals is surprisingly disappointing, and I’d give it a rating of 5/10. Probably increasing to 6/10 if I get to see Maud Island Frogs next time and the Kea aviary is amazing.
