Have Your Say in Valentine's Day 'love nest'
12 Feb 2009
Tourism New Zealand's 'Have Your Say' mobile studio with its authentic bird's nest film set could become more of a love nest if international tourists take up a special Valentine's Day offer.
The movie studio, part of TNZ's 'Have Your Say UK' promotion, is touring New Zealand until the end of April giving tourists the opportunity to send a professionally-edited video postcard to loved ones back home, via YouTube and Facebook.
Embrace romance
The 50-stop itinerary takes the studio to Palmerston North in the North Island on February 12 and 13 where would-be Valentines have been given added incentive to embrace romance for the big day.
Destination Manawatu, the local tourist bureau, is offering a special gift to every tourist who sends a Valentines message home via the ‘Have Your Say’ film unit. Participants will also go into a draw to win a meal at a local award-winning restaurant, Zoe’s at Kingsgate.
Love nest
The Tourism New Zealand recording suite is a human-sized bird’s nest housed in the back of a custom-built 10-tonne flat bed truck.
The nest has been dubbed a ‘love nest’ after a visiting British couple announced their engagement in it last week. Kate Mills and Stuart Evans from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, broke the news to friends and family back home, via the TNZ video diary and it’s hoped more tourists will be inspired to follow suit on Valentine’s Day.
Tuis show the way
The studio is modelled on the nest of the native New Zealand bird the tui or parson bird. Although the truck's studio nest was largely a male dominated project, in the bird world it is the female tui who takes on the job of building a home, alone.
She gathers twigs, grasses and mosses and mostly chooses to build on the outskirts rather than in the depth of the bush itself. Although she tackles the home building job on her own, her male partner does share the job of feeding the family.
Tuis are honey-eaters feeding mainly on nectar from native flowers like kowhai, flax, pohutukawa and rewarewa - but will also eat native insects and fruit. The birds are prevalent throughout New Zealand and are distinctive in appearance with their bluish-green, black coat and lacy collar with white throat tufts.
The tui is an important bush dweller because the birds pollinate forest flowers and spread medium and small seeds. Although they mainly live in forested areas, tui will fly up to 25km to visit parks and gardens in search of food.
Intelligent and bossy
Tuis are considered very intelligent birds, much like parrots, particularly in their ability to clearly imitate human speech. Strangely tuis possess two voice boxes providing them with a noisy, unusual call, different for each individual. The sound combines bell-like notes with clicks, cackles, timber-like creaks, groans, and wheezing noises.
Male tui can be extremely aggressive, chasing all other birds (large and small) from their territory with loud flapping and sounds akin to rude human speech. This is especially true when other tui try to impinge on a favoured feeding tree. The birds will often erect their body feathers in order to appear larger in an attempt to intimidate a rival.
During the mating season in September and October, tuis can be seen to perform a mating display when they rise at speed in a vertical climb in clear air, then stall and drop into a powered dive before repeating the process.
Caution!
It will be hoped international tourists don’t attempt such a ritual when they have their say in Tourism New Zealand’s mobile studio nest on Valentine's Day!
More information:
Watch tourists in action on YouTube
Tourist buzz gets around New Zealand
These topics may also be of interest to you
|
