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When our children were pre-schoolers we took them to visit the Yellow Eyed Penguin colony on the Otago Peninsular. Since then we have supported the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust.

We have life membership to the Trust and, as part of our commitment to conservation the Hacienda Motor Lodge sponsors the 'donate a tree' programme.

The yellow-eyed penguin (Hoiho) is endemic to New Zealand and is the only penguin with yellow eyes and a yellow band of feathers around its head, hence the name Œyellow-eyed penguin'. The Maori name 'hoiho' translates to 'noisy shouter' because its piercing call can be heard over the roar of the waves.

The yellow-eyed penguin is endangered and protected. Their numbers have fallen and there are fewer than 700 yellow-eyed penguin in the South Island of New Zealand and only 2000 to 3000 in the main colonies on Campbell and Auckland Islands with other small populations on Stewart and Codfish Islands. That's all the yellow-eyed penguin in the whole world which is why we have chosen to support the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust through their 'Donate-a-Tree' programme.

The Trust operates a nursery to grow native plants to re-establish the coastal habitat of the yellow-eyed penguin.

People destroyed coastal forests when they milled the wood and burned it to create farmland. The yellow-eyed penguin is one of the rarest penguins in the world and lack of forests is one of the biggest problems it faces.

Trees mean shade for the yellow-eyed penguin. The fat and feathered yellow-eyed penguin is insulated for fishing in the depths of the cold sea. But when the penguin is not fishing they live on land. Under the hot sun, the penguin swelters under its thick layer of body fat and need the protective shelter of a cool forest.

Trees also mean privacy. The yellow-eyed penguin is so shy that if another penguin can see its nest, it wont produce chicks. The yellow-eyed penguins need forest for privacy so they can continue to survive.

You too can help the yellow-eyed penguin.

Mainland has been a major sponsor of the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust since 1989 and, through the barcode redemption scheme, Mainland has donated more than $1 million to the Trust. All you need to do to support the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust is obtain a Save the Yellow-eyed Penguin chart from Mainland (freephone: 0800 CHEESE (243 373) and once you've filled your chart with as many specially marked Mainland cheese and butter labels possible return it to:

Save the Yellow-eyed Penguin PO Box 411 DUNEDIN

Alternatively you could support the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust through an annual subscription and/or Donate-a-Tree programme.
Please go to their website:

Yellow Eyed Penguin