Story 84 A New Visiter Centre.

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Hi from all of us in India.

            Over here, we are all doing fine and we hope to hear all our New Zealand friends are doing as well.

            As you probably have guessed, it is Amita here again.

            Counting kiwi birds in the middle of the night. Well, that is sure a different story and interesting as well. I would like to have taken a part in that one. I know Mootie was also very interesting as well because he is very interested in everything Joseph is doing in his new job in New Zealand. 

            It is now only three weeks until we leave for our trip and we are all looking forward to it as well. It will be so nice to see you all again. I know we send letters, and Email and we even talk on the phone and the internet but it is not even the same as meeting face to face. I am looking forward to that again.

            I sure know Katrina is very excited. She keeps asking me about all the details. Particularly she is interested in what New Zealand is like. Well, I keep telling her before long she will be finding out for herself.

            So, in just a little more than three weeks we will be meeting and talking face to face. (But, I myself, hope we will get to do a bit more than just the talking) Ha! Ha!

            Our final travel plans will be for us all to travel to the airport and fly to Singapore. We are planning a few days in Singapore so those who have never been can see this place and then we will be going on to Australia. We arrive in Brisbane early in the morning but we will be unable to reach the island until mid afternoon due to flight connections and things. After our stay on the island, we will be all flying back to Brisbane again.

            Here we will leave Mega and Brian and Jeevan and Mandara to fly back to Singapore and on to India. The rest of us will be continuing on with you to see Sydney before following you to Auckland. After our stay over there we will be returning to India via Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

            Now I shall get to my story for this letter even if it is only a very short story and as Peter should be saying not a nookie story either. You, Joseph, will be most interesting within this story and I think you Shanti, also.        

        
            Last weekend Mootie called us to attend the opening of his new visitor centre. It was to be an important event within the Game Reserve and within the town. I believe we were all very lucky to get to be invited.

            We drove to the main visitor centre where we were meeting all the other guests and attended a special presentation by the Regional Manager of the parks and game reserves. After this, we got into vehicles provided by the Game Reserve to take the drive through the park to the new viewing centre at the small lake.

            Seeing this lake again brought back some memories for us too. Particularly for me, I like to remember the first time when we visited this lake and the fun we were getting to within the picnic area.

            But things had changed since then. Now where the small picnic area had been there was this new building that stretched out over the lake. We arrived by driving up behind walls each side so we would not disturb the animals on the lake. This was a small parking area before the main entrance to the new viewing centre.            

            We walked up to the entrance where there was to be a small ribbon cutting ceremony before we entered the building. This is where I got my first surprise – there in bold letters above the door was the name of the centre; “Shanti’s Hideaway.”

            After they had cut the ribbon and Mootie gave a short speech we were ready to enter the building. Then Mootie added one last comment, “For those of you wondering about the name, well this woman called Shanti, helped to make this special lake famous, making way for this project. You will understand more once we are inside.”

            He turned and opened the doors to the main entrance. 

            Once inside we were meeting with our second surprise. Inside the main entrance was the crocodile which Shanti had shot and sitting on its back was a life sized figure of Shanti. She was holding a gun in her hands looking at everyone who walked through the door. Hansini thought it almost looked like she was guarding the viewing centre, ready to shoot the next person who walked through the door.

            This figure was full size and she looked so much like Shanti I was almost thinking it was real. She was wearing almost the exact clothing you had worn except this figure was wearing a men’s hat as well. Even down to the boots looked correct.

            Under her, the crocodile looked like it was almost alive as well. With its mouth, open showing those large teeth, you would see it was ready to eat someone. Probably the person Shanti was going to shoot.

            Around her was a display with photos of the crocodile & Shanti. Also included was a display showing photos and stuffed examples of some of the animals like the animal parts they found when they opened the crocodile up. These were examples of the animals that the crocodile had been eating.

            We moved on into the centre to a relief map of the lake and area surrounding it. This display showed us how the lake was an important attraction to the many animals within this area. It was a very interesting and well-done exhibit.

            From here we moved on to the animal viewing areas where people could get clear views of the animals on and around the lake but not be seen in return. It was very clever the way they designed this. From outside you would need to look very closely to see anyone on these viewing decks.

            This new viewing centre was a great addition to the Game Reserve and I am sure many people are going to enjoy their visits here. 

            Later that evening Mootie and Hansini came to our house for a meal. I had the chance to ask him about the display and he was telling Sarvesh and me all about how he had been able to do it.      

            I will let Mootie tell you how he created the figure of Shanti. 

            Hi Mootie here:-

            Originally, this figure had been used in a display of the very rare Indian Rhino at the Regional Office. Joseph, I think you will remember this display. In this was a figure of an older teenage boy sitting on the back of one of the rhinos. Remember Joseph when we went to head Office for my interview you remarked how it did not look right having a human sitting on the protected rhinos.

            Well, it seems you weren’t the only one to think like that and it was decided that since this was a very rare and protected animal it was not a good image to have somebody sitting on its back. I came to learn that the figure was going to be removed and discarded and the rhino's back restored to its natural condition.

            When the figure became available since it was almost the correct size of Shanti I grabbed it for my display. At first Head Office were not wanting me to use it sitting on a crocodile until I showed the photo of you Shanti sitting on the beast’s back after you had killed it.

            Of course, this figure was of a teenage man so it needed some changes. I found the craftsman who had created this figure originally and he agreed to make the necessary changes for me. He got a mask made which looked like Shanti from her photograph. They filled out the chest a bit and fitted on a shirt and shorts similar to what she was wearing in the picture.

            We had an old gun which no longer worked, so we cleaned it up for the display. The boy had been holding a short stick in both hands and with a bit of modification of the fingers, we were able to fit the old gun into her hands.

            The last problem was the shape of her legs. The boy had been sitting on the rhino much larger than the crocodile where Shanti had been sitting just in front of the shoulders and so we had to move her further back onto the shoulders until her legs fitted the back of the crocodile. You will notice there is a hunting jacket across in front of her because we didn’t get her sitting correctly.

            With a man’s hat on her head to cover the shorter hair of the teenage boy there she was. I have included some photos for you to see as well. 

            I am looking forward to seeing you all again. I know I have met or seen most of you but I didn’t get to really know you very much. Joseph, I am also very interested in visiting your park too and to witness how they do things there in New Zealand.

            So that is all from us in India.

                        Good Bye from all the Indian Team.

                                    Mootie.

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