Taronga ZOO gathering

[Slateman]

Sorry Hugsy. I said at the table about the incident in front of all people there. And I told Hix before he went back inside to see you becaose my wife did call me on the telephone woried where I am, Why I am not with other members.
All this could happen again to people who was not part of are group at all.
I think that some inicent individual from general public can be drag inside with group of people thinking that all this is part of action organized by Taronga. My wife did not have Nametag and I think that you guys should check the tickets. Inicent people was cought in the middle with out knowing they are intruding. This was imbaresing situation for me when I find out later and simple ticket check would avoid it. I would prefer that instead calling my wife names. She definatelly did not know what is going on at all. I would appreciate if you are the organizer to aproach extra people and tactfully tell them what is involved.
My wife now don't want to have anything to do with APS . I do not blame her,
Looks like next togethering I will go along.

 

[Greg]

Ok I admit, unscrupulous may have been a bit harsh.
My apologies to Olga and Greg.

 

[rodentrancher]

You lucky buggas! Looks like you had a great day out. Photos look great. Cheers Cheryl

 

[Hickson]

I haven't been online since Saturday morning before the get-together, so I wasn't aware of what's been said about the 'incident' until now.

I can confirm that Slatey got a call from his wife wanting to know where he was, and that they had followed everyone in accidentally. They weren't aware that the BTS was something extra that needed to be paid for. Slatey told me, but not Hugsta as huggie was inside. I could have mentioned it to Huggie when I wandered in, but didn't think it a problem. Terry's main concern (your tour leader) would not have been whether they had paid, but moreover who they were and if they were part of your group. Occassionally members of the public innocently gatecrash private functions and because they are not part of the group, may misbehave. As Hugsta was the organiser, he would have been responsible for any APS miscreants. There is accountability of actions. There is no such accountability with unknown gatecrashers. As both Olga and Greg were part of the APS group, I see no problem from that standpoint.

As for the cost (which went to the conservation project), that was taken care of when they left. An innocent mistake (one that happens periodically with BTS) that's been paid for.

At least with Serpentaria they can close the door behind the last person coming in - some of you may have noticed during the giraffe feed that I stayed at the top of the steps - the general public often climb the gate and try to join private groups when they see them feeding the giraffes.

And I'm glad you all enjoyed feeding Charity and Hope. Most people don't really appreciate how tall a giraffe really is until they are standing beside one and have its head towering so far above you. A real thrill for a lot of people. It's just a shame Andara didn't come over, as she was handreared and is not quite as aloof as the others are.

I had a really good day too. Nice to finally meet many of the people I've chatted to (or disagreed with) over the past few months! Can't wait for Featherdale!



Hix

 

[Slateman]

Thank you Hix for explaining this accidental misunderstanding. I was embarased by all of this.

 

[Nicole]

A big thankyou to Darren for all his organisation.
A shame Mark and I couldn't stay longer, but we very much enjoyed the behind the scenes tour.

Good to run into you yesterday at Wollombi too Daz, we had an awesome weekend, hope you did the same!