Your letters: A short, shark shock

NOT LONG ago the Chronicle ran some articles about safety in the water. Mostly they were aimed at avoidance of the risks for drowning. Might pay to add a different kind of warning to water safety in New Zealand, in this age of global warming.

Today, a lady friend of mine — 60-something, an "aquatic" individual much of her life and an excellent swimmer — no doubt learned to swim faster than she had ever thought possible.

At Papamoa Beach, near Tauranga, which her beachfront three-storey house overlooks, and a hot day today, she was cooling off in the water preparing to catch a wave and body-surf her way in on it. As she glanced to her sides to make sure there was no risk of collisions with other beach users, that's when she noticed with a shock that there was indeed no risk at all from collisions, at least with anything human. The two animals,

sporting fins and swimming in formation near her, were making sure of that.
Unfortunately for them, my friend, aka their potential dinner, made the shore "faster than a speeding bullet", where the crowd who had been in the water minutes earlier told her that they were "whaler sharks", smallish but vicious biters.

Interesting, that she was brought up around that coast, and never expressed any concerns about sharks those decades ago. Something's changed. I wonder how a global warming denier might explain it?

So my friend still has her legs and we will still be dancing at a popular Whanganui club this Saturday — because we can.

STAN HOOD
Aramoho

Caring staff

I would like to acknowledge with extreme gratitude the wonderful care I received from so many of the Wanganui Hospital staff in the wards that I was in prior to Christmas. All staff made my stay just amazing.

I could not have wished for better care and always with a cheery word of encouragement to try harder to do better each day —and I did, and here I am, back in my home.

Wanganui Hospital staff also included my immediate and extended family in all facets of my care, which was so important too.

I am forever in their debt.

ROSALEEN BEVEGE
Whanganui

Kiwi numbers

Reply to S Boyde's letter re kiwi:

You seem to have missed the whole point of what I wrote.

Kiwi eggs are stolen from nests in non-poisoned areas to try and prop up numbers being poisoned in poisoned areas.

Surely that would tell you, after 64 years of poisoning, it is not working but only making the situation worse.

If DOC used the taxpayers' money that they pay out to drop poison ($100 million plus) to pay bounties on stoats, rats and cats and allowed commercial trappers and hunters into larger areas, there wouldn't be a problem.

Stop poisons so the animals trapped could be utilised instead of rotting in the bush, washing down rivers and poisoning fish, birds, dogs and stock.

MERV SMITH
Bulls

Send your letters to: The Editor, Wanganui Chronicle, 100 Guyton St, PO Box 433, Wanganui 4500; or email editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz