Creating a CCTV Viewing Experience for the Public at Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony
Enhancing the viewing experience has taken on a new meaning at Friendly Bay, in Oamaru, with the installation of the Hikvision CCTV solution—installed by Mike Balcombe of Morcomm Systems.
The colony began when a small number of blue penguins started nesting in a rock quarry area at the edge of Oamaru Harbour in the early 1990s. Today, it is Oamaru’s largest tourist attraction, with over 75,000 visitors per year.
There is a boardwalk where the public can wander past nest boxes to a building where they can view the ‘nest cams’ on a 50” plasma screen as well as on iPads using the IVMS-4500 application. They also have viewing shots next to the nest boxes under the building.
The old analogue cameras have been added onto the new Hikvision 16 Channel Hybrid DVR and had also upgraded to the Hikvision Outdoor Vandal Domes and PTZ as soon as they saw the improved image quality.
Free Wi-Fi has also been installed, with time and data limits, covering the Friendly Bay and Steampunk playground area.
Harbour Project manager Rex Stringer said the security cameras had been installed by the penguin colony to monitor the Holmes Wharf blue penguin reserve, but was also providing coverage for the Friendly Bay and new playground/Marine Parade area, with police already using it to help them investigate two incidents.
The Hikvision cameras can provide night time infrared footage as well as conventional daytime footage.
