JURASSIC LARKS
Dinosaurs may have been extinct for nearly 70 million years, but a few replicas are still very much alive and roaring.
DinoFest, now in its second year, saw about 16 lifelike dinosaur statues and puppets roam around Brooklands Park on Saturday, delighting families and children.
‘‘The T-Rex has been popular and the giant egg along the trail has been a surprise hit too,’’ event organiser Laurence Taylor said.
Neihana Allison, 7, said the show had been amazing even though his favourite dinosaur wasn’t on display.
‘‘My favourite is an Ankylosaurus. It’s got armour and it’s the only one that can beat a T-Rex,’’ he said.
Neihana’s mum, Becky, said the visit was a surprise. ‘‘He didn’t know he was coming ‘till we got here.
‘‘He’s liked dinosaurs since he was about four.’’
Maggie Cleaver, 6, was also out enjoying the show with her family.
She said her favourite dinosaur was the T-Rex and she was only a little bit scared of his sharp teeth.
‘‘I thought they were real, but they’re from the olden days,’’ she said
There were also stalls featuring a dino dig, some dinosaur temporary tattoos, and art area for kids to draw their favourite dinosaur and the chance to sieve for 55 millionyear-old fossil shark teeth.
Organiser Laurence Taylor described it as ‘‘a nice family event to help get kids off devices and into the outdoors’’.
He said rather than just doing an exhibition of a random selection of dinosaurs, they wanted to make it relevant to New Zealanders.
‘‘It’s a community of dinosaurs from around New Zealand, it’s a Kiwi dinosaur event.’’ he said
The idea for the event was born on a trip to the South Island which Taylor took with his wife.
‘‘We were driving along the bottom of one of those alpine valleys that’s covered in tree ferns and you felt like you were going to meet a T-Rex coming around the corner.’’