Janette Gellatly visits the colourful, bohemian and zany Zookeepers Cafe in Invercargill to see how the 21-year-old cafe is serving the hungry animals.
Zookeepers Cafe is not hard to spot in Invercargill's Tay St, kitted out in bright orange with ethnic-inspired yellow triangles.
It could be the enormous blue polar bear alongside the outdoor couch or the huge corrugated elephant on top of the veranda that entices patrons into its interior, or it could be the cafe's reputation for its distinctive coffee or recently updated alternative menu choices.
Known throughout the city as one of the founding caffeine-culture - if ever so slightly eclectic - cafes, Zookeepers stimulates all the senses.
Colour is high on the menu, alongside the food. Animals climb, crawl and creep throughout.
But it's safe. None of them are real, or even at times realistic - wacky is the way here.
On the lower level the bright walls display murals of monkeys forlornly looking through bars, while an athletic cheetah rides a bicycle suspended from the ceiling and a replica teal-striped antelope trophy head resides above the bar.
It is a place where distraction is at every point on the compass, and could be described as where a natural history museum and an art gallery have collided.
Owner Paul Clark said the cafe's name came about while he was working at the freezing works a couple of decades ago.
''I asked a mate what would be a good name for a cafe and he said 'Zookeepers' after a band from Cairns in Australia. It evolved from there.''
Paul seems to be a magnet for his ever-growing collection. Sometimes people give animals to him, such as the polar bear, whereas the elephant was commissioned from artist Jeff Thomson, who is based near Auckland.
''I got a lady in Auckland to make the cheetah, but unfortunately, we must have got the measurements wrong, as when I tried to fit it into my car its tail was too long, so I had to cut some off,'' he said.
Seating is informal and relaxed. Patrons can enjoy their snacks or meals and drinks either on the various seated areas outside, downstairs inside or on the mezzanine level.
While taking the stairs, patrons pass many framed moments from various Cycle Tour of Southland races, another Southland institution that Paul has supported over the years. Teams he has sponsored had won the tour a few times, he said.
Another highlight was in 2009 when one of his winning cyclists, Heath Blackgrove, married his fiancee on Paul's front lawn an hour after the race finished.
The cafe is alive and welcomes patrons from 7 every morning.
''Mornings are our busiest,'' he said.
''We do a lot of breakfasts, which can last all day ... even to 9 o'clock at night.''
This year Paul changed the menu, the first time in 21 years, taking out some of the traditional old favourites and replacing them with a zany Mexican-Southland menu including the breakfast burrito with scrambled egg, onion, sausage, peppers, refried beans, salsa and guacamole; chimichanga, a crispy fried burrito with pulled beef, red rice and refried beans with side salad, tomato salad and guacamole; quesadilla; and, of course, the Southland specialties of Southland sushi and cheese rolls made to Paul's secret recipe.
Another of the eye-catching delights is the eggs Shadbolt (named after Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt) filled with some of the best Southland has to offer, including muttonbird and bubble and squeak with swede.
Paul said that even after 21 years, he still enjoyed working in the cafe and the zany patrons it attracted.
