Keas at the Milford Sound Lodge!

One of my homework assignments that Karin left me with when we were parting after Abel Tasman was to make sure I see a kea while I am here. Keas are mountain parrots, the highest altitude-living parrots anywhere in the world. They are generally described as "cheeky" and are known for being fascinated by human-manufactured goods, ripping them apart with their beaks in their attempts to figure out exactly what the thing is. They have a loud, hoarse, call that sounds like they're saying "kea." Thus, the name. They are so funny. They're such little thugs, flying around in gangs, vandalizing all sorts of stuff, calling out their "kea"s so loudly that you can't miss them as they fly over. I finally got my chance to see a kea, or rather, a flock of them - I don't think they often hang out solo, I always see them in their gangs, er, flocks. I was awakened pre-dawn from my bed in the Milford Sound Lodge to the cries of a flock of keas outside the hostel. I was still a bit groggy and tempted to stay in bed. Of course, it didn't take long for me to decide that of COURSE I wanted to go out to see the keas. So I grabbed my headlamp and my fleece and stumbled my sleepy self out of bed and out the door, remembering to unlock it before closing it - I wasn't sleepy enough to forget that major point. I padded around in the dark, following their calls over to the garbage bins and a cluster of camper trailers out behind the lodge. I could see them in the beam of my headlamp, hopping around on the ground and over the picnic tables and garbage cans, occasionally emitting a raucous, hoarse "kea," just to remind everyone exactly whos territory they were in, I guess. I watched them for a while, just taking it all in. I could tell, even in the dark, that these little characters had a lot of personality. I started to shiver and decided to go back to cuddle up in my nice warm sleeping bag again. Later, after I woke up for real and was heading over to the kitchen for breakfast, I got to see the keas again, cheekily taking over the courtyard picnic tables of the hostel. They didn't seem worried by the close proximity of all the people around them. Afterall, why should they, I suppose. They certainly seem to rule the roost around there, and I for one wouldn't want to tangle with those beaks.