keas and rain

A few weeks ago Dad put a notice in our church newsletter that he wanted to do a daytrip to Arthur's Pass (about two and a half hours away, in the mountains) on Easter Saturday and anyone who wanted to come too was very welcome. Obviously, today was the day, and Dad and I went, along with about twelve other people from our church. It was rainy and cold in the mountains, but it was worse in Christchurch, so we decided to go anyway - and it was worth it! I love Arthur's Pass. I have spent so many weekends and holidays there - I've probably been about once a year at least, all my life, but it never gets boring.

One of the cool things we did was drive up to the view over the ominously-named Death's Corner where the road winds down Otira Gorge to the West Coast. There were about four keas there when we got there. Keas are the coolest birds. They are mountain parrots, the biggest in the world, and super-cheeky. You don't want to leave your car unattended for too long when keas are around or they will pull all the insulating rubber out of the windows, etc etc, with their wicked beaks. They are totally unfazed by humans, and as you can see, have the most beautiful underwings. At one point we were absolutely splitting our sides as a kea landed on a car that was pulling out of the carpark, about to drive down the Viaduct, and soared off on top of it. When the driver realised what was going on thirty seconds later, the car screeched to a halt, and they jumped out, trying to scare it away, but it just sat there looking completely bored. Yeah, you had to be there, I suppose. But it was hilarious.