Day 3 on the Milford Track
As we started down, Judy began to pull ahead until at
one point all I could see through the mist and the green alpine vegetation
was her bright red reaincoat. It stood out like a beacon.
By the time I caught up with her a couple of miles down
the trail, she was admiring, close-up, a couple of keas perched on a railing
on the edge of the trail. Judy was curious so she stopped to watch them.
They also were curious about her and stopped whatever they might have been
doing to watch her.
The kea
is New Zealand's only mountain parrot and they are well known throughout
the country. With a population of fewer than 5,000, they are a protected
animal in New Zealand.Yet they can be aggressive and cantankerous, so to
get as close as Judy is in the photo below is a credit to the bird's curiosity
and Judy's courage.
When Judy turned to leave, I started off also with the birds
in gentle pursuit. Fearing they might be curious about my camera, or pack,
or person, and seeing the devastation to a pair of boots that had been left
outside the last hut, I confess to having shooed them off as vigorously as
possible. They got the message and I went on alone.
In fact, I didn't see Judy until late that afternoon.
