Kepler Track

One facet of the Kepler Track that I enjoyed is that the middle section is all alpine territory. For all my time in New Zealand, this was the first alpine area I had seen. This afforded some stunning views of the Southern Alp mountain ranges. It also gave me my first view of a wild Kea. The kea is the world's only alpine parrot. Of course, we think of parrots as jungle creatures, but these ones live above the tree line in rather cold conditions. They are famous for being very smart, which also makes them troublesome. They damage cars and camping gear that are unattended and they are very good at stealing food. Their feathers have a dark outline, which helps you see each feather, but it also gives them a sort of artifical appearance. It is an eye-catching look, which is further boosted when they fly and reveal the bright orange that is hidden under their wings. I did get one photo, but it is not that good.

In addition to the birds, I saw a lot of plant life that I had not seen before. From a distance, the treeless landscape looks dull and almost barren, but there was a wide variety of shrubs, mosses, lichens, grasses, and so on that are quite beautiful. Here is a picture.



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