In the South Island of New Zealand you’ll find one of the world’s only alpine parrots. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the lovely and cheeky Kea!



Chris & I pulled over at a rest stop in the middle of the mountains in Arthur’s Pass National Park and there was a small group of them hanging out in the parking lot. We read about the Keas being extremely intelligent and having an appetite for destruction and that pretty much IS the case. These parrots love to eat rubber, so it didn’t take long before a gang of three found the top of our RV and started to chew up the casing around our windows! Chris tried to fend them off but they were pretty much fearless so we had to open and close the back door for the Keas to finally jump off...

Arthur’s Pass - view from roadside stop


An excerpt from Wikipedia (click to read more)
Kea are legendary for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Studies have shown Kea to be able to solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, as well as working in teams to achieve a certain objective.




These guys will seriously do damage, but they really are cool looking parrots!

Thanks for reading!
Jenn