Natural Environment Blog

Mount Aspiring National Park is located in the South Island of New Zealand, along the southern part of the Southern Alps.

Covering 3,555 square kilometers, Mount Aspiring National Park is a popular destination for bush walkers and mountaineers. The park is named after Mount Aspiring (3,033 meters), and contains a number of spectacular peaks (including Mount Aspiring).

Mount Aspiring National Park was established in 1964, making it New Zealand’s 10th national park at the time (New Zealand now has 14 national parks).

Some of the more popular walking tracks in the park include Gillespie Pass circuit, Rees-Dart circuit, various tracks along the Matukituki Valley, and the famous Routeburn Track (which crosses over into Fiordland National Park).

There are some great day walks, including a beautiful hike to Rob Roy Glacier. Many of the walks in the area are multi-day walks, where you carry everything you need on your back.

Accommodation on the multi day walks is usually at one of the huts or camp sites provided by the Department of Conservation. This accommodation is usually very basic - don’t expect luxury here. But of course, this is part of the wilderness experience and enables you to feel closer to nature. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Fiordland National Park is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand. It is located in the south west part of the South Island and covers an area of 12,500 square kilometers. Established in 1952, Fiordland National Park is a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site.

Fiordland’s landscape is incredibly diverse. At any given moment, you could be staring at snow capped mountains, tussock grasslands, lush rainforests and one or more deep lakes.

Many of the peaks in Fiordland tend to be very tall and steep, and Milford Sound is home to Mitre Peak - the highest peak to rise directly from the sea (see photo).

Wildlife in the area includes dolphins, seals, mice, rats, birds, hare and deer. Most tourists to the area encounter the kea - a mischievous mountain parrot. Lucky tourists may also spot the kakapo - the world’s only flightless parrot, or the kiwi - the national symbol of New Zealand.

Most of Fiordland National Park is inaccessible by road. The only road into the park is Milford Road, or the Te Anau Milford Highway.

The area is very popular with bush walkers (referred to as “trampers” in New Zealand) and mountain climbers. There are several popular walking tracks in the area, including the Milford Track, the Routeburn Track, the Hollyford Track, and the Kepler Track. These walks take several days to complete, and some require that you organize transport to drop you off at the start, and/or pick you up at the end, of the track.

The main gateway into Fiordland is Te Anau. Te Anau is a small town with a permanent population of around 1,800. During the summer months, Te Anau can accommodate more than 4,000 people as many tourists use it as a base as they visit places like Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound, or tackle one of the multi-day walking tracks.

To learn more about Fiordland National Park, check out the Department of Conservation’s website.

The kea is a type of parrot that resides in the mountains of the New Zealand’s South Island. It’s one of the few alpine parrots in the world.

Although the kea can fly, it tends to spend a lot of its time hobbling around on the ground. The kea diet generally consists of roots, leaves, berries, nectar and insects.

The kea is known for its intelligence. In fact, it has been rated as one of the most intelligent birds in the world.

Is the Kea Heading for Extinction?

The kea is a fully protected species. It was once hunted and killed because it preyed on livestock. The government even offered a bounty for the bills of kea.

Although it was intended that kea would only be shot on farmland, many would hunt kea in national parks.

More than 150,000 kea were killed prior to 1970. When it was discovered that there were an estimated 5,000 left, the kea received partial protection. This partial protection still enabled farmers to shoot kea if it was interfering with their property or livestock.

The kea wasn’t fully protected until 1986. It is estimated that there are now only between 1,000 and 5,000 kea left in the world.

The Kea is Notoriously Mischievous!

Kea can often be seen hobbling around the Milford Sound region and the ski areas, attempting to cause chaos to humans at every opportunity! They are very cheeky and inquisitive birds. And, as mentioned, they are also very intelligent. Many tourists to New Zealand’s alpine regions can recall at least one occasion of being harassed by a kea!

Tourists will often park their cars to view the scenery and take photos. Kea will then often jump onto the car and try to rip out the trimmings and/or wing mirrors etc. When the tourist tries to get back into the car, the kea will often try to prevent him!

This is exactly what happened to me near Milford Sound (see the photo)! There were two kea, one on the roof of my car, and another hobbling around on the ground. The second one then decided to attack a nearby car!

Unfortunately, it is humans that have caused the kea to behave in this way. Tourists are forever feeding the kea, thinking they are doing the right thing. Although this may seem like a compassionate gesture, quite the opposite is true. Feeding the kea results in the bird becoming more aggressive. In fact, this is seen to be such a large problem that the Department of Conservation has erected signs that read “Do not feed the kea”

Here’s a video I found on YouTube, demonstrating the outstanding intelligence of the the kea: