The white knuckle drive

I've been wanting to head to the top of Arthur's Pass to the place keas hang out and try my hand at capturing a kea in flight with the 'new' lens (which I've had over 9 months now!) but a chap I'd chatted to near Wanaka had told me that he hadn't seen a single bird there last year because someone had got annoyed with them eating the rubber off his car and shot them. I was very concerned but somewhat sceptical........surely such action would have created national headlines?  Surely I would have heard or read something?  I googled a bit to see what I could find and I did find that about 5 birds had been shot and dumped at the local DoC office.........but that was back in 2011!  Everything else seemed to suggest that the birds still hung about up there.  I didn't fancy making the 80-odd km drive if the birds weren't there any more so I called the Arthur's Pass DoC office to get some first hand info.  Sure enough - thankfully - the birds are still around but, being wild, she said, they didn't run to a schedule so they may or may not be around.  Feeling more confident armed with facts not hearsay, I set off to the top of the pass.  Those of you who know the area will know of the viaduct, and those who know me will know I really, really don't like driving it.   Still, if I wanted the keas I'd have to drive the viaduct......  They say (whoever 'they' are) that you should do something each day that scares you.  I prefer to say do something that challenges you but today's challenge certainly had a scare factor.

It's a lovely drive through a progressively rockier, wilder landscape but it's only really the last couple of kilometres that start to get steep, windy and challenging (extra) leading to the white-knuckle, heart-thumping finale.  And when I finally arrived at the carpark just beyond the viaduct...........nothing!  No squawks, no keas landing on the roof, no swooping birds coming in to explore, no birds lining the handrail......just the cool mountain air and the dull drone of another lorry struggling along the viaduct below.  Maybe if I just wait, they'll see the van and the opportunity....?  A cup of coffee and a snack filled some time but still, no keas.  Talking to some people up there someone suggested that maybe the lack of tourists over the past couple of years has lead the birds to look elsewhere for their entertainment.  That sounds completely plausible so maybe when the borders reopen and the tourists do return, so will the keas.  

The keas were the only thing I'd really wanted to do today so the rest of the day was spent driving - 357kms in total.  Stopping tonight at Kawatiri and will have to make an unscheduled detour to St Arnaud tomorrow morning as I've let my fuel run w-a-y too low.

In COVID news, 19,566 new community cases were reported today; 930 people are in hospital and 23 in ICU.  10 deaths were reported today.