THE KEA COUNTRY. 27 



rugged, barren peaks give plac^e to bush-clad mountains ; 

 peak after peak, range after range, they seem to vie with 

 one another in presenting to the traveller scenes most 

 varied and striking. Here a peak mightier than his 

 comrades shoots up his hoary crest into the blue, his 

 lower slopes clothed in evergreen forest of rata, lancewood, 

 ferns and mosses, often so dense as to be impenetrable. As 

 the height increases the growth dwindles, until near the 

 snow-line it gives place to the celmisia and mountain lily, 

 which in turn give place to the cushiony vegetation of the 

 sub-alpine flora. Above this, plant life ceases to fight 

 against the terrible odds, and the rugged, rocky summits are 

 clad in eternal ice and snow. Alongside this symbol of 

 massive strength and grandeur, a deep, peaceful lake will be 

 found quietly nestled, which, but for the bush-clad precipices 

 and . the snow-clad peaks reflecting themselves on its 

 surface and the heavy bush fringing its sides, would fit 

 well in some English country landscape 



The whole country about this region is an endless series 

 of craggy peaks, dark mountain gorges, sylvan lakes, 

 picturesque fiords, which for grandeur and beauty are 

 imsurpassed, and draw travellers from all parts of the world 

 to gaze upon them. 



This long stretch of alpine country is the home of the 

 Kea. Here he reigns supreme. At times he may be seen 

 flying about the snow-clad peaks and the glaciers, or 

 hopping from rock to rock in search of food. Again, he 

 may be found in the dense bush, seeking berries or prying 

 curiously into the ways of the homesteads. Here, in a 

 region of mountain, forest and flood, the bird has lived and 

 flourished for centuries, until man came unbidden. With 

 man came sheep, and with sheep the great temptation, and 

 soon also the fall that has for ever blackened the character of 

 these interesting mountain parrots. Even yet, with the 

 brand of Cain upon them and every man's hand against 

 them, they find a refuge and a home in the mountain 

 fastnesses. 



