10. Pests in the Bush.

The Lodge Manager thought I needed some pest control training and she asked that I help her clear a trap.  I can tell you that I’d rather do poo duties down at the septic tank but it’s all part of compliance, I was told. I took a big breath before I reached down and grabbed the very squished rat out of the trap while the Lodge Manager was holding back the sprung device. There were four dark lines across its body where the device had snapped down on it.  

"Do not put your hand in there while this is up" she warned, as my gloved hand carefully reached in and picked up the long rat's tail.

"Hold it further up the tail as it might drop off" she said, after I had walked away with it hanging between my finger and thumb.  My eyes wrinkled with the thought and I decided to take the chance that it wouldn't drop off and walked a little faster towards the edge of the helicopter pad instead.

I recalled how some of the other returners were joking about the day when one of the new Lodge Managers dropped the rat by her feet after she tried to throw it away into the bush.

"Into the bush?" I asked.  "Won't it decay and smell?" 

"Hell no!" she laughed.  "The weka love dead rats!  They will be in there quick as a flash for a meal."

The thick bush was in front of me and I was very mindful of the dead rat's tail coming off as I swung it.  I decided a careful underarm throw would be the most effective way to dispatch the very flattened dead rat into the bushes below and I watched as it glided through the air and down into a small tree before disappearing into some bushes.

There was applause coming from the staff window as a few lodgees watched on.  I was walking back shaking my head thinking that I would never had even dreamed of doing this... and yet, I was in the bush. 

I recalled that I had settled with the notion that I would accept anything that the job would entail in order to find new boundaries and opportunities thereafter.  I was definitely doing that and it wasn’t easy at all!

The Lodge Manager reset the trap with me helping with a foot on the trap.  She pulled back the sprung mechanism until it clicked into place, then repositioned the egg and stuck a gummy "Jetplane" sweet (which to foreigners looks like duck's feet) onto the spike before carefully closing the lid and screwing it down.

"We have to screw the lid down, otherwise the clever Kea will get in.  These traps have to be Kea-proof!" the Lodge Manager told me as she use a ratchet to turn a screw-bit which slowly turned the screw.  

"We need better tools" I said, stating the obvious.

"Yes" she agreed.  "Problem is that the tradies who come here to work take the tools back with them."

As she spoke, I was constantly whacking my body as the sandflies were biting hard that day.  My body always had a minimum of six or more itchy welts.

So far seven rats had been thrown off the helipad and just today, one weka (unknown cause of death).  Fortunately no kea.  The other day I caught a kea on a rubbish pile I was getting ready for the helicopter to collect later that day.  The naughty kea didn’t listen to me as I told him off.  

Incredibly farmers considered kea a pest and right up until the 1970’s they would be killed.  Their numbers dropped so much they became endangered. Numbers are still dropping in some areas but DOC and various trusts are doing what they can to rebuild numbers.

Once I had a day off and I decided to go up to the monument at McKinnon's Pass again. I took my big camera in the hope of seeing and taking more photos of Kea. I strapped my lightly sprained ankle (I fell down a stair when holding a linen basket) hoping it would survive the journey and set off at 6:45am.  

Living here in close quarters to a small group of people can be really tough.  The job is varied, dynamic and extremely physical.  My back has not stopped aching since the first day and I look tired even when I feel great.  So an opportunity to walk for the day and be one with nature is never to be missed.  

It is quite special seeing the native bird life here and unlike hikers on a deadline, I have the time to stop and watch them.  The last time I walked up I saw Kākā playing in a tree just metres away.  They saw me but didn't care.  Such beautiful birds!  They look like Kea but have mostly brown feathers with beautiful coloured feathers under their wings.  They also have a silver patch on their head, and their bird call sounds raspy, compared to the more shrill call of the Kea.  

I came across the same birds a couple of weeks later and I am sure they recognised me.  They didn't care if I stayed with them and they got very close to me and my camera so I was able to take some wonderful photos.

Unlike the Kea's green feathers, Kākā have mostly brown feathers, a silver patch on their head, and some green wing and tail feathers which can get them confused with the Kea.  In fact I thought these were Kea until I looked at my photos later and saw the trademark Kākā feathers.  Apparently the two birds have nothing to do with each other. 

We had the Kea Trust people visit.  They only managed to entice one kea onto their trap-mat where they could capture them and tag their foot.  Apparently the kea have learned how to take it off. I watched as they gave him some medicine and a quick once over before they released it.  It was incredible how they handled the bird, it was calm throughout. 

Well, from rats to kea, you’ve got to handle whatever the bush throws at you.

Hopefully I’ll not be throwing any more dead rats off the heli-pad!