Keas and their destructive behavior

Hello, I have a question about the Keas on the South Island. I want to hike the Gillespie Pass Circuit (+ maybe Rabbit Pass) and something alpine in the Rees/Dart Region. Are there any problems with the Keas destroying the tent/gear? I have a red Hilleberg tent, so I am a little bit afraid that the parrots rip that expensive tent into pieces.... Some reports on the internet say that the birds are a real pain on Cascade Saddle? So camping in other places than Cascade Saddle is safe or should I buy a cheap tent to feed the Keas? Thank you very much for the information :) With best regards from Austria, Oliver

dont keep any food in the tent that they can smell, thats usually the cause of the problem

I haven't heard of any tent damage. I know sometimes one will fly down in front of you and provide a noisy distraction while the rest of the gang will try and sneak into the tent behind you.

Thanks for the replies! So a good way to prevent an attack is to store the food/packaging outside the tent, in a plastic bag under some heavy stones?

Its safer to have the food well sealed inside your pack. If they can see it or smell it they will investigate it and that includes taking it apart to see what should be making it tick. They are a day time bird so night time should be ok. Ive seen them pick on a pair of running shoes someone left under a car at a ski field They had the laces out in a couple of minutes and the tongues another few minutes after that. When we came back to our car the birds had gone leaving only the soles of those shoes. At the same car park a group of 10 kea were terrorizing a party of asian children. If we hadnt stepped and chased the kea off they would of got the kids lunches which is what they were after. A bag under some rocks would be like a jigsaw puzzle to an average 5 year old. The intelligence rating of keas isnt much less than an average 5 year old. In areas there are lots of humans they have no fear of them.

Don't be too sure they don't like to ransack camps at night…. http://www.nickyandcookie.com/camping-at-cascade-creek/

I have a picture taken some time in the 70s somewhere in Fiordland. I cant remember where it was or even who was there. It was a venturer tramp and one of the others decided to catch a kea just for a photo. A silver spoon tied to a string was all he needed. The photo shows him holding the kea by its feet outside a hut door. Kea doesnt look at all bothered. A few seconds later he nearly lost a finger. They are a lovely bird and like other parrots highly intelligent and highly social. They live in an area that food takes a bit to get so when they get an opportunity they dont turn it down. Once well fed they go looking for other things to occupy themselves with often this means destroying things of ours. Dont let them know you have free food

Thank you for your advice. That sounds not good. I think I should buy a cheap tent, when the Keas destroy a 100$ tent it is not that sort of a drama.

That might actually be a good idea for another reason. New tents are no issue bringing into the country but second hand the inspection will nearly destroy the tent and if they find one tiny spec of mud on one peg they will destroy the whole tent. The keas have got nothing on our biosecurity officers

cousin left some bread out for annoying wekas once.... it was soaked in vodka,,, never seen a weka run so fast... obviously its against the law to poison our native animals, no matter how annoying they might be...