The last mainland kakapo were found in this damp and secluded Fiordland valley in the 1970s, but recently a slew of other new animals has been discovered in its upper reaches. This photograph was taken after rain during the search for kakapo.
Lizards are creatures normally associated with tropical and subtropical climates. Denizens of deserts and rainforests, and dependent upon external warmth for energy, they are the most unlikely of creatures to be found on an ice-clad mountaintop. However, New Zealand has a diverse cool-climate lizard fauna totalling 70–90 species of skink and gecko, many of which can be found in alpine habitats. Indeed, some, such as the black-eyed gecko (Hoplodactylus kahutarae) and Mt Arthur gecko (H. sp.) of Nelson, are known only from above the tree line.
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