Without any real idea of how to achieve this goal, I moved to New Zealand, originally planning on staying for six months to experience all that the special little islands in the South Pacific have to offer. Three and a half years later, I had fallen in love with the place to the extent  that it was a huge effort to board the plane and head back to the UK. In my time there I had found many incredible animals and landscapes, becoming particularly fond of the utterly mischievous and endearing mountain parrot, the kea.  Found only along the narrow strip peaks of the Southern alps, they are known to skiers as destroyers of windscreen wipers and other chewy bits on cars, due to the uncontrollably inquisitive nature that enables them to survive in one of the toughest environments on Earth. This aspect of behaviour has given them a bad name with many people who live and work in the mountains, especially with the alpine sheep farmers. Approximately 150,000 of the birds were culled in the 1970s and 80s, with possibly as few as 1500 surviving today, although their current protected status doesn't mean that they are at all popular with the locals to this day. This bird, in need of a PR campaign, helped me  realise the power of photography in showing people a side to an animal that they might never otherwise see. I teamed up with the Kea Conservation Trust and donated several images to aid their goal of changing attitudes, with the aim of protecting this 'clown of the mountains' for future generations to enjoy. My efforts culminated in an article in BBC Wildlife magazine, still one of my proudest moments to date!