Sand Fly Phenomena

Today I'm actually in Rotorua on the North Island. I arrived back and Erin and Leslies house late Sunday night after a very long day or driving. Not really doing much these days, just hanging out. Saturday I'll probably paddle on the Tongariro and then head up to Whangarei to meet up with my Uncle Paul.

Mike Wilson left on Sunday morning after we got off of the ferry. I told him he had to write the TR of the week we had. The summary is we went sea kayaking, hiking, mtn. biking and whitewater kayaking. I've my pics for you here... but you'll have to wait on those stories until Mike writes them and I edit them.

In the meantime I thought I would add some comments that I meant to make in past blogs and forgot.

First off, I haven't given Sand Flies their proper due. These blood sucking vermin make mosquitos look like amateurs. They have these flies throughout NZ but they are most prominent in the S. Island. I didn’t really encounter them until Murchison. Then as you head farther down the west coast they get worse until they reach an apex in Fiordland (yes, its spelled with an ‘I’ not a ‘j’).

Sand Flies live off of blood. The blood of birds, the blood of rodents, the blood of humans, whatever they can find. Once you step out of your car or wherever they are ready for you, swarming around your face and into your eyes, and ears and mouth. But they don’t buzz like mosquitos, and usually when they are biting you it doesn’t hurt. So while you are swatting away all the ones around your face, they are crawling all over your feet. Two days later you’ll be itching like crazy. And these bastards seem to be able to withstand some adversity as well. I was standing in the rain in Doubtful Sound getting eaten by the flies. I figured by standing in the rain I would be safe… nope, just wet and eaten.

Some urban legends about sand flies: only the females bite… which you can write your own joke to. The other one is that they bite foreigners more than locals because the locals eat vegemite which is loaded with vitamin B. I don’t know, I tried taking vitamin B but still got eaten. I think after a while I just got used to the flies being around, but my legs and ankles still itch.

Since we are talking about being in Fiordland, I need to explain tree slides. The trees in the fjords grow in very, very thin soil. They help anchor themselves to the sides of the steep sides by intertangling their roots. Eventually it rains enough and one tree starts to slide down, and it brings a whole swath of trees with it, like an avalanche. What you are left with, is lots of driftwood at the bottom waiting to be washed away, and a bare rock face where the trees once were. This rock face them begins the slow process of rejuvenation until the trees are back and another slide occurs. Throughout the fjords you can see numerous signs of these rock slides in various stages of rejuvenation.

Ok the next was the movies. Apparently lots of movies are filmed here in NZ. Scenes from “Chronicles of Narnia” were filmed in the same forest used for Amon Hen. Other movies filmed in the area: The Neverending Story, and Last Samurai.

They are real big on speeding here. That and drunk driving are about the only thing that can get you in real trouble with the law. To this affect they have lots of highway signs telling people to be careful, watch your speed, oh yeah and don’t drive tired. The best sign that I saw, and I wish I had gotten this picture. But at 100KPH, you don’t always think to stop fast enough. Anyway the sign said: “The faster you go, the bigger the mess”

Oh yeah and if I didn't say it before. I've thought it many times but can't remember if I ever typed it. The "get out of Auckland" comment was just get out and see the country. Auckland isn't what NZ is about. Auckland really seems like the NZ version of LA. People that live there love it, those that don't live there hate it.


Ok, now for pictures:

Pictures from the drive to Picton
Nevis Bluff is a major whitewater rapid. Class VI- but it has been run. My pictures of it aren't great. Mt. Cook, something really special.

Pictures of Queen Charlotte Sound
The story behind these pictures if forthcoming from Wilson, so be patient.

Don't worry Polly, I'll edit his story and put the truth back in.

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