Naturally New Zealand

Some of the best experiences we had in New Zealand were encounters with nature. Some of them closer than others.

For example, the humble sandfly may be low on the food chain but when it comes at you, you might want to get out of the way - you're lunch. And when it bites you know about it. All those precautionary injections were good practice for these flying needles. Our rabies injection was nothing! Unlike mosquitoes, you generally don't hear the sandfly approach, so the first thing you know about it is a sharp stinging sensation followed by a heavily laden black object disappearing out of view. Nasty suckers.

So what can be done to help poor humanity in its fight against the relentless attacks of the sandfly? One option is N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, that's DEET to me and you. Designed to keep the bugs at bay it also has enough nasty ingredients to make you more likely to have "insomnia, mood swings and impaired cognitive function" when used extensively, according to Correll University. The thought of a sandfly with insomnia, mood swings and impaired cognitive functions is a little disturbing to say the least - things are looking bad for humanity. It's only when you apply the DEET that you realise its ferocious power. If you look closely you'll see a haze coming off your skin. That's right, you're flammable, and the bugs just get frazzled in the haze. Pure genius. Just keep away from fires for the next 4 hours after application.

Thankfully there were far more pleasant and wonderful experiences other than the dreaded sandfly. The following day after Beth's big 'three-o' celebrations we were sailing once more, out in the Bay of Islands. Aboard Gungha II, a 65' go-fast maxi ocean sailing yacht, captained by the excellent Mike, who had ditched law to sail the oceans of the world. We sailed from Paihai on the east coast, past millionaire superyachts and out across Wairoa Bay to Moturoahia Island. Suddenly there were shrieks from the bow as someone on board had seen dolphins riding the bow wave. Needless to say we all rushed forwards and there they were, a pod of about six young males, performing underwater acrobats and showing off their skills, even jumping clear out of the water. These dolphins are found only within the Bay of Islands and its environs and are one of the biggest bottle nose dolphins in the world. At times, the usual white underside of the dolphin becomes red as the blood vessels near the surface are flushed through, allowing the dolphin to cool off. And judging by the way these dolphins were jumping around I'd say they needed to cool off! Later we anchored in a small bay at Moturohia Island and as we came ashore in our little dinghy, the dolphins suprised us again with a stunning show, within 10' at times. It made up for the one day of mixed weather!

On the theme of dolphins we met another New Zealand only dolphin, the Hector dolphin, one of the rarest and smallest dolphins in the world. What was especially exciting was the fact we were surfing at the time in a small bay, Curio Bay, one of the most southern points on South Island. With nothing between us and Antarctica we paddled out early one morning to catch some waves. It is so incredible, quietly paddling out, as dolphins surge past you as 'surf' within the waves, catching their food. Although I didn't managed to surf with them, the dolphins came within a few feet of both Beth and me. A magical experience!

In the same area are the equally rare yellow eyed penguins. These little dudes hang out at the beach in the evenings after they have been fishing all day. If you wait quietly at the top of the beach you will see these birds riding in on the small surf and then hopping from rock to rock as they get out of the water. A few shakes later, a quick check that the tail feathers are still looking good and then the prolonged voice identification process with the mate, who is carefully hidden away in the scrub at the top of the beach. We were fortunate to have a penguin hop very close to us on his hike up to the scrub.


Alpacas may not sound an exciting animal to meet, but with names like Whisky, Donald and Lady Di and their huge big eyes, they're actually quite a characterful bunch. At All Day Bay, a neat name considering it does remain a bay all day, we met the alpacas. I couldn't see how these overgrown sheep/camel hybrids had ever managed to survive so long - surely without mans' help these animals would have been lunch and extinct years ago. That's where I was wrong. These split lip toothless wonders (well on the upper jaw anyhow) are actually used in the States to corral cattle - unbelievable when you look at these dozy creatures. Those big eyes capture any movement and the whole herd of alpacas stops and stares. If it's looking like a dangerous situation, the alpacas move in. And what do these woolly airheads do to ward off wolves and the like? They sit. To be precise they sit on the wolves. That's right folks, the wolf has had it, smothered in luxury wooled bottoms without a hope. Apparently these gentle alpacas had done this trick on a golden retriever - it's never been the same following its ordeal.

If you see a bunch of alpacas heading your way with a look of intent in those oh so big eyes, my advice is to dig deep and pull out a few straw pellets from your pocket and give them a feed. They love it. Alternatively, and this sounds equally as nuts, start humming. Not only do alpacas make good wool they're also musical. If you start humming they gather round and start humming too. In fact, they get lost in their little hum-world, staring up into the sky for hours just humming away. This dude is Donald.

But you cannot blog about New Zealand without a least some mention of the stunning scenery. As soon as you leave any of the cities you are in the most wonderful scenery imaginable; pretty much anywhere you go. We stopped at Abel Tasman National Park, graceful mountains clothed in rich forests. There are very few, and sometimes no roads in this beautiful park. To gain access you either walk in, get a water taxi round or sea kayak. We did the later starting at Marahau and paddled the coastline, exploring hidden caves and coves, discovering beautiful isolated beaches and venturing across open sea to islands with seal colonies, red eyed oyster catchers and even the rare New Zealand dotterel. I even managed an afternoon's mountain biking through the forests, realising quickly how unfit I was.

One of the most awe inspiring locations were the fjords in the south-west of South Island. Here the dramatic mountains plunge 700m below the surface of the fjords. Although incorrectly named a 'Sound' (a 'sound' being a flooded valley formed by a river whilst a fjord is a flooded valley formed by glacial action), Milford Sound has an atmosphere you don't get in many places. Gargantuan waterfalls plummet into the fjord at colosal rates, amazingly forming a freshwater layer over the sea water, anywhere between 2m and 16m deep depending on the weather. Trees and grasses somehow grow out of the fractured rock, their roots matted together to provide as much stability as possible, adjacent there may be massive scars formed on the rock where there has been a tree avalanche. It will take another seventy years for the trees to grow back. Seals bask on the rocks and below the surface black corral grows at a much shallower depth. All the tannins from organic matter washed into the fresh water means light does not penetrate to the depths normally expected. And so the black coral can grow at much shallower depths. The coral is in fact white whilst it is alive, but was found in deep sea fishing nets black in colour because it wasby that time dead - hence the name.

There are just too many places we visited, too many stories to tell of this beautiful land to be able to include it all in a blog. You'll just have to ask us when we get back....