Tag: New Zealand

Protectors of the Islands

That’s what some New Zealanders refer to the biting sandfly as, however I much prefer the term Evil Demons or The Spawn of Satan.  Now, I realize that God created these little things, but I cannot fathom what possible good they serve aside from a persistent reminder that this is not our home. In heaven, it will be 100% pure paradise minus sandflies, or any other nuisance.

We learned that there are 13 different species of sandflies here, but only two kinds are the biting kind. And only the females bite. They need blood to feast on in order to lay their eggs and produce more hateful little brats. We try to do our part of killing as many as possible, however I know it is not even making a dent in the insane population of them. They are worse in the South Island and though they nest near water, there seems to be no bounds to where they are. Also, they don’t actually bite, but they cut you and then release chemicals as they drink your blood that draws to the surface. Your body reacts to those chemicals something fierce and you will itch incessantly for days. Way worse than mosquitoes in my opinion and I HATE mosquitoes. In fact, I never thought I would say something like this, but honestly I’d much rather be around mosquitoes than swarm of these evil little creatures.

If you don’t know about them, you might at first mistake them as harmless little annoying fruit flies or gnats (like I did) and then you suffer after they have their feast. They prey on feet especially and prefer the sweat of some over others; apparently I have the cream of the crop sweat because they seem to seek me out! The itching will wake you in the night and keep you from getting a full night’s sleep. Anti-itch does not seem to help very much. But if you are diligent in keeping yourself covered in insect repellent you can usually avoid the bites.  

As far as I’m concerned, they can keep their islands. I’ll take my chances with the mosquitoes back home.

Tarawera Falls and Lake

When we read about a magnificent waterfall that flows from crevises in a rock wall we knew it was something we had to see. Even though it was relatively close to Rotorua, you had to drive a very round about way to get there. So it could have been a 20 to 30 minute drive, but instead it was about two hours. The drive was nice though because it went beside clear lakes on the way. We also drove through an old town that was originally settled for loggers. The annoying part was that as much as it was promoted to see in the guide books, there was nothing informing us that we would have to get a permit first and before a certain time. We arrived at a gate with a huge sign in red letters saying you could only enter by permit because the only road to the falls was through a privately owned land. Hundreds of acres used for logging with long gravel roads. Anyway everything worked out and we ended up camping near the trail to the falls. And the drive and time it took to get there was completely worth it. It turned out to be one of our most peaceful camping experiences, which was much needed as we were kind of tired from just being on the move.

Dave fished in the crystal clear river and caught a beauty of a trout. In the morning we hiked to the falls and they were some of the most amazing we’ve ever seen! Dave made his way much closer because he wanted some cool pics, and I did some yoga stretches. The park was so fresh and clean. It was actually pretty warm that day so I got in the river. The river was painfully cold, but I could not resist its beauty or immersing myself in it if only for a few minutes. It seemed we had the place all to ourselves, but after a while a few people showed up.

After hiking and fishing around there we decided to drive to the other side where you can access Tarawera Lake. It was beautiful too and I caught a large trout there and released it. I cooked our lunch while Dave continued to fish and this happened to be where I first encountered the evil sandflies which I mistook them for harmless little gnats until they began to bite my feet. A mistake I did not forget! Anyway, we loved our time there and I would definitely go back to that peaceful haven, … with some strong insect repellent of course! Ha!

Initial Observations of New Zealand after one week 11-17-2016

Seems prices are generally more expensive than back home, however the US dollar is stronger right now so it is not as painful as it could be. Currently the exchange rate is US .72 = NZ 1.00.  The inflation is not very consistent though; for example, ice cream and coffee (two things I definitely know about! Ha!) are about the same price or cheaper than in the States. We don’t smoke, but we noticed that one pack of cigarettes here cost the equivalent of US $22.00. Yes, you read that right! Gas is definitely more expensive.

This place is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise in every sense possible. It seems the entire country caters to outdoor adventures whether it is mountain biking, skiing, hiking, swimming, spelunking, abseiling, scuba diving, canyoning, snorkeling, surfing, kayaking (sea, lake and river), climbing, backpacking, snowboarding, fishing, tubing, motorcycling (is that a word?), sand dune boarding (seriously),  skydiving, hang gliding, bird watching, horseback riding, hot springs in every other town, and I am sure there are so many more things I am missing. It is almost like every area competes to see who can come up with the most adventurous activity! I love the energy and priority here to explore the outdoors as much as possible. There are crystal clear blue lakes and seas everywhere, as well as seriously impressive waterfalls in nearly every town. You can go from a thick gorgeous forest to white sand beaches in less than an hour.

There is so much I love about this country. The air is fragrant like honeysuckles. The people are very friendly and welcoming. There are cafes and ice cream and gelato EVERYWHERE- it’s like the place was created just for ME! There are no, I repeat, NO Walmarts! There are beaches where when the tide is out, you can dig a hole in the sand and it will fill with fresh blazing hot spring geyser water you can soak in until the tide comes back in. Really everywhere you look here is breathtaking. The weather is mild. The country is filled with like-minded explorers. We go on an amazing hike or walk nearly every day. They have giant trout. Did I mention the waterfalls? Oh, and of course, Lord of the Rings was filmed here!

It sounds like enough that I would never want to leave, but so far nothing in New Zealand has impressed me enough yet (we haven’t been to the south island yet, which we keep hearing is mindblowing!) to convince me to want to move here permanently (though I would definitely come back again). One reason is the cost of living is pretty high, and so far everything I have seen here we also have in the USA just not as condensed. We have crystal clear lakes, cool mountain waters, white sand beaches with turquoise waters, great expanses of land, rolling hills, deserts, lush landscapes, mountains (snowcapped, rocky, or covered in trees), amazing food, every outdoor activity you can imagine and we drive on the RIGHT side of the road (praise the Lord!). Another reason is that it is a pretty long flight from home, approximately 20 hours! – and, of course, NC will always be our home.

The more I travel the more I think every place looks like another place I have been. Several times now in just the first week in NZ Dave and I have commented “this kind of looks/feels/smells like ______” – Greece, Kentucky, North Carolina, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Texas, California, etc. But even so, the more I travel, the more I want to travel and see the beauty of God’s great creation.