The good, bad, and horrific

Good

Mountains, beaches, awesome scenery, whales, seals, penguins, jet boats, cruises.

Bad

Our campervan contract did not permit us to go on unsealed roads.

Two weeks is nowhere near enough for the South Island.

Horrific

We saw dolphins on the first two days then they vanished.

There are no grizzlies, no coyotes, no lions, not even any snakes. However, the deep dark secret of New Zealand is that they are home to the equal worst man/woman eater on the planet. Sand flies.

These ecotourist terrorists are seriously not fun.

Ooooh, look at that beautiful stream, these flowers, that mountain range, let's get out of the van and take some photos.  Then wham. 5 gazillion sand flies have latched on to you, your clothing, your camera, everything.

Looking through the view finder you see nothing but "All Black" . Did I forget to take the lens cap off again? No. The cause is Sand Flies trying to eat your lens. But the main problem is that every millimetre of your flesh is now red, itchy and expanding rapidly. You look like a red Michellen man ballooning out of control.

The dolphins probably just had enough.

[photos censored by NZ tourism board]