First Bite

On the west side of the island, one expects to fall victim to sand flies, whatever the precautions. So it was particularly disheartening to get my first bite of the campaign on Bealey's Track, well east of Arthur's Pass. It was a textbook case. I was wearing long pants and long sleeves and gloves and a hat and had even sprayed my neck and face. The fly got me just between the sleeve and my glove. First the sting, then the itching, the swelling and whelping, and soreness, and then...three weeks of itching. See illustration. The South Island has a lot going for it for people to put up with these pests.

Time to start marinating in DEET