Sand flies: bloody “Namu Namu”!

No, it is not a fandango from Huelva, a “Bulería” or any new “Palo Flamenco”, this is tourists killing “sand flies” or “Namu Namu” in Fiordland!

What are “Namu Namu”?

The sand flies are a little flies of about 5 mm living in humid places, especially in Fiordland and on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand.

Males are vegetarian, but females need protein to lay eggs and that is why they suck the blood of penguins, small birds, seals and humans.

Namu Namu in action

At the time of biting they inject an anticoagulant in order to increase the blood flow and create a little puddle, that they can suck it in a easier way. And it is precisely this anticoagulant which makes it so itchy after a while and you can stop scratching!

Maori and White man point of view

According to Maori culture, Hine Nui Te Po or the goddess of the underground observed the world of the creator of the land Rakiwhanoa and thought, “It’s so beautiful that people will want to live here forever!“. And she decided to create the “Namu Namu” to remind humans of their fragility and mortality.

The Explorer Charlie Douglas (Mr. Explorer) wrote in his diary in 1890, “a long time ago, a man had a group of workers who did not get the job done and that is why he invented the “sand flies”, in order that they do not stop working during the day… And when the boss saw that the workers were lazy at night, he invented the mosquito! “

The true is that, at least, the “sand flies” disappear as soon as it becomes dark, when it rains hard, when it’s very windy and when you climb to the alpine areas.

Captain Cook was the one who named the sand flies in the “Dusky Sound” fjord during his 1774 journey and he wrote: “Wherever they bite they cause a swelling and such intolerable itching that it is not possible to refrain from scratching “.

Captain Cook fleeing a “sandfly”

Are they really so terrible?

Everything is subjective and there are people who dislike more or less the presence of the sand flies.

Toski, a Japanese guy who came with a “working holidays” (allows you to study, work and travel for a year if you are under 30 years old), has a clear opinion about them:

Emma and Manuel, two travellers from Normandy, do not suffer much from the presence of the little fly:

And Lynn, born on the west Coast and working at the fun and interesting Camp Gunn (with a small museum about how they lived a hundred years ago the settlers, Homer tunnel workers, gold seekers, etc… of the area) is not bothered at all of its presence:

I personally have already learnt that it is necessary to go out covered like a mummy and use a lot of insect repellent in the exposed parts. When you take a break while hiking, it takes about 2 minutes to be surrounded by a small cloud of sand flies around your sweaty face. But I found the solution:

Revolutionary method against Sandflies

It´s not that aesthetic, but it is ecological, it allows you to see through it and works wonderfully. For some reason these Buff people from Igualada sell this fabric cylinder all over the world!

Cheers!

Yep yep Yep

P.D. Fiordland National Park is the largest national park in New Zealand, with 12600km² and with fjords (valleys dug by glaciers invaded by the sea) with granite mountains surrounding them, incredibly vertical, and extensive and impenetrable beech forests at their feet. It rains more than 8000 mm a year!