Woke up around 915am. It was already warm. All were bitten multiple times last night, including the kids. We believe it was the work of just one sandfly.

Sandflies can’t see at night so they usually don’t bite during the darkest hours, but this sandfly happened to be at the right place at the right time.

After reading more about them, sandflies are also known as black flies and the females draw blood and feed on it to produce more eggs, similar to mosquitoes.

We ate breakfast while people watching our neighbors playing soccer and doing yoga. We continue to question how others leave their van doors open and bask in the outdoors with the presence of these annoying bugs.

Have we turned that soft? We simply don’t want to cover ourselves or the kids with Deet and believe this is the biggest difference between us and everyone else.

On the boat ride at Milford Sound we saw someone spraying themselves from head to toe, literally. Then closing her eyes and spraying her hair and face.

No thank you.

Around 11am we finally left camp. Our first stop was 20 minutes away at Māori Beach. The kids were excited to dig with their shovels and make sandcastles.

They had lots of fun with Andy while Laurie took a few minutes cleaning the floor of the van. We do our best to keep shoes near the door but sand and dirt keep migrating all over and eventually end up on the sheets which is not fun at bedtime.

Eventually we made our way to the water and waited for the waves of the Tasman Sea to crash into us.

Predictably Miles was hesitant at first but when the three of us went, he came too. And also predictably, he had the most fun.

Miles enjoyed dada picking him up with one arm like a dumbbell when big waves came. Ani was content in mama’s arms. Then mama and dada lifted Miles up together to avoid big waves. Ani was still content in mama’s arms. Miles was having so much fun, it was lovely to hear his giggles and see his mannerisms pretending to fight the ocean monsters.

The temperature of the water was so pleasant. What was not so pleasant were the waves bringing rocks with them. Compared to the sandy beaches in the north, the West Coast has rocky beaches. This beach in particular had beautiful white rocks, some of which we collected to bring home.

The rocks were fun to look at, particularly when wet because the colors would pop so much. But the rocks hitting our feet with each wave didn’t feel particularly good.

After about 30 minutes in the water, a larger rock hit Andy on the inside of his ankle. This was our signal that we had overstayed our welcome and it was time to go.

Ani was also tired because it was around 130pm and she wanted to nurse and go to sleep. Naturally it took some convincing for Miles to leave the beach but we gathered our stuff and climbed the rocks back to the van parked at a pullout 100ft or so behind an ice cream shack. Thankfully Laurie nor the kiddos noticed it.

We ate lunch consisting of smoked salmon, cheese, crackers and apples while listening to the sounds of the crashing waves. Eventually, around 215pm we got in our seats and headed inland.

Miles rode shotgun and Laurie sat next to Ani, who peacefully fell asleep for her afternoon nap.

Thirty minutes later we turned on to Gillespie Beach Road in hopes of seeing Fox Glacier from a viewpoint.

Our initial plan was to camp at Gillespie Beach where apparently you can see the glacier while standing on the beach. While seeing both an ocean and a glacier without moving our feet sounded spectacular, it made for a very long drive the following day.

Time spent in car seats are some of the most challenging moments of travel for us so we like to spread it out. We figured we’d get to Franz Josef today and take care of the town chores and hopefully see another glacier.

As the road turned right and became gravel, Laurie spotted Fox Glacier peeking through below the clouds. Andy parked and got out to get a closer look. Laurie stayed behind since Ani was sleeping and Miles wanted something to eat.

We didn’t stay there very long because we didn’t want Ani to wake up. The glacier was a nice surprise as we didn’t think we’d see it given the afternoon cloud cover.

Not so surprisingly, these mountains share traits with other mountains around the world. Mornings tend to be clear, clouds gather in the afternoon, and eventually disperse an hour or so before sunset, gifting those lucky enough to be watching them a magnificent sunset.

What’s different about New Zealand though is that these glaciers are visible from the ocean! This country is just on another level of spectacular. Oceans and beaches give way to rainforests which have glaciers as their backdrop.

And that’s just the West Coast of the South Island! Every part of this country offers something special and is very unique. We have been in awe every day.

There have been many times when our awe has been overshadowed by sandflies or mosquitoes but we know that when we look back at this trip in the years to come, we’re not going to remember the itching and late nights as much as we will the stunning landscape and how the kids appreciated and immersed themselves in it.

The twisty road with hairpin turns through the rainforest led us to Franz Josef 40 minutes after leaving Fox Glacier. Ani woke up just as we pulled into town and parked at the playground.

Miles stayed behind with Laurie for a moment while Andy and Ani went to the playground. Ani went up the steps and just as she was about to go down the slide, a boy Miles’ age came up the slide and started pushing Ani around.

Andy moved the kid away from Ani and asked him politely not to push her around. He continued to try to push her and get in her space. Ani was scared at this point so Andy removed her from the slide. The kid’s mother finally came over to speak to him after she lifted her head and peeled herself away from her phone. He wasn’t listening to her either so she removed him from the playground momentarily.

Andy held Ani, who just wanted to leave, but Andy explained to her that kids can be rough and he would keep her safe.

Miles and Laurie arrived and Ani stared running after Miles and tried copying whatever he did. This was just the distraction and redirection Ani needed.

Laurie played with the kiddos for a few minutes while Andy went to check out the dump. He returned and tagged out Laurie so she could shower.

The shower was not getting hot. At first we realized the propane was not on. But Laurie still was not getting hot water.

Remembering what tech support had said when this happened 5 or so days ago, Andy reset the circuit breaker and voilah, we had hot water again.

Miles was hot and didn’t want to go back to the playground. Andy and the kids read a few books while Laurie finished her shower, with neither kid unsurprisingly wanting to join Laurie in the shower.

The wet bath is small and gets very steamy during a shower and stays quite steamy afterwards. Unless you leave the bathroom door open, then the whole van gets steamy and hot. We may not have mentioned this but there’s no fan or even a vent in the bathroom.

Neither kid liked the warm air initially but Miles did enjoy standing on the toilet and feeling the warm water splash on him ONCE he got in.

Andy and the kiddos read Goodnight Moon to the continuous backdrop of helicopters flying by. Helicopter tours are very popular here. Some even drop you off at the foot of the glaciers for you to hike on them.

The kids didn’t want to go back to the playground, which was not only exposed but small, wet and a bit run down, so they chose to stay in the van with Laurie while Andy dumped the tanks and filled up the fresh water tank.

As Andy pulled up to the dump he couldn’t hold back his frustration with a hipster-type camper washing his socks, feet, hair and face at the fresh water spigot.

New Zealand has public showers available in many places. This was the first time we’ve seen this type of behavior at a filling area and we know this is probably uncommon but seeing someone improperly using a service that so many rely on was infuriating.

Andy dumped the grey tanks and the cassette toilet. As he tried to turn around to fill the water, which is on the other side of the van, another campervan showed up. Thankfully they pulled far enough forward that Andy could fill the fresh water tank.

With that done, Andy hurriedly put the hoses and gloves away and got in the van as fast as he could to minimize the number of sandflies that followed him in.

Andy got eaten alive. He was in flip flops, t shirt and shorts. That’s the last time he would be doing that.

After Miles helped Andy fill up on diesel, we parked a block away and went to the 4 Square supermarket.

Similar to diesel, groceries cost more in this remote town. The selection at the grocery store wasn’t to our liking either so we bought a few essentials and headed for camp.

We were only 15 minutes from camp but remembering how nice it was the day before to cook before getting to camp, Laurie saw a turnoff to a lake, which we took so Andy could cook and Laurie and the kids could enjoy more time by the water.

While standing on the dock, Laurie chatted with a gal who was slowly entering the lake for a swim. She and her husband were from North Carolina and were traveling for 2 weeks.

We both agreed that one needed at least 3 weeks to fully appreciate the diversity of this island. The lady grimaced at one point, admitting to seeing 2 eels as she walked deeper in the water.

Laurie could never imagine swimming knowing there were eels around and gave the gal a lot of credit for doing so.

The kids occupied themselves by throwing rocks and sticks in the water. With help from the couple, we saw one of the eels swimming below us.

All the while Andy cooked rice, tortellini and chicken with carrots, broccoli and red bell peppers for dinner. Even though the windows were open and the fan over the burners was on, it was very hot in the van when everyone returned.

Miles ate some tortellini, and eventually so did Ani. Andy needed a shower and decided to take one. We also decided that since we had accidentally bought bone-in chicken thighs and now had raw chicken in a paper bag along with our other trash, we would drive the 10 minutes back to town, dump the grey water again, top off the fresh water, throw away our trash and then head to camp.

Andy wore pants and shoes this time to dump and fill. Thankfully he had a breeze too. While he was filling he left the engine running so the kids could pretend drive. We’ve mentioned how much they like doing this, especially Miles. They especially like see-sawing the steering wheel, a lot.

Well, it just so happens that the tar layed down at the dump was very soft. Couple that with the weight of the van and the hard tires, big chunks of gravel and tar had stuck to both front tires. Driving on the paved road felt like driving on a washboard gravel road. Laurie thought we had a flat tire.

Andy knew exactly what the issue was so he parked on the side of the road and found a stick to remove the gum-like tar stuck on both front tires. It took some doing but he cleared off enough of the tar so that the driving experience was acceptable.

Driving into town we had noticed an excavator and made a note to stop by there to get a closer view of Franz Josef Glacier now that the clouds were parting.

We turned into the gravel entrance to find a very large river bed with a lot of construction going on. We drove to a rise in the road and parked.

The kids wanted dada to control them with his remote so he did and they ran and ran. Just after Laurie said to Andy, “I really hope neither of them faceplants here” Miles tried to make a quick change of direction and fell.

Thankfully he was ok. The glacier and the Minarets were both in view and very stunning. Miles really wanted Andy to race him from the dump truck to the steamroller but Andy had recently showered and really didn’t want to sweat.

But how could he say no to a 5 year old boy who needed to run out his energy before winding down for the evening?

The race was on!

Miles and Andy gave Ani a ten second head start and then they were off. Miles is very fast. But he’s still no match for Andy, who kept it close.

Laurie and Ani eventually caught up to the boys and we attempted to take a family photo. As we were saying cheese, the town’s tsunami warning siren went off.

It was loud and startled us all. Andy told the kids what the sound usually means and that it was probably a test the town was conducting. But it was 820pm and a very odd time to be testing the sirens.

Miles was really scared by the sudden alarm. Despite Andy reassuring him that he would be ok and if there was any danger we would keep him safe, he kept asking about the alarm. Miles may have heard our words but the scare remained inside him.

Andy checked to see if there were any earthquakes reported at that time but found nothing.

Around midnight, Andy was still awake and scratching his many bites. He looked it up again and read an article from the New Zealand Herald about a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that had struck near the island of Vanuatu around 2:45pm.

The article mentioned that at 3:54pm New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency officially stated that the earthquake posed no tsunami threat to New Zealand.

The siren remains baffling to Andy.

We arrived at camp the latest of the trip. At 850pm we rolled in to Otto/Mcdonald’s camping area. Otto’s loop was quite full so we went to McDonald’s and found many sites available.

Andy pulled into a very flat and level parking spot which for the Kiwis is a camp spot and called it home.

With dinner made there wasn’t much to do, so we relaxed and ate. Ani ate a good amount of rice, chicken, carrots and broccoli while Miles ate cheesy bread we had bought from the market earlier in the day.

Laurie started to consolidate our food and empty out a drawer that had a broken locking mechanism. We discovered this on our early days and taped it shut.

The kiddos saw the snacks and wanted everything in sight. Andy laughed because it looked like they either had the munchies or we just weren’t feeding them enough. Or most likely, they just wanted sweet treats!

They ate a mixture of snacks from New Zealand and home, consisting of fruit leathers, Justin’s white chocolate and peanut butter cups, pea crisps, more fruit leather and apple sauce.

Once full, the kids played doctor and helped Laurie put bandages on the self inflicted open wounds on the top of her left foot from scratching the bites way too viciously.

After the normal power struggle of trying to get pjs on, brush teeth and pee, Laurie read them books while Andy hunted for sandflies.

We know there’s at least one in the van and we hope it leaves us alone tonight.