Quote:
Originally Posted by timmy
Poisonous snakes or insects? Animals that will eat you? (Thinking of camping - in the north here in Canada not so safe as good old boring Maritimes)
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Having camped in northern Saskatchewan - I know exactly what you mean about camping in the north of Canada...no late night pee'n just outside the tent. Don't want to attract any Bears eh? Not to mention grey water from washing the dishes..can't dump that in your campsite either lol.
Back to NZ -
No poisonous snakes, Mossies (mosquito, yes), no dangerous mammals (just the human kind) one spider (Katipo)...is vary rare to even see this spider..but one Canadian actually managed to get bit at a beach we happen to visit lol. Guess where the skinny dipping Canadian got bit lol
He was treated at the clinic my wife currently works at...but she wasn't working yet, when the bite happened.
"A venomous katipo spider bite on his penis was the high price a tourist paid for a skinny-dip at a Northland beach.
The 22-year-old Canadian left his clothes in the sand dunes while he went for his nude swim and slept on his return, according to a report on the case in today's online NZ Medical Journal.
"He woke to find his penis swollen and painful with a red mark on the shaft suggestive of a bite. He rapidly developed generalised muscle pains, fever, headache, photophobia [light sensitivity] and vomiting," wrote Dr Nigel Harrison and colleagues who treated him at Dargaville and Whangarei hospitals.
By the time the man reached Dargaville Hospital, his penis was severely swollen, his blood pressure was up and his heart beat racing.
Chest pain and other symptoms developed the next morning and it was presumed he had been bitten by a katipo. He was treated with anti-venom medicine and rapidly improved.
However, heart problems persisted and he was treated at Whangarei Hospital and Auckland Hospital before returning to Canada.
Katipo spiders are known to have a highly specialised habitat in New Zealand sand dunes and will bite only rarely, and in defence.
This was the first known case of myocarditis, or heart inflammation, caused by a bite, Dr Harrison said.
A prompt diagnosis and the use of anti-venom resulted in a good outcome for the tourist, he said. "
He will forever be remembered in the NZ Medical Journal lol.
I have made a few slideo's on youtube - check em out if you like ------
This one is when we lived here in 2004-2005
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRamq1M5ezM
This one was in Feb 2010, trip was to decide if we really missed NZ as much as we did
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGGS1XmBR-g
This one is after living here for 8 weeks in....NZ is where we want to live now. Permanent Residence application has been sent in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRamq1M5ezM
Do I miss Saint John and family/friends...at times, but we will be back to visit (they plan to visit us here)...and the internet makes it easy to keep in touch. Can even watch the CBC NB news.....etc. Not sure why I do...perhaps to see the snowstorms =D, but no shoveling is in need to be done.
Eh...seems in NZ, they say Eh! as well, Wth? I thought it was Canada's Eh, seems it might be NZ's Eh. But it sounds more like ayeeee.
oh ohoh..I forgot though...they do have these buggers here, I don't want one of these crawling into my tent =o
Giant Weta bug...