Neither the tourists nor the wider public should pretend that these operations can be rendered entirely safe. The south of New Zealand is an extreme tourism area and a dangerous place not because service standards in that respect are low, but because public expectations in that respect are so high.

Ah, vacation! Balmy breezes, ice-cold margaritas, compliant snipers. Snipers? Yep. The newest kick for jaded tourists who have hit all the world's hot spots is to hit the world's really hot spots. The idea behind what some are calling terror travel or extreme tourism is basically to take the U.S. State Department's travel advisory warning list and make an itinerary out of it.