A bug gets the better of Taylor Swift (perhaps it heard about the dotterels). Photo / Instagram
Maybe they heard about the dotterels.
US popstar Taylor Swift has shared a video of her being attacked by a bug while skimming stones over a crystalline southern lake.
The 25-year-old is momentarily stunned before she swats away an unknown bug that flies into her face while she relaxes with her mother and brother during a recent break in Queenstown.
Wearing Ugg boots and trackpants, Swift proudly takes a moment to crow about her stone-throwing success before being bombarded by the insect.
As well as the short family video, she posted a picture of her and her brother on the lake shore, against a snow-capped mountain backdrop.
"Swift family road trip! South Island, NZ," she wrote.
Swift, who got into trouble last week when filming of her new video at a beach in Auckland was criticised for allegedly endangering dotterel chicks, has now left New Zealand and flown to Australia's Gold Coast today, sources say.
The singer is understood to be heading for Hamilton Island which is regarded as one of the most sought-after holiday destinations in Queensland's tropical north.
Swift arrived in Queenstown on a private jet on Sunday evening fresh from her 1989 World Tour concert in Sydney.
It was the second time in less than a week the Grammy winner had stayed in the southern resort town. Earlier last week she spent two days in the South Island filming part of her new music video for Out of the Woods.
On the latest return trip she was joined by her mother Andrea and brother Austin.
Yesterday the family were seen enjoying the sunshine and shopping in the CBD, stopping in at Partridge Jewellers, Kathmandu, Mikael New Zealand and 45 South before being whisked away.
An hour and a half later, she and her family walked undetected through the town's busy mall and dined at Captains Restaurant.
Grant and Karen Hattaway, who were sitting outside the restaurant celebrating their last night as owners, did a double take as Swift swept past.
"I thought it was great," Mr Hattaway said. "I was actually here and was sitting outside in the mall.
"She came in with an entourage of about eight - three or four security guys.
"I'm not a huge fan of Taylor Swift. I'm 51 so it's not my cup of tea."
He added: "It was a bit of a surprise, to say the least. No-one even knew she was in town."
Restaurant staff left Swift alone. It seemed a few fellow diners noticed the star in their midst but others didn't. "We didn't hassle her or anything like that."
Earlier last week Swift had been filming at Bethells Beach in West Auckland where her film crew allegedly endangered nesting dotterels, a rare native species.
The local film company behind that video, Cherokee Films, has since apologised but disputed any dotterels were harmed and offered to make a donation to the breeding programme.
Viewers expressed their outrage, suggesting the team on the show was 'robbed'.