An unexpected stowaway is now residing in Blenheim after a trip from Brisbane to Christchurch on Sunday.
Karlene Rooney had flown to Christchurch to attend a family funeral in Timaru, where she found a small, live lizard in her luggage.
It was the second time Ms Rooney had opened her bag since arriving in New Zealand.
Her sister Donette, who lives in Blenheim, said Ms Rooney screamed when she opened the bag in the motel room where they were staying.
"She said, `Oh my god! You'll never guess what I've got in my bag!'."
Ms Rooney said her parents, who were also in the room, were shocked to see the lizard.
The lizard, which the women affectionately named Frank, had made it through at least three X-rays and security checks without being found, Ms Rooney said.
She said the species was commonly known in Australia as the "ta-ta" lizard because when they ran, they looked as if they were waving goodbye.
The family called the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which suggested they either kill the lizard outright or put it in the freezer to kill it – something Ms Rooney said motel freezers were "not very capable of doing".
The small creature had been "freezer hopping" since the funeral on Monday until it made it back to her Blenheim freezer.
MAF had called the family several times over the next few days and had sent a specimen jar, which would be used to send the lizard to Upper Hutt for identification.
Ms Rooney said the family had no idea how the lizard got into the bag, but she thought it might have taken refuge from her sister's cat.
"It's pretty small with a long tail. It's really quite cute."
A MAF spokesperson said "hitchhiker" animals were sent to the Investigation and Diagnostic Centre to undergo a risk assessment, including whether they were pregnant and how likely they would be to survive if they escaped.
MAF said Ms Rooney's bag would have been X-rayed at a minimum, but could have been checked by search dogs. The lizard might have been missed because of its skeletal structure.
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