I have been keeping a casual list of the various forms of transport bywhich I have been moving around and have just reached number 24.........and its a helicopter. Never having been in a 'copter' before I wasn't sure how it would feel but the prospect of flying over, and landing on the surface of, either Fox or Franz Joseph Glacier was enough to overcome any concerns I might have had. It was truly magical to gently rise up towards the mountains and then traverse across to the ice field where we landed in bright sunshine. Standing on the crust of snow and feeling the warmth of the reflected sun on my face was almost indescribable as was the joy of then flying back over the crevasse covered top of Franz Joseph. After that the journey north seemed quite mundane in comparison except when I drove through a valley of ferns growning up from the floor, down from the walls and forming a canopy from above. The experience made me consider why it is that all/most of us are drawn back to the familiar of our lives and in particular the feeling of 'belonging' to a place or time in our lives. And how it must be for Kiwis to come back to this strange land with its unique wild life, fauna and geography. I understand that most who travel from here do so because they feel that they need to see more of the world but almost all of them come back here.........and who would blame them. Arrived in the Scottish named town of Murchison in the mountains where I stayed for two nights..........partly because of the night sky which I saw on the first night there. I have never seen such a bright, clear and all encompassing blanket of stars in my life. Not a cloud in sight........at one point I thought there was but it turned out to be the Milky Way, from end to end. Goodness knows what the other residents would have thought if they had seen a man lying on his back in the car park at midnight and just staring at the stars. On the mundane, borrowed a set of golf clubs and played the local course for the princely sum of $10.00......which was just as well considering the standard of play. Moved on to NELSON - a delightful town/city of Art Deco buildings, which claims to be the sunniest place in the nation but where it has rained for two days. Food note: Ate at the Boat Shed and had the most glorious chowder followed by Bream on a bed of leek and spinach accompanied by a saffron flavoured sauce. Magical. KIWI HUMOUR Drove through two small towns CLINTON and GORE and noted that they were connected by a road called THE PRESIDENTIAL HIGHWAY. Kiwi Speak LIFT Opposite of right RAISIN Something you lose when angry