Wild West

Busy, busy, here on the West Coast of the South Island, where the tourism industry is run entirely by people "from away", most of whom it seems chanced through here, fell in love with the place and could never leave again.

So Jo from Wellington has told us all about the coal connoisseurs, anti-litter .303 persuasion and her husband winning the gold for her wedding ring at the Kumara Races in a gold-miner dress-up competition. Steve from the Solomons showed me how to carve my own greenstone pendant. Matt from Christchurch explained how he loves getting irritated at a 2-minute traffic delay on his way to work. Howie from Taranaki took us deep into caves, showed us an actual glow-worm and then paddled us backwards in inner tubes under a fluorescent galaxy of siren-lights before sending us shooting over foot-deep rapids that were quite as exciting as the real thing.

Today we've watched elegant snowy herons with their fluffy chicks, and comical spoonbills with spiky topknots nesting up a secret river, the only place in the country that the kotuku breed.

There have been trains and boats and planes, and tomorrow helicopters - but only if the weather continues as fine and sunny (mostly) as it's been so far. Trying hard not to tempt fate, here.