I grew up in a family that names its vehicles. Before I was born there was Henrietta, the baby blue van. After her came Dippy, the racy red Anglia whose license plate began with 'DP', then Goldbug the sparkling gold Holden Kingswood station wagon. I'm sad to say I didn't continue this tradition when I started driving. That is until I spent a week alone in the North Island driving a 6.6 metre long campervan complete with shower, toilet and microwave oven. A vehicle of this stature, I decided, needs a name....

If it weren't for humans, black stilts would be prevalent throughout New Zealand - or extinct. Contradictory, but true. You see, a few hundred years ago the little black-bodied, red-legged native wading birds were found in braided riverbeds and wetlands from Rotorua in the central North Island, to Otago in the South. Their only natural predators were harrier hawks and black-backed gulls - both of which the stilt had learned to frequently fend off. Enter European settlers and their companions......

So it turns out I'm no William Tell. Armed with a heavy bow that swirls and curves like a calligraphic 'D', I at least look the part. I've got a quiver of rigid arrows on hand and have my new archer's stance down pat: knees bent; feet straight ahead; torso twisted towards the target....

The light is different in here. It's deeper, mysterious and mottled. The air has changed too; thicker, cooler and scented with the sweet earthiness of New Zealand's native bush. Looking up I see the sky has disappeared, obscured by the criss-crossing patterns of distant branches. ...

Although considered the commercial heart of the South Island's West Coast region, Greymouth is an attractively affordable holiday destination....