Paul Murphy spends most of his time in among the rush of lights and skyscrapers of Hong Kong, flying for the Cathay Dragon airline.
About twice a year he returns to New Zealand to take a break from his day-to-day life.
He keeps most of his gear in Auckland but flies south to the Ida Valley to be immersed in the Central Otago landscape.
``It's a bit different from Hong Kong,'' Mr Murphy said. ``The peace and quiet and the light.''
Mr Murphy owns a share of the plane with six others.
He owns property on Auripo Rd in the Ida Valley, near Oturehua.
Mr Murphy flew the DHC-1 Beaver topdressing plane south to the Ida Valley from Auckland last week, taking seven hours. The plane was built in Canada in the early 1950s. It was painted to replicate a plane that was part of Sir Edmund Hillary's expedition to the Antarctic in the late 1950s.
Flying around New Zealand was perfect downtime for Mr Murphy.
``You can see so much of New Zealand from a plane,'' he said.
