In the exit row, a friendly young liver surgeon from New Zealand confirms my dreams: Middle Earth does indeed resemble The South Island. I confirm that some photojournalists shoot weddings on the side, and he nods knowingly. “I am a liver specialist. But on the side,” he muses, “I do kidneys.”

“They saw the sky below them and the stars like jewels in the depths.” -JR Tolkien

(Spirit Air)