South

South is a very personal offering from broadcast Marcus Lush. South is a cardinal point on a compass and Southland has become a cardinal point in Lush's life. Moving to the region six years ago was a transformative process for him.

While work introduced him to the area, the southern terrain, isolation and history, captured his imagination. In this seven-part series Lush delivers personal perspectives on the grit, charm, and heart that makes up the fabric of the South.

From the moment he leaves his home in Bluff, he is engaged in an epic adventure of land, air and sea, of innovation, evolution and conservation. From Lush's sleepover at the Dog Island lighthouse and his discoveries of the lighthouse keepers and shipwrecks in our past through to sharing a Stewart Island tepee with Robin, a hippy who has set up a unique home stay and Tim Te Aika, who ran one of the most remote sheep farms in the country in Masons Bay, the characters and stories are the stuff great nations are built on.

There are remarkable discoveries on any journey but the South has kept its surprises well hidden, like Southlander Herbet Pither who may have been the first person in New Zealand and possibly the world, to fly and Peanut, the finder of this country's largest piece of space junk. Lush also discovers a man called Ken Tustin who shares his thoughts on the possibilities of wild moose still living in Fiordland and he meets Kim Hollows, a chopper pilot who has been so overwhelmed by Fiordland's beauty, he risked everything to make a film about it.

It wouldn't be an exploration of the South and its epic terrain without testing a few personal limits. Lush naturally walks the Milford Track and competes in the 99th annual Tuatapere Sports Day. He tries his pioneering spirit on a bush-crashing trek from Waitutu Lodge to Puysegar Lighthouse. He also joins the Milford Wanderer on a rough ride around Preservation inlet, Dusky Sound and Doubtful Sound.

South doesn't skirt around the more controversial points on the map. Lush's visit to the Manapouri Dam where he talks to Tim Shadbolt about what it was like to work on the controversial scheme and he shares the story of Amy Bock, New Zealand's most infamous Con Woman fraudster, who posed as a man and married a woman at Nugget Point.

And then of course there is the other star of the show, South itself. The stunning scenery is nothing short of breathtaking - to be seen to be believed.

This series may be a thank you note from Lush but it could also be a nod from the rest of the country to an area that delivers more than its fair share of epic geography, pioneering spirit and good old fashioned heart.

'South' is a very personal offering from broadcaster Marcus Lush, and in this spectacular, top rating series, he delivers personal perspectives on the grit, charm and heart that makes up the fabric of South.

Marcus explores Southland & Otago -- its hidden majesty; almost unchartered waters; roads less travelled; and reticent characters in some of New Zealand's most inaccessible and remote parts of the country.

But it wouldn't be an exploration without testing a few personal limits, whether it was braving Foveaux Strait; canoeing down remote river gorges; or trekking into the wilds of Fiordland, Marcus was up for it! And then, of course, there is the other star of the show -- the South itself. The stunning scenery is nothing short of breathtaking, to be seen to be believed.

South won Best Presenter Entertainment/Factual Programme and Best Director Factual/Entertainment Programme at the Qantas Film and Television Awards 2010.