"I always said I'd live overseas," says Mangonui police Constable Shaun Palmer, who is preparing to leave the Far North after five years service there. He and wife Bronwyn, a mental health worker, are heading overseas all right - all the way to Stewart Island. "It's like going from the sublime tothe ridiculous," quipped Police Minister Annette King, clearly enjoying the charm of Mangonui and wondering what would possess anybody to leave. But the Palmers are into the outdoors, conservation and tramping, and so are excited by the new posting. Mr Palmer will be sole charge of the island's police station, and says much of his work will involve search and rescue. Mrs Palmer hails from Southland and says people at that end of the country were just as perplexed when they made the move north as their Northland friends are now they're heading south again. So far the Palmers have spent the grand total of half a day on Stewart Island. Police Commissioner Howard Broad yesterday presented Mr Palmer with a service medal for having completed 14 years with the police.