We got a few bumps over the straight but nothing that I hadnt felt before. We were more worried about the westerly comming off the Kaikouras, for some reason though, we didnt feel a thing.
We got pretty raped by the wind through the plains, some real mountain wave action going on. We forged on though and stopped for gas at Ashburton.
Ashburton was very quiet with the weather the way it was. After topping up the tanks, we headed south once more.
We were running out of daylight fast by this point so we made the decision to divert to Oamaru for the night. After a night of drinking and partying in Oamaru, yes Oamaru does have a night life, we set off the next day at 1000.
Yet another beautiful South Island day.
For some reason, the camera was having difficulty focusing outside the aircraft but that is Port Chalmers off the nose. We had a spectacular flight up the harbour and over the city. The controller at Mamona was absolutly fantastic in helping us with the airspace as neither myself or George (the pilot) had flown into Taieri before. Once on the ground, we tied the aircraft down and went off and took some photos.
We spent Thursday and Friday in Dunedin. George stayed with one of his mates at her flat and I stayed with my sister in her hall. So after another night of drinking and partying, we headed back out to Taieri early on Saturday morning.
These guys were looking for gold using a gigantic metal detector slung beneith the machine.
After takeoff, we flew up the Taieri Valley and then out to the coast, staying out of controlled airspace.
We were a bit lighter as we had lost one person and bag so we made good time. Once again we stopped at Ashburton for gas where I took the right hand seat to give George a hand for the final stint back to Wellington. I didnt have a chance to take any more photos after that. The flight back into Wellington was fairly rough, a good stiff northerly again and as soon as we entered the CTR, there was rain on the windscreen. Typical. All in all, a good trip
