I had the alarm set to a rather early time of 7:30, as I agreed with the airport guy to call him first thing in the morning to check on the weather. And just by looking out of the window I could see it would probably be a great day …

I wanted to grab breakfast before calling, but as I was doing so I noticed their small town office was just about to open. They got the guys from the airport on the radio, and told me it would be perfect weather right now, with clouds coming up later on. And if I would make it to the airport immediately they would hold the plane … Well, not exactly what I had in mind given that I haven’t packed up nor eaten breakfast, but hey: You gotta take a chance when it’s there. So: Rushing back to the hotel to grab the camera, a speedy drive to the airport where the plane was waiting with 9 more passengers and running motors – and I was in the air by 8:20

It was a gorgeous morning, the sun still standing low, just a few patches of could here and there. The route took us over Lake Tekapo up to the mountains, to the west side of the mountains with great views on the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, and of course magical Mount Cook.

We landed at Glentanner Park to drop off most of the other passengers, who were picked up by their buses here. Already back on the runway we turned around again to fetch another passenger for the short hop back to Lake Tekapo. Here’s a video of our departure at Glentanner Park:

All too soon the 1hr flight was over –and it was well worth it (despite the rush start into the day). Thanks again to Air Safaris and their crew.

All there was left was packing up, and heading back to Christchurch for my 15:10 flight to Auckland. I didn’t have the necessary time to take the scenic inland route, but it still was a pretty nice drive.

The flight to Auckland was a bit troublesome, first because either they or I messed up with the baggage weight limitations (the word “ticket” can be interpreted in many ways – unfortunately it was not in my favor here). And second we had a small flap problem before the landing in Auckland, which mandated a lengthy go around and a little faster than usual landing speed. But we made it there safely in the end.

It would be a short stay in Auckland with an early 8am flight, but I felt it would be stupid to stay at an airport property with such a nice city so close by. And they have one of the nicer Westins in an excellent location. So the evening was spent downtown over some nice dinner at the harbor, a few drinks and a later in a super-comfy “Heavenly Bed” – what a change from the rather cheap motel beds in the last few days!

More pictures @ Flickr

Tags: Air Newzealand, Air Safaris, Auckland, Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, Mount Cook, New Zealand