Yikes!

One of the activities I'd thought we might do was a scenic flight.  As luck would have it, J is a keen pilot who was very happy to take us on a flight over the region so, havng made arrangements with him yesterday, we headed along to the airport to meet him this morning.

Clouds were low over the Western ranges, but otherwise, the skies were clear and the weather calm.  

Heading out towards Karamea we had to fly very high to get above the clouds (and thus avoid the turbulence) and whilst T & A seemed to be relishing the adventure, I confess to feeling more than little anxious!  It was utterly beautiful though......big, bulbous clouds, relatively smooth and, as we got further into the trip, less nerves.  

We touched down at Karamea then walked a couple of kms to the township where we had lunch at the Last Resort, a fabulous cafe, bar, restaurant, accommodation place which serves many of the people who walk or mountain bike the Heaphy Track which begins just a few kms up the road. 

Back to the plane via a short wild-West-Coast beach stop then a magnificent circuitous flight home along the West Coast, over Westhaven Inlet, across the base of Farewell Spit, along the Abel Tasman National Park coastline, over Mapua and Rabbit Island and finally, back to Nelson airport.  

2 hours flight time all up but a lifetime memory :)

White knuckles, but big smiles!!