Flying visit to the Coromandel

We got the offer of a trip to the Coromandel Penninsular from Claire, a friend who we met whilst travelling in Vietnam last year. Her friend, Grady, is a pilot, and managed to borrow a plane for a few hours on Saturday afternoon.

Our six-seater twin-engine transport

We flew out over the Hauraki Gulf, seeing the beautiful rugged coastline on the way to Whitiana, where our destination grass airfield lay.

Hauraki Gulf Coastline

We picked up a hire car, and drove down to Cathedral cove, a local highlight with a stunning beach. After sunning ourselves whilst munching through our picnic, we took a dip in the 'refreshing' turqouise sea.

Cathedral Cove and the Pacific Ocean

On the flight back, Gareth took the controls and flew us at 2500ft over Rangitoto island, towards the Skytower and Auckland CBD. Grady suggested that Gareth left landing to him though - much to all the other three passenger's agreement!

This is your captain speaking....

Auckland CBD