Tauranga to Auckland (TRG-AKL) on NZ 1900D

As I head to the airport I notice there is a lot of activity in the skies. Several light aircraft flying around, 2 are either practising formation flying or taking aerial photography/mapping since they are cris-crossing the skies sometimes wingtip to wingtip and sometimes nose to tail but never more than a few metres apart, a helicopter is also buzzing around the airport grounds at low altitude - seems to be pilot training. There is also not one but two Air NZ aircraft on the tarmac, a Q300 as well as the Beech 1900D I will be flying today.

I check in but am unable to change seats. Thankfully I had preselected seat in row 3 (the first 2 rows having no windows). The terminal reminds me a bit of Gisborne - fairly small but big enough to have a cafe as well as general seating area. There are seats and tables outside in 2 areas, one fenced off by the apron and another between terminal and control tower. I like airports that have somewhere you can sit outside on a nice day watching the activity, wind in the hair and take a few moments for some pleasant day-dreaming. Even better at times like this for a nice escape from the full terminal before the 2 flights board, although I do take care to re-enter the terminal in time to hear any boarding announcements (an incident earlier this year where I was outside the terminal and didn't hear the call and so red-faced boarded very late with everyone watching me was still fresh in my mind!).

We take off over the fairly new harbour bridge and city centre. As we climb we get great views of both sides of the ranges, mainly horticulture (wines, kiwifruit etc) on the bay side and mainly farmland on the Waikato side. We fly over the Forth of Thames and get a few bumps when descending through the building heat clouds over the Hunua Ranges. We do a circuit of the Manukau Harbour to land past the international terminal. Being the middle of the day, this is a great time for anyone spotting as the asia flights have mostly arrived and yet to return. Alongside the usual array of Air NZ, Qantas, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, Air Tahiti Nui, the Atlas Air freighter, etc, I spot an uncommon sight for New Zealand of a Japan Airlines jumbo parked up on the remote stand. Japan Airlines doesnt normally fly to NZ, instead codesharing with Air NZ. I wonder why it is visiting?