I would fly to Blenheim, do a wine tour, and fly back all on the same day, as I'm officially back working from Monday, and I didn't want to risk getting stuck anywhere.
So, with an 0925 flight out of Wellington, and nothing for brekky in my friend's place, I head down to the airport early, and get the boarding cards for both flights out of the diy check-in machine.
I then head to Wellington's Air NZ Koru Club to grab breakfast, and I wasn't disappointed. Good selection of cereals, yogurt, bread, toaster, stuff to put on bread, and some warm things like egg, bacon and cheese tarts (like mini quiches) on the buffet.
The Koru Club here is very good - it has a great view over the runway and apron, and has a lot of local art on display, including a Jeff Thompson corrugated iron penguin! It also provides a seperate business/work area, with desk carrels, mobile phone charging, copying and faxing facilities, and this is separated from the rest of the lounge by a glass divider and doorway. The whole lounge was nicely designed, with the space nicely divided up, rather than one big room.
At about 0910, the flight was called, and I walked down to the commuter gates, through a long thin corridor.
At the gate, an employee said 'Ah, you're going to Blenheim, this way please'... I was the last to board, they were waiting for me. She didn't even take the boarding card, just ticked my name off on a list, and opened the door onto the tarmac so I could walk out to our aircraft for the short 20 minute flight across the Sounds. It's ZK-EAG, a Beech 1900 - a 19 seater twin prop, every seat is an aisle and a window too!
The co-pilot checked my boarding card at the bottom of the steps, and welcomed me aboard, and I was up the stairs and into the small cabin.
The seating is comfy, and it doesn't feel that cramped inside. The window is large and well positioned - for a view of the engine and wing, in my case!
The door was then pulled shut, the co-pilot then welcomed us all on board and walked through the cabin to check that our seatbelts were fastened and we'd tucked carry-ons underneath the seat in front - there's no overhead bins on this aircraft!
He then took his seat in the open flight deck, and we started up our engines and taxied out to take off to the North. Safety briefings were given by recorded announcements.
It was a very quick and comfortable flight, with mostly good conditions, and in sight of the surface for much of the time. Before long, we were descending into Blenheim, and what a great sight, being able to see the runway out of the front window - almost everyone's head was in the aisle!
We taxied into the small terminal (it looks more like a bus station!), and I got a shuttle into town to get some tourist info and a coffee (in a nice cafe called 'Living Room' which had lots of local art for sale on the walls) before meeting my wine tour by the clock tower in the centre of town.
(The wine tour excellent BTW, we did Lawsons Dry Hills, Wither Hills, Cloudy Bay, Mud House, and Fromm wineries, preceeded by an excellent lunch at Whitehaven winery restaurant).
Great fun, and hassle free!
Mike
