Playing Catch Up

Last Saturday we had a wonderful day. We went for a flight to Whangerei and had a pie and then came home and went out scooting. The weather was great and we had all the time in the world. It's not often there is no training on at the airfield on a Saturday morning or that we have absolutely no other commitments or plans and can spend an entire day pottering around enjoying the countryside.

Simon is a pilot of microlight aircraft and working on his instructor rating, so he needs to fly as much as possible. Although we had no specific goal in mind for our arrival at Whangerei and could have gotten a much better pie elsewhere, we went for it.

Simon re-fueling the plane in our "back yard"

Pie in Whangerei

Funny signs in the cafe at the Whangerei Airport.

Graffiti "SL <3 4 AL"

As you can see, we certainly weren't the first to leave our mark.

Ready for take-off towards home.

Pre-flight run-ups

Instrument panel

Scenery on take-off

So, after the flight, we got the scooters out of the garage and went for a burn. Again, no specific agenda which is usually the best way. We took the back road from Helensville down past Waimauku and on to the Riverhead area where we stopped at Hallertau Brewery for a pint. We were responsible and had only one and some chips alongside as well. In the past, Hallertau has been a dinner destination for us, so it was nice to sit out on their patio and see it in another light.

Out in front of Hallertau

After our brew, we went to Coatsville and stopped at this store.

We saw another scooter out with a larger motorbike and snapped a photo.

And we shared a thickshake.

The Longest Drink in Town cup our thickshake came in :)