Reality Bites

Yesterday and the night before, the sky was constantly disturbed by the thump of helicopter blades as they criss-crossed the park. Usually these are tourist flights, taking off from the Awaroa Lodge to give the wealthier guests (paying about about 300NZ$ per night) a panoramic view of the bay with its multitude of sandy coves. But yesterday the flights continued into the night, the thump of the blades much heavier than usual.

It wasn't until yesterday (Tuesday) evening that we learned the reason. We'd seen a microlight flying around for a couple of days, the whirr of its engine a midget sound compared to the choppers. Apparently it belonged to a commercial pilot who had a seconnd home locally and enjoyed his microlight hobby. On Monday he'd taken off with a young Dutch backpacker in the second seat for a trip over Totaranui beach. We'd been out there ourselvesourselves, walking from Mutton Cove back to Awaroa, a good four hour hike. We'd arrived at Totaranui, the half way point, when a huge wind suddenly got up, scouring our bodies with sand whipped up from the shore. We heard nothing but the sound of the wind in the trees.

For the microlight and its passengers it was another story. It seems that they'd flown up from behind the ridge at Totaranui, and suddenly encountered a powerful updraft from the seaward side. Microlights aren't made for this and the wind had ripped the sail off and sent them plunging down to the rocky ground below. They didn's stand a chance.