I was more uneasy about this leg than any of the other Trans-Tasman legs but I'm not sure why. Perhaps it was because this was the last long overwater leg and we were in sight of the finish line. Was "Murphy" lurking to cause some disruption at the last minute?
The flight from Norfolk to Cape Reinga was pleasant and on top of scattered cloud. The 20 - 25kt westerly winds were a bit stronger than expected but as they were right on our beam they didn't really give us any headwind or tailwind component.
One thing that was quite noticeable was the air temperature. Over the Tasman at the heights we've been flying the outside air temperature has been around 12 deg. Today it was a consistent 18 deg and didn't decrease as Dave climbed to about 6,000ft. This is unusual as the air temperature is supposed to decrease at about 3 deg / 1,000ft. We all commented on higher oil and cylinder head temperatures on this leg than we'd seen previously.
All was well until we got to Cape Reinga and then Murphy did present us with some challenges.
There was a forecast wind shift that should have swept away the low cloud and drizzle around Northland between 10:30am and midday. However, when we arrived at the Cape at 12:15pm it was shrouded in low cloud and drizzle. We were forced to crawl around the east coast at low level with limited visibility which is no fun. If you remain seaward and in sight of the surf then you have no fear of bumping into anything. However, the risks of the weather closing in around you are high.
I chickened out and climbed up through a hole and reached the top of the cloud at 4,500ft. My thought was that the cloud was reported to be broken at Kerikeri so I should be able to get back down again. If I couldn't I had sufficient fuel reserves to fly direct to Auckland International Airport, get assistance with locating a clear area to let down and clear Customs and Immigration there. It would have caused some questions to be asked but it was a safe option.
Fortunately, there was a nice big hole in the cloud just to the north west of Kerikeri and I descended through that and landed with no difficulty. It was a relief to be on the ground after the stress of the last 40 mins of the flight.
Clearing Customs and Immigration was simple and straight-forward. They were interested in any insect eggs on the aircraft and we were congratulated for finding these at Norfolk Island and removing them ourselves.
Bill, Dave and Don live in Auckland and opted to continue on home. The forecast for the remainder of the North Island today was not good and deteriorating during the afternoon so I've opted to stay in rainy, drizzly Kerikeri for the night until the weather clears tomorrow. I don't know why anybody lives in the Far North. All it does is rain!
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