Aerial Views of Mt. Ruapehu, N.Z.

[Bob Bryden]

Following on the recent mention of an eruption of Mt. Ruapehu in these pages here's a few aerial shots I took of the summit & the Crater Lake from an Air New Zealand Fokker Friendship en route from Wanganui to Auckland a few years ago.

Bob

[Catherine Belle]

Awesome, Bob!
What's "an Air New Zealand Fokker Friendship"? Was it a private or commercial flight you were on? (hope that's not a stupid question)
The pictures are startlingly clear!

[Bob Bryden]

Hi Catherine,
Air New Zealand is New Zealand's national airline just like British Airways & Air Canada. The Fokker Friendship was at the time the mainstay of Air New Zealand's domestic fleet but they were replaced several years ago. Here's a picture of the one I took the pictures from whilst it was stopped at Whakatane en route to Auckland from Wanganui. I was travelling up to Whangarei, some distance north of Auckland for a job interview at my employer's expense. At the time I was a public or state servant working for one of N.Z.'s govt. dept.'s.

I'm also uploading a few pictures I took on the same trip, of Auckland on the return flight from Whangarei as we started the landing approach to Auckland International Airport.

Bob

[Bob Bryden]

Just a footnote to earlier posts on this subject - over the years it has been possible on occasion to go for a swim in the Crater Lake shown on these photos. I've never tried it & I don't think it would be advisable these days otherwise you may well finish up extremely overdone rather than just "half-baked"
Bob