The plane landed at Tokyo, where we had a few hours wait for the next leg to Auckland - as it turned out, via Christchurch. It was dark for the start of this flight, and for part of the journey I could see the Southern Cross out of the airplane window.
We were still airborne when the sun rose over the Pacific - one of the most dramatic sunrises I've ever seen. The photos can't begin to show it properly.
Above: just
before sunrise, looking east.
Right: sunrise,
looking west, clouds catching the rays of the sun.
At Christchurch airport we all had to leave the plane and wait about 45 minutes there. No time to see any of the city, but we hadn't expected to see South Island at all and we got a glimpse of the Southern Alps and the Canterbury Plans from the aircraft window.
We reboarded the same plane to journey's end at Auckland - where (surprise, surprise!!!) it was raining.