Well it's been a very busy 4 weeks - must be about that since my last post... Got through my w28 - the Navigation Check Ride - also known as the death flight. That enabled me to do my Navigation Qualifier - a 6 hour flight with at least 2 stops other than Hamilton - up to Kaitaia, down to Bay of Islands, Whangarei and back down to Hamilton. After that there's only a couple of other single engine flights including aerobatic flights and the build up to w40 - a blend of a European Private Pilots Licence, a Commercial Pilots licence pre assessment and a CTC standard exam. They're now all done - it's twin engine or more from now on! So with that lot complete I finally managed to get some time off. Good timing as Kaye had already been over for over a week trying to sort out random road trips in between cancelled flights. We headed off on a big road trip - all around the south island. With a week to get as much sightseeing done as possible and my newly acquired 'Beast' (the golden toyota corona) our route took us accross the Cook straight courtesy of the interislander ferry, then on a whistle stop tour via Kaikoura, Arthur Pass, Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier, Wanaka, Queenstown, Christchurch and back up north via Kaikoura. An awesome trip and of course lots of photos. Back in Hamilton now with another 2 weeks before starting on the next phase - twin engine and instrument flying. Some photos.... 1) Over Huntly on a passenger flight with Tom.