Although the weather turned Sunday's dawn raid at the Dannevirke Aerodrome into a sunrise fly-in, Takaka pilot Mit Brereton wasn't about to miss out on "the best airstrip in New Zealand".
"Dannevirke is my favourite strip. It's amazing," he told the Dannevirke News, as he touched down after his hour and 20-minute flight from Takaka in his Cessna 185. "It was a nice, smooth flight and an amazing sunrise, and it's well worth making this trip. I try to come every year."
Having a substantial tail wind helped Mit make the trip in reasonable time, but the weather had forced others to abandon their flights, with just 17 making it to Dannevirke.
![Tararua district councillor Tracey Collis (left), Mel Poulton, Vaughan Donald and Gary Mitchelmore watch as a dawn raider flies out of the sun before landing at the Dannevirke aerodrome.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/4FQD7YKJTCY64BR6T6KDNCHTNY.jpg?auth=ce445bbef7f868745c34d5c182e0445771dcbe2b647a85f15d23e5aac09dacef&width=16&height=16&quality=70&smart=true)
"One day I came in here and there were 70 or 80 planes on the ground but, it doesn't matter how many arrive, it's great," Mit said.