It wasn't a bird, or a commercial flight, it was the New Zealand Defence Force which flew in and out of Hawke's Bay Airport in Herculean style.
Personnel from the NZDF's Headquarters Deployable Joint Inter-Agency Taskforce (including the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy) descended via Hercules on Hawke's Bay for a four-day engagement with the region's key humanitarian and disaster relief contacts.
![Corporals Johnny Emmerson and Toni Thompson prepared the Royal New Zealand Air Force Hercules aircraft for take-off on Thursday. Photo / Paul Taylor](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/SIGD2MWOLJ3SVZ575J5CVRMW5A.jpg?auth=107db54e7832ae692deb0ab9e08a77caa2d815d9a28561be08ef68fd1ed8af70&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Hawke's Bay Civil Defence, police, iwi and councils were consulted throughout the four-day visit which began on Monday, with the aim to establish relationships and test equipment before the high-risk weather season in the South Pacific.
"In the period between November and April, the warmer water and tropical lows can create cyclones in the South Pacific. We need to be able to quickly supply assets and be able to assist in these emergencies," warrant officer Chris Mitchell said.