A school holiday trip to remember
On a fine January morning, about 46 Defence Force Families met at the Royal New Zealand Air Force terminal in Wellington’s Lyall Bay, ready to board the Boeing 757–2K2 for Christchurch. The families were flown to the Air Force Museum of New Zealand for a day trip during the school holidays. Our NZDF personnel are often away from their families, and it is rewarding to enable them the opportunity to visit the museum with their families.
Small children ran excitedly around the stark terminal waiting for the plane to arrive and when the long grey aircraft with Royal New Zealand Air Force in bold lettering on the side did touch down, phones and cameras emerged to record the moment.
Once the group arrived at Christchurch Airport, they were transported to the museum where they explored the Air Force’s national collection, while they worked through their treasure hunt map provided by the museum. An extra highlight for the group was being given a behind-the-scenes tour of hangars holding exhibits that are being worked on by the conservation staff. The friendly staff told the group on several occasions that: “It’s not our museum, it’s your Air Force’s museum, and that’s what we’re here to look after”, which many of the families appreciated.
The day ended on a high note where the children, much to their delight, were provided with a toy each by the Air Force Museum. It seemed as though no one knew the name of this mysterious flying toy, except for Lilly who had already called it a “Fairy with a floppy landing”.
