An Ōhakea pilot is in awe of the beauty of an untouched island after a repair and resupply operation to the Pacific.
A crew of 17 Ōhakea-based Air Force personnel have returned from a week-long trip to Raoul Island completing the tri-service Operation Harve following significant earthquakes in the area.
The air crew travelled with the Royal New Zealand Navy aboard HMNZS Canterbury, tracking 1358 kilometres from Manawatū into the depths of the Pacific.
One of the pilots for the NH90 helicopter, Flight Lieutenant Nicole Brooke, 29, said her squadron was lucky to be some of the few New Zealanders allowed to travel out the country during the global Covid-19 pandemic.
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Brooke and her crew helped to safely land and winch MetService staff onto the island to carry out maintenance work on the automatic weather station and replace a 60-year-old weather balloon launching facility.
“It was not lost on us. I didn’t get to set foot on the land, but getting to go away to this place was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
From the skies she looked upon the subtropical island which operates as a research hub for organisations such as MetService, GNS Science and the Department of Conservation.
“It's a really beautiful island with vast cliffs and lush bush life. It’s really diverse with heaps of wildlife and crystal blue waters.”
It's the largest and northernmost island of the Kermadec Islands where three large earthquakes set off tsunami warnings for Aotearoa on March 4.
The ship was scheduled to be in the area when the earthquakes happened, but due to thealert level 3 lockdown in Auckland the operation had to be postponed.
GeoNet technicians carried out critical repairs to equipment and attempted to improve power systems, GNS Science Remote Infrastructure Operations coordinator Kris O’Brien said.
“Raoul Island’s strategic location makes it one of New Zealand’s most integral sites for monitoring earthquakes and tsunami.
“The two tsunami gauges located on Raoul will give us information about any tsunami caused by an earthquake and act as an early warning system.”
Brooke expected the island to be destroyed by the earthquakes, but other than a few slips, the research infrastructure appeared to survive well.
Squadron Leader Chris Ross said the crew worked well together and with the other agencies on board.
“You had the Navy Canterbury asset to get everyone and the equipment there, the Air Force providing air lift to the shore and [the Army's] 5 movements operators ensuring all of the equipment was loaded properly.
“Everything was a success. All of the DoC, MetService and GNS Science tasks were completed as we'd set out.”
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