The Toroa Freighter

I was delighted to catch Air Chathams' Convair 580 frieghter ZK-KFL at Auckland today. 

The Convair features a toroa also known as the Chatham Island mollymawk or Chatham Island albatross. They are a rare albatross with a restricted range. It is striking in appearance, with a dark grey head and bright yellow bill. Endemic to the Chatham Islands, the entire population breeds on The Pyramid, an isolated, almost inaccessible rock stack located south of Pitt Island in the South Pacific Ocean. They spend most of their life at sea only returning to land to breed.

For more on the toroa see http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/chatham-island-mollymawk

The toroa was being painted by Mr G... that is, Graham 'Mr G' Hoete, a street artist from the Bay of Plenty who specialises in photorealism

Arriving back into Auckland from Blenheim's Woodbourne Airport on 18 January 2018 was Air Chathams' Convair 580 ZK-KFL (callsign CHATHAMS 580). I presume it was carrying crayfish.

For more on Air Chathams and its Convairs see :
http://3rdlevelnz.blogspot.com/2016/01/air-chathams-30-years-on.html