It seemed as if every man and his dog had flocked to St Kilda Beach on Saturday, as the road was bumper-to-bumper with people hoping to grab a glimpse of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Black Falcons soaring in the skies above Dunedin.
Hundreds of people lined the sand dunes, eyes, binoculars and cameras pointed towards the sky eager to see the daring display of the skilled pilots soaring through the air.
Dunedin was the first stop on a three-part tour of the South, in which the Falcons headed north Saturday afternoon, and then performed the gravity defying display in Kaikōura yesterday.
Mike and Charlotte Rodriguez were among hundreds clambering up the dunes to see the T-6C Texan IIs in action.
Their children, Fox (3) and Aspen (5), were especially excited to see the planes fly overhead and even brought a special friend on their adventure to the beach.
Aspen brought along his friend Tom, a blue monster teddy bear entrusted to him by his class at Grant’s Braes School.
"Tom has to come out on adventures with me and we have to get pictures and show everyone at school," Aspen said.
Aspen pointed to the skies as the Black Falcons moved into a deep dive towards the ground with smoke trails billowing behind them.
"Dad, look they’re coming straight down, it looks like car tracks," he said.
They hoped to catch the Warbirds when they flew over Dunedin next, and it would "definitely be a family day".
Observers standing on the beach caught a glimpse of some classic manoeuvres, including Falcon 4, Anthony Rose’s favourite — the opposition pass.
The crowd gasped as the two planes headed straight for each other, narrowly passing head to head as they flew by those standing on the beach.
The heart-stopping manoeuvre gained a popular reaction, with people saying "wow" and pointing when the planes’ smoke trail formed the shape of a heart above the city.
