The peninsula that is home to the airport. The hills at the center-left of the photo is the hilly peninsula, with the airport on the isthmus snuggling up to the base of the hills, where planes were taking off and landing every few minutes. Just past the peninsula is the Cook Straight, which is known for the strong tidal currents. Interestingly, the two ends of the Cook Straight, the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, have exactly opposite tidal phases, which is the cause of the strong currents. In addition, this results in the middle of the Cook Straight having minimal tides as the extremes of both ends cancel out.