While they waved back - "I kept them entertained" - the 52-year-old eventually got a thermal and made it back safely to Omarama.
Kraak, from Taitapu, is one of about 32 glider pilots competing in the national gliding championships at Omarama.
He is competing in the 15m racing class.
A paragliding enthusiast before he took up gliding 15 years ago, he is also a keen sailor and has sailed most of the Pacific.
"To be honest, some days you come home, you just want to sell your glider, pack up and go sailing, or whatever," he said.
However, other days, he would return from a flight feeling "on top of the world".
Gliding was a "wonderful" sport and he likened it to driving in a Porsche.
He paid $130,000 for his glider five years ago, and some gliders at the competition were worth $300,000-$400,000.
The owner of a food manufacturing business, Kraak usually flies from Hororata with the Canterbury Gliding Club and makes it to Omarama three or four times a year.
He once did a 1250km flight which took 13 hours.
One of his major concerns is the loss of air space and he believed the Omarama air space needed to be protected for future generations of pilots.
He had a stash of sweets in his glider for sustenance, along with apples, three litres of water and plastic bags (for calls of nature).
Kraak said gliding was an egotistical sport at times and all pilots had to be confident, without being cocky, as one mistake could be fatal.
He has been using a tracker for the past three days, allowing people to follow his progress on the Internet, and he believed it would not be long before all gliders were equipped with the technology.
The national gliding championships finish on Friday.
