Tim_A 995 Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 ... or, The South Island of New Zealand (unless google has seriously misled me!) This started out as a trip to Golden Bay and Farewell Spit, but I got a little distracted on the way…! Well, here I am in Nelson, giving the plane a quick once over. Departing runway 02. This is a payware quality airport that would easily sell for £15 from many other developers. This is the Nelson CBD and port. The airport is visible on the right. I'm now heading out towards Abel Tasman, following the coast, and here I'm approaching the town of Motueka. Just past Motueka is Kaiteriteri, subject of many a picture postcard. Further round the headland, we reach the Awaroa Inlet The Awaroa Lodge Hotel is only accessible by plane/helicopter, boat, or on foot! I think we'll pay a visit. That little green patch is the landing strip... Final. This is very much a one way in-one way out kind of place! Nice thing about the 182 is its STOL nature, and we have absolutely no trouble getting in. Taxi up to the top of the hill, and we should find the lodge... Link to post Share on other sites
aeromax 10 Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Suberb and nice shots and Garmin1000 it seems to be..! Great Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Superb looking shots Tim, makes me want to go sight-seeing. Cheers..Joe Link to post Share on other sites
hurricanemk1c 195 Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Nice shots Tim! Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 Don't forget to clean the bugs off your wind-screen, Tim! Nice shots, BTW. Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Nice shots Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted December 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2011 Continuing along the coast... I don't normally do this, but for this picture I slewed up to 12,000 ft, in order to get a really good look. This is Farewell Spit. This is Collingwood. It literally is the end of the road. And now we're approaching Tokaka, a small strip. Final. Even though it's just a small strip, the zombi people here are animated. Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 It's nice to see some bright, clear weather, quite uplifting! Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Today's flight takes us from Takaka back over the hills to Motueka and Malibu Park, then on to our destination, a small strip known as Brewerton Creek… Tranquil little airfield… time to commit aviation! Tyre tracks on the taxiway - a nice touch. Climbing inland We need to clear that ridge… 6000ft should do it Yay! And down the other side! Flyby of Motueka airstrip. That glider is waiting for a launch - there is a winch at the far end of the runway, but I don't think they actually launch, at least I didn't see any. Climbing away The iconic windbreaks Overflying Brightwater airfield. We'll do a touch and go here. There's always someone sitting on a bench, ready to be a critic! Low down crops And so on to our destinationn. Clearing a ridge, the strip comes into view. I've circled it here in yellow. Yes seriously - it's just 305m long! I'm going to have to descend down the valley and make a U-turn, with a late turn onto final. Here we are; you almost wouldn't believe this was an airstrip - mind out for the tractor! Bumpety bump… there's the windsock Phew that was close! For a moment there I thought I wouldn't stop before the trees! Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted January 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Well, I've done a lot of flying but not much posting over the holiday, so here's a bit of catchup. Firstly, part 2 of my flight in the Tecnam. You'll remember that we'd just got in to the little strip at Brewerton Creek, and narrowly missed the trees... We'll be turning left and heading up the valley. A quick hop over the hills will bring us into the next valley and Nelson Lakes. We'll then follow State Highway 63 to lake Rotoiti and St Arnaud, from which we head down the Wairau valley to Woodbourne. . There are two key points in our Before Takeoff briefing: 1. Miss the tractor. and 2. Turn left before we hit the far side of the valley! Success in both points! Here we are on short final at Nelson Lakes. You'll notice the glider winch situated at the end of the runway. Glider pilots stand around talking, just like Real Pilots… After taking off again, we get a good view of the gliding setup at Lake Station. Lake Rotoiti is our turning point. Nice view up the lake. And heading down the Wairau Valley Final for Woodbourne. Next time we'll be messing about on the water... Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted January 2, 2012 Report Share Posted January 2, 2012 Lovely looking flights Tim, please publish the flight plan when you have finished Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted January 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Today's trip takes us up into the Marlborough Sounds, for some watery action, and so we'll switch to an amphib. We'll start at Omaka, just down the road from our last destination, and follow the main road North to Picton. Picton is the main port for the ferries that cross the strait between North and South islands. From there we'll take a look at Endeavour Inlet, and cruise around the sounds to end up at the grass strip at Clova Bay. There's a barbecue on the go. Prawns, anyone? This airfield is Koromiko. More of this next time. We've missed the ferry! Let's go in for a landing... We've caught up with the InterIslander ferry, heading for Wellington! Link to post Share on other sites
ShrewsburyFC 215 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Nice collection of shots Tim! Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted January 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 I was talking about these pictures of the Skycatcher on the podcast, and I realised I hadn't posted them. Ho hum! Anyhow, here they are. So, in this trip we're starting out from Koromiko (this is the airfield that we passed last time on the way to Picton). We'll take a trip out over the sounds (familiar territory), past Clova bay where we landed last time, aug to Port Hardy, then back to the mainland, through the valleys to the town of Havelock and finally to a short hillside strip called Long Valley Strip. It's the valley that's long, not the strip. Anyway, here we go... And just to round it off, here's a postcard view, looking along the valley towards Havelock. Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Buller Gorge Today we're heading out to the west coast. We're starting at Murchison, and we'll finish up at Westport. Now, we can either take the direct route and go 'over the top', or we can go down the gorge. I'll let you figure out which we do... We're going to take a short break halfway down the gorge, at Reefton, for a cuppa and change of underthings. Look out for part two, very soon, but meanwhile here are a few postcards... Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 OMG thats some low flying action - during them turns did your wings brush the water Great shots Tim Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted January 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hehe, wait till part 2 - I get pretty close to 90 degrees in some of the turns - which is something in a Skycatcher! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted January 30, 2012 Report Share Posted January 30, 2012 Bush flying at its best Tim, great shots Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Well, we had a nice little break, so let's get back into the gorge... Some postcards: Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted January 31, 2012 Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 Great shots Tim. You really show off all the good sides of this magnificent scenery. If I can find the time I'm thinking of doing a "Lord of the rings" tour in the future. From what I have found there's plenty of spots on the south island that was used in making the films. Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Today we're heading North up the West coaxt, to Karamea. But first a quick visit to Cape Foulwind… We're back in the 182 today. Lift off. You can see where we'll be going later. but first, a 180 takes us downwind The cement works is clearly marked on aviation charts. You can see the little strip we're visiting ahead of us. Cape Foulwind. Named by Captain Cook, after his ship, the Endeavour was blown out to sea. There is a large seal colony resident here. The airstrip features this impressive-looking JCB! Now we're heading North towards Karamea. Postcard: Cape Foulwind lives up to its name Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 These scenes are very impressive Tim, I can only imagine what they look like on your THTG set up. Link to post Share on other sites
Tim_A 995 Posted February 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Bigger! Link to post Share on other sites
UKJim 502 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Brilliant shots again Tim! That last one looks well realistic I like how you put facts and figures into your trips - good going man! Link to post Share on other sites
mutley 4,487 Posted February 2, 2012 Report Share Posted February 2, 2012 Bigger! I'll keep feeding them in and you can knock 'em home! btw, apologies for the Foulwind, but it was a fantastic curry! Link to post Share on other sites
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