Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
Yes, it's a shameless rip-off.
Katamarino's Round the World flight
- Thread starter Katamarino
- Start date
Yes, it's a shameless rip-off.
Timbeck2
Final Approach
G-Man
Cleared for Takeoff
I think we got the plane name explanation quite a few posts ago!
Timbeck2
Final Approach
Note to self: memorize every post you've ever read so you don't cause a repeat of information.
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
I had a great night’s sleep, and had also been given the use of the wifi for flight planning which was incredibly helpful. I was running half a day ahead of schedule now, so when Peter and Sharon offered to drive me around Lord Howe Island so I could see some of the sights, I jumped at the opportunity. I’d only been expecting to make a short fuel stop here originally, so getting to see the island was a real treat. After breakfast at theirs, Peter and I met with the fueler Gower to fill the airplane, and we then set off to have a look around.
Refueling on Lord Howe
The view from Waimarie
My saviours, Peter and Sharon, the owners of Waimarie
Lord Howe Island is not short of history to learn about. The first reported sighting was made in 1788. Shortly thereafter, it was claimed as a British possession and became a provisioning stop for the whaling industry, being permanently settled from 1834. With the decline of the whaling industry in the 1880s, the main trade became the export of kentia palms. These days, the primary income is tourism. The island is a UNESCO world heritage site, and tourism is limited to a maximum of 400 beds to help preserve the island’s fairly pristine condition.
The supply ship
Views of Lord Howe
The supply ship unloading
Sharon and Peter introduced me to the story of Sir Francis Chichester’s successful attempt to be the first to fly solo across the Tasman Sea in 1931, a very fitting tale to hear about during my much less challenging flight in the opposite direction to his. After having his Gipsy Moth aircraft shipped to New Zealand, he had it fitted with borrowed floats and set out to cross via Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. The trip as far as Lord Howe went smoothly, but overnight on April 1st a storm blew up, flipping and wrecking his aircraft which was moored in the lagoon. The islanders persuaded him to repair it and continue, and pitched in to help with the process over the next couple of months; eventually he finished the flight to Australia.
Aviation radio equipment on Lord Howe
Meat and beef supply
We dropped two of their guests at the bicycle rental shop, and headed north. There are not a lot of roads on the island. The furthest north we could drive was Old Settlement Beach, which had great views of the bay that’s protected by the world’s southernmost coral reef, and from here we slowly worked our way south along the island. They told me all about how bureaucrats had banned the local beef and milk production for decades, before realising they had read the rules wrong, as well as about the new solar farm that was planned to provide a large chunk of the islands power. The side effect would be that the greatly reduced diesel shipments would push up the shipping price for everything else. We stopped at the museum to check out some of the historical exhibits, many based around aviation which has played a major role in the stories of a remote location like this. All too soon, it was time to head back to the airport, and get on the move again.
The Lord Howe museum
Sir Francis Chichester's route
Out and about on Lord Howe
After final farewells, I backtracked down runway 10 and took off heading east to Norfolk Island. Before setting course for my destination, though, I flew south to see “Ball’s Pyramid”; the tallest volcanic stack in the world, at 562m high and only 1,100m long. It was well worth the detour! I retraced my steps for a last look at the island, and turned east. The remote communication outlet on the island made VHF communication with Brisbane easy, but as I reached cruising altitude and slowly made my way out of range, my efforts to communicate with the HF radio proved as futile as the day before. This was something that would definitely have to be taken care of before the longest of the Pacific legs.
Departing Lord Howe
Ball's Pyramid
Lord Howe airport
With the HF issues, I fell back onto the usual relays via airliners. Auckland Control were very pro-active and lined up a couple of airliners, for me to call and relay at specific times. Velocity 1, Cathay 198, and Air Canada 34 all chatted to me as they passed overhead, with Air Canada passing me the latest weather report. Half way along, Air New Zealand 763 departed from Norfolk and passed over me at FL300 – I also spotted United flight 842 on the ADS-B and was able to get in touch with them for a message relay. I could clearly see them above me as they passed overhead on their way towards the USA.
Over the Tasman
The day's flight route
Approaching Norfolk Island
As I drew closer to the island, the unicom operator called me up and passed the latest weather. It was a straight-in approach to 11, touching down gently on the long runway and taxiing to the terminal. Despite being part of Australia, one has to follow the standard bio-security and immigration procedures that one would need when arriving internationally, and I had made sure to be in touch with the airport a few days in advance to make sure I had all my paperwork in order, and that they’d be expecting me. Bio-security and immigration were indeed waiting for me, and I held up my insecticide cans to show that I’d used them, before being given the all clear to open the door.
Parked up on Norfolk Island
Bio-security wandered straight off, satisfied, and Kevin from immigration took my passport off to do something or other with it. I secured the aircraft, covered it up, and headed in to find Kevin. He’d finished his paperwork, and also prepared the documents that I’d need the following morning for departure; and then proceeded to give me a lift to the hotel! A very welcoming and helpful man.
Lucky, the hotel dog
The Paradise Hotel and Resort had kindly given me a room a fair distance away from the party of travel agents who were there for some kind of celebration, and were apparently enjoying themselves at great volume. Given my lack of car I elected to eat at the hotel restaurant that evening. The meal was excellent, and I got chatting to a couple from New Zealand at the next table who were on one of their regular holidays to Norfolk island. They were interested to hear about the flight, gave some suggestions of where to go in New Zealand, and even donated some money to African Promise which was a pleasant surprise! I showered as efficiently as possible, as the island was under sever drought with water being flown in, and retired to bed after a couple of glasses of wine.
Refueling on Lord Howe
The view from Waimarie
My saviours, Peter and Sharon, the owners of Waimarie
Lord Howe Island is not short of history to learn about. The first reported sighting was made in 1788. Shortly thereafter, it was claimed as a British possession and became a provisioning stop for the whaling industry, being permanently settled from 1834. With the decline of the whaling industry in the 1880s, the main trade became the export of kentia palms. These days, the primary income is tourism. The island is a UNESCO world heritage site, and tourism is limited to a maximum of 400 beds to help preserve the island’s fairly pristine condition.
The supply ship
Views of Lord Howe
The supply ship unloading
Sharon and Peter introduced me to the story of Sir Francis Chichester’s successful attempt to be the first to fly solo across the Tasman Sea in 1931, a very fitting tale to hear about during my much less challenging flight in the opposite direction to his. After having his Gipsy Moth aircraft shipped to New Zealand, he had it fitted with borrowed floats and set out to cross via Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. The trip as far as Lord Howe went smoothly, but overnight on April 1st a storm blew up, flipping and wrecking his aircraft which was moored in the lagoon. The islanders persuaded him to repair it and continue, and pitched in to help with the process over the next couple of months; eventually he finished the flight to Australia.
Aviation radio equipment on Lord Howe
Meat and beef supply
We dropped two of their guests at the bicycle rental shop, and headed north. There are not a lot of roads on the island. The furthest north we could drive was Old Settlement Beach, which had great views of the bay that’s protected by the world’s southernmost coral reef, and from here we slowly worked our way south along the island. They told me all about how bureaucrats had banned the local beef and milk production for decades, before realising they had read the rules wrong, as well as about the new solar farm that was planned to provide a large chunk of the islands power. The side effect would be that the greatly reduced diesel shipments would push up the shipping price for everything else. We stopped at the museum to check out some of the historical exhibits, many based around aviation which has played a major role in the stories of a remote location like this. All too soon, it was time to head back to the airport, and get on the move again.
The Lord Howe museum
Sir Francis Chichester's route
Out and about on Lord Howe
After final farewells, I backtracked down runway 10 and took off heading east to Norfolk Island. Before setting course for my destination, though, I flew south to see “Ball’s Pyramid”; the tallest volcanic stack in the world, at 562m high and only 1,100m long. It was well worth the detour! I retraced my steps for a last look at the island, and turned east. The remote communication outlet on the island made VHF communication with Brisbane easy, but as I reached cruising altitude and slowly made my way out of range, my efforts to communicate with the HF radio proved as futile as the day before. This was something that would definitely have to be taken care of before the longest of the Pacific legs.
Departing Lord Howe
Ball's Pyramid
Lord Howe airport
With the HF issues, I fell back onto the usual relays via airliners. Auckland Control were very pro-active and lined up a couple of airliners, for me to call and relay at specific times. Velocity 1, Cathay 198, and Air Canada 34 all chatted to me as they passed overhead, with Air Canada passing me the latest weather report. Half way along, Air New Zealand 763 departed from Norfolk and passed over me at FL300 – I also spotted United flight 842 on the ADS-B and was able to get in touch with them for a message relay. I could clearly see them above me as they passed overhead on their way towards the USA.
Over the Tasman
The day's flight route
Approaching Norfolk Island
As I drew closer to the island, the unicom operator called me up and passed the latest weather. It was a straight-in approach to 11, touching down gently on the long runway and taxiing to the terminal. Despite being part of Australia, one has to follow the standard bio-security and immigration procedures that one would need when arriving internationally, and I had made sure to be in touch with the airport a few days in advance to make sure I had all my paperwork in order, and that they’d be expecting me. Bio-security and immigration were indeed waiting for me, and I held up my insecticide cans to show that I’d used them, before being given the all clear to open the door.
Parked up on Norfolk Island
Bio-security wandered straight off, satisfied, and Kevin from immigration took my passport off to do something or other with it. I secured the aircraft, covered it up, and headed in to find Kevin. He’d finished his paperwork, and also prepared the documents that I’d need the following morning for departure; and then proceeded to give me a lift to the hotel! A very welcoming and helpful man.
Lucky, the hotel dog
The Paradise Hotel and Resort had kindly given me a room a fair distance away from the party of travel agents who were there for some kind of celebration, and were apparently enjoying themselves at great volume. Given my lack of car I elected to eat at the hotel restaurant that evening. The meal was excellent, and I got chatting to a couple from New Zealand at the next table who were on one of their regular holidays to Norfolk island. They were interested to hear about the flight, gave some suggestions of where to go in New Zealand, and even donated some money to African Promise which was a pleasant surprise! I showered as efficiently as possible, as the island was under sever drought with water being flown in, and retired to bed after a couple of glasses of wine.
charheep
Cleared for Takeoff
How did you contact the airliners flying overhead? On guard frequency, or did ATC give you a different one?
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
A couple of times ATC gave a frequency, otherwise it was on Guard.
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
- Messages
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- Display Name
Display name:
Ari
I think that this is the antithesis of get-there-itis. "Had to stop my round-the-world flight for a top overhaul in Australia. Now I'm half a day ahead of schedule."
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
A distinct lack of clarity on the New Zealand customs website meant that, while I had thought I could fly in to Kerikeri airport as an approved customs airport. However, it turned out that while it was approved as an airport of arrival by the MPI (bio-security), it was not by customs. Instead of flying into Kerikeri, then, I decided to head directly to Auckland International, and had contacted the Air Center One handling agents to organise my arrival.
Norfolk Island Airport
Filling up with AUD $4.65/liter fuel
The owner of the Paradise Hotel gave me a lift to the airport, where Kevin from customs was waiting to process me outbound. While he finalised the paperwork, I taxied over to the fuel pumps and had the wing tanks filled up, ready for the almost 600 nautical mile flight to Auckland. I hung out in the airport office for a few minutes, waiting for my flight-planned time, before heading out and starting the engine. I back-tracked on the runway, turned around, and headed out to the east once more.
Departing from Norfolk Island
Coasting out from Norfolk Island
I took off towards the east and climbed straight out. There was broken cloud over the island at a couple of thousand feet, but after leaving land behind the skies cleared and the blue sea and sky stretched out ahead of me. I was on an IFR flight plan but, once again, had no direct radio contact with ATC after being handed off by the radio operator at Norfolk. Once again, then, I looked out for airliners overhead using the ADSB, and asked them for the occasional position relay to reassure the controllers that I was still in the air.
Final Tasman crossing before New Zealand
New Zealand comes into view
A little over half way into the flight, the northernmost tip of New Zealand started to come into view; Cape Reinga. Soon I was over land again, and the long water crossings were behind me for a little while. I cruised down the North Island at 7,000ft towards Auckland, enjoying the views of the beautiful sandy beaches and rolling hills, and exchanging InReach messages with Dad and Elsa who were at my destination airport, and working out where I could park.
The route
The tip of the North Island
As I approached Auckland, the volcanic cones surrounding the city and the iconic skyline, crowned by the Sky-tower, came into view. It was more than 12 years since I’d last been here, and it was good to be back!
Downtown Auckland
Approaching Auckland International
Other traffic at Auckland International
ATC gave me a descent, and vectored me past downtown to set up for a straight-in landing towards the west. I touched down gently, and taxied past a collection of Air New Zealand airliners on my way to Air Center One. After holding up my insecticide cans again, I was welcomed by several of the staff including Maree, and the owner Rob, who were very friendly and helpful. Customs x-rayed a few of my bags, checked my passport, and announced me free to enter New Zealand!
Parked up at Air Center One
Rob printed out some charts for me, and gave me tips on flying to Auckland’s general aviation airport, Ardmore. This was only a flight of a few miles but in pretty busy and congested airspace. In the event, everything went exactly as Rob had said and I was cleared to the east “not above 500ft”. In moments, I was out of Auckland airspace and slotting into the downwind traffic for runway 21 at Ardmore.
Waiting for other departures at Auckland
Departing Auckland International
New Zealand’s busiest airport, Ardmore is located just 30 minutes drive from central Auckland (on a good day), and is home to a whole host of flying schools, maintenance organisations, historical aircraft collections and private owners. I parked Planey at the Auckland Aero Club, of which I was a member (for long and convoluted reasons). They put me on the end of their line behind a pair of Cessna 162s, and there I was able to greet Dad and Elsa and tie down the aircraft. An oil change was needed, but that could wait until departure day, so we loaded the bags into the car and set off to relax in downtown Auckland for the evening.
Parked up at Auckland Aero Club
My welcoming team
=============================================
The next day was a day off from flying, to see a bit of Auckland. After a late start, we started the day at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, situated on top of the hill in the Auckland Domain parkland. This grand building was opened in 1929 and houses multiple collections covering all different periods of New Zealand history. Particularly interesting were the relatively new exhibits covering the conflict between the Maori settlers and later European settlers, a topic that has not been given much attention in museums until more recent years.
Auckland Museum
Kiwi selection
From the museum, we headed out in the direction of Parnell and the Rose Garden park. This place is particularly dear in my heart, being where we had always stayed on family trips down to see our New Zealand relatives as a child. Even after 12 years away, it was just as I remembered, with beautiful views out over the city and container terminal. It was here that we had all sat as a family to herald the new year from 1999 into 2000; and watched in fascination as the fireworks launched from the invisible tops of the tall buildings exploded with dull thumps and muted flashes inside the low overcast cloud. A bit of an anti-climax!
Auckland, from the Rose Garden
From the Rose Garden, we returned to the hotel and dropped off the car. From here it was a short walk down Queen Street, with pauses for a little souvenir shopping, to the Auckland harbour and Viaduct Basin. This had been greatly refurbished and refreshed since our last visit, mainly for the America’s Cup, and after a great victory in Bermuda the city was gearing up to host the competition again. Combined with the construction of a new underground railway, the country’s first subway system, there was more construction zone than there was usable space. No doubt it would all be worth it though!
Viaduct Basin
One of the highlights of our walk was to gaze down at the stunning collection of yachts moored up in the Viaduct Basin area. This was clearly where the cream of the crop were parked! It was pleasant to day dream about touring the world in one of these sail powered beauties; much more relaxed than trying to fly around it and deal with all the ridiculous bureaucracy that is heaped on aviation. That evening we returned to the waterfront, to meet my New Zealand relatives for dinner. After 12 years it was amazing how they’d all changed!
Norfolk Island Airport
Filling up with AUD $4.65/liter fuel
The owner of the Paradise Hotel gave me a lift to the airport, where Kevin from customs was waiting to process me outbound. While he finalised the paperwork, I taxied over to the fuel pumps and had the wing tanks filled up, ready for the almost 600 nautical mile flight to Auckland. I hung out in the airport office for a few minutes, waiting for my flight-planned time, before heading out and starting the engine. I back-tracked on the runway, turned around, and headed out to the east once more.
Departing from Norfolk Island
Coasting out from Norfolk Island
I took off towards the east and climbed straight out. There was broken cloud over the island at a couple of thousand feet, but after leaving land behind the skies cleared and the blue sea and sky stretched out ahead of me. I was on an IFR flight plan but, once again, had no direct radio contact with ATC after being handed off by the radio operator at Norfolk. Once again, then, I looked out for airliners overhead using the ADSB, and asked them for the occasional position relay to reassure the controllers that I was still in the air.
Final Tasman crossing before New Zealand
New Zealand comes into view
A little over half way into the flight, the northernmost tip of New Zealand started to come into view; Cape Reinga. Soon I was over land again, and the long water crossings were behind me for a little while. I cruised down the North Island at 7,000ft towards Auckland, enjoying the views of the beautiful sandy beaches and rolling hills, and exchanging InReach messages with Dad and Elsa who were at my destination airport, and working out where I could park.
The route
The tip of the North Island
As I approached Auckland, the volcanic cones surrounding the city and the iconic skyline, crowned by the Sky-tower, came into view. It was more than 12 years since I’d last been here, and it was good to be back!
Downtown Auckland
Approaching Auckland International
Other traffic at Auckland International
ATC gave me a descent, and vectored me past downtown to set up for a straight-in landing towards the west. I touched down gently, and taxied past a collection of Air New Zealand airliners on my way to Air Center One. After holding up my insecticide cans again, I was welcomed by several of the staff including Maree, and the owner Rob, who were very friendly and helpful. Customs x-rayed a few of my bags, checked my passport, and announced me free to enter New Zealand!
Parked up at Air Center One
Rob printed out some charts for me, and gave me tips on flying to Auckland’s general aviation airport, Ardmore. This was only a flight of a few miles but in pretty busy and congested airspace. In the event, everything went exactly as Rob had said and I was cleared to the east “not above 500ft”. In moments, I was out of Auckland airspace and slotting into the downwind traffic for runway 21 at Ardmore.
Waiting for other departures at Auckland
Departing Auckland International
New Zealand’s busiest airport, Ardmore is located just 30 minutes drive from central Auckland (on a good day), and is home to a whole host of flying schools, maintenance organisations, historical aircraft collections and private owners. I parked Planey at the Auckland Aero Club, of which I was a member (for long and convoluted reasons). They put me on the end of their line behind a pair of Cessna 162s, and there I was able to greet Dad and Elsa and tie down the aircraft. An oil change was needed, but that could wait until departure day, so we loaded the bags into the car and set off to relax in downtown Auckland for the evening.
Parked up at Auckland Aero Club
My welcoming team
=============================================
The next day was a day off from flying, to see a bit of Auckland. After a late start, we started the day at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, situated on top of the hill in the Auckland Domain parkland. This grand building was opened in 1929 and houses multiple collections covering all different periods of New Zealand history. Particularly interesting were the relatively new exhibits covering the conflict between the Maori settlers and later European settlers, a topic that has not been given much attention in museums until more recent years.
Auckland Museum
Kiwi selection
From the museum, we headed out in the direction of Parnell and the Rose Garden park. This place is particularly dear in my heart, being where we had always stayed on family trips down to see our New Zealand relatives as a child. Even after 12 years away, it was just as I remembered, with beautiful views out over the city and container terminal. It was here that we had all sat as a family to herald the new year from 1999 into 2000; and watched in fascination as the fireworks launched from the invisible tops of the tall buildings exploded with dull thumps and muted flashes inside the low overcast cloud. A bit of an anti-climax!
Auckland, from the Rose Garden
From the Rose Garden, we returned to the hotel and dropped off the car. From here it was a short walk down Queen Street, with pauses for a little souvenir shopping, to the Auckland harbour and Viaduct Basin. This had been greatly refurbished and refreshed since our last visit, mainly for the America’s Cup, and after a great victory in Bermuda the city was gearing up to host the competition again. Combined with the construction of a new underground railway, the country’s first subway system, there was more construction zone than there was usable space. No doubt it would all be worth it though!
Viaduct Basin
One of the highlights of our walk was to gaze down at the stunning collection of yachts moored up in the Viaduct Basin area. This was clearly where the cream of the crop were parked! It was pleasant to day dream about touring the world in one of these sail powered beauties; much more relaxed than trying to fly around it and deal with all the ridiculous bureaucracy that is heaped on aviation. That evening we returned to the waterfront, to meet my New Zealand relatives for dinner. After 12 years it was amazing how they’d all changed!
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
My father would be in New Zealand for all the time that we were; and my aunt would be flying in from Australia to join us for most of the time too. We had worked out a combined road trip / flying trip schedule, where we’d follow a similar routing and meet up every couple of nights. Our first destination after Auckland would be the small town of Te Kuiti, close to the famous Waitomo glow worm caves.
After a fairly late start, we loaded everything into the car and headed for Ardmore airport. It was clear that some items would need to be jettisoned, as we barely had enough space in the car for just the three of us and bags, let along once my aunt joined us! We parked up at the Auckland Aero Club and headed out to the aicraft. First task would be routine maintenance in the form of an oil change.
Draining the oil
Interesting hangar occupants in Ardmore
Oil refill
I ran up the engine to heat the oil, and then while the old oil drained my father and I went in search of fresh oil. I had a box of Aeroshell W100+ oil, but with a new or overhauled engine you need to use an oil with rather less lubrication and anti-wear additives, to help the piston rings seat and the engine break in properly. We found this up the road at the “Z” petroleum depot, in the form of a box of Aeroshell 100, and headed back to the club. Elsa refilled the oil while I found a temporary home for the spare engine cylinder and W100+ oil, and Dad started his drive south. It would take him about 3 hours; but only 40 minutes for us! We killed some time chatting to students in the club, and eating ice creams from the cafe, before starting up and heading south.
Heading south across the North Island.
The weather was beautiful, true New Zealand summer. We stayed below 2,500′ after take off, to remain below the controlled airspace for Auckland airport; the thermals bumped us around, and we were pleased to be able to climb into smoother air after 10 minutes or so. The countryside was parched and dry; much of the country had been suffering from the same lack of rain as Australia had been. A notable exception was the west coast of the south island, which had been pummeled by heavy rain and flash flooding, closing down the road to Milford Sound among others.
The day's flight
Te Kuiti
We soon descended in towards Te Kuiti. This airstrip is mainly used for agricultural aviation and has a slightly weird runway, being mostly grass with a thin center strip of asphalt for about 2/3rds of the length, and this strip being extended one way by a couple of hundred meters of gravel. They clearly wanted to use as many different runway types as possible. We landed just ahead of a training C172, which like many of the 172s in New Zealand turned out to be diesel powered. They were on a cross-country training flight from one of the schools at Ardmore.
Hanging out in Te Kuiti
Dad was stuck in traffic, so we spent a lazy hour relaxing in the shade under the wing, on the grass. While doing this I noticed that half of a plastic fairing had gone missing, where the right hand landing gear attached to the fuselage. I snapped a couple of pictures and sent them off to my mechanic Jason in the US for his opinion. Shortly afterwards, my father arrived, and we set off to the glow worm caves.
The broken fairing
The glow worm caves are thought to have been discovered by local Maori in the late 1700s, and were shown to English surveyors Laurence Cussen and Fred Mace in 1884. They made extensive surveys of the caves in 1887 and 1888. Local Maori chief Tane Tinorau and his wife Huti opened the cave to visitors shortly afterwards, having discovered the upper entrance to the cave (now the visitor entrance); the lower entrance (current visitor exit) is where the river enters the ground, while the upper is dry.
The exit from the glow worm caves
The tour starts with a walking route through the upper caves, and continues with a boat trip through the main glow worm sections. No pictures are allowed, in order to maintain appropriate light levels for the glow worms (and probably to avoid everyone being irritated by constant glowing screens and flashes).
Te Kuiti
That evening we walked across the railway tracks into the town center, past the statue of famous local Rugby hero Sir Colin Meads, to dinner at a restaurant in the old rail station building. The food and cocktails were excellent, although we were all a little startled half way through the meal by a small bird flying at high speed into the window above Elsa’s head and ending up on the seat next to her. It was clearly very dazed as it didn’t struggle at all when my father picked it up and carried it outside, but was gone when we checked again later; it had either recovered and flown off, or been eaten, I suppose.
Sir Colin Meads
Dinner in Te Kuiti
Elsa and the bird
After a fairly late start, we loaded everything into the car and headed for Ardmore airport. It was clear that some items would need to be jettisoned, as we barely had enough space in the car for just the three of us and bags, let along once my aunt joined us! We parked up at the Auckland Aero Club and headed out to the aicraft. First task would be routine maintenance in the form of an oil change.
Draining the oil
Interesting hangar occupants in Ardmore
Oil refill
I ran up the engine to heat the oil, and then while the old oil drained my father and I went in search of fresh oil. I had a box of Aeroshell W100+ oil, but with a new or overhauled engine you need to use an oil with rather less lubrication and anti-wear additives, to help the piston rings seat and the engine break in properly. We found this up the road at the “Z” petroleum depot, in the form of a box of Aeroshell 100, and headed back to the club. Elsa refilled the oil while I found a temporary home for the spare engine cylinder and W100+ oil, and Dad started his drive south. It would take him about 3 hours; but only 40 minutes for us! We killed some time chatting to students in the club, and eating ice creams from the cafe, before starting up and heading south.
Heading south across the North Island.
The weather was beautiful, true New Zealand summer. We stayed below 2,500′ after take off, to remain below the controlled airspace for Auckland airport; the thermals bumped us around, and we were pleased to be able to climb into smoother air after 10 minutes or so. The countryside was parched and dry; much of the country had been suffering from the same lack of rain as Australia had been. A notable exception was the west coast of the south island, which had been pummeled by heavy rain and flash flooding, closing down the road to Milford Sound among others.
The day's flight
Te Kuiti
We soon descended in towards Te Kuiti. This airstrip is mainly used for agricultural aviation and has a slightly weird runway, being mostly grass with a thin center strip of asphalt for about 2/3rds of the length, and this strip being extended one way by a couple of hundred meters of gravel. They clearly wanted to use as many different runway types as possible. We landed just ahead of a training C172, which like many of the 172s in New Zealand turned out to be diesel powered. They were on a cross-country training flight from one of the schools at Ardmore.
Hanging out in Te Kuiti
Dad was stuck in traffic, so we spent a lazy hour relaxing in the shade under the wing, on the grass. While doing this I noticed that half of a plastic fairing had gone missing, where the right hand landing gear attached to the fuselage. I snapped a couple of pictures and sent them off to my mechanic Jason in the US for his opinion. Shortly afterwards, my father arrived, and we set off to the glow worm caves.
The broken fairing
The glow worm caves are thought to have been discovered by local Maori in the late 1700s, and were shown to English surveyors Laurence Cussen and Fred Mace in 1884. They made extensive surveys of the caves in 1887 and 1888. Local Maori chief Tane Tinorau and his wife Huti opened the cave to visitors shortly afterwards, having discovered the upper entrance to the cave (now the visitor entrance); the lower entrance (current visitor exit) is where the river enters the ground, while the upper is dry.
The exit from the glow worm caves
The tour starts with a walking route through the upper caves, and continues with a boat trip through the main glow worm sections. No pictures are allowed, in order to maintain appropriate light levels for the glow worms (and probably to avoid everyone being irritated by constant glowing screens and flashes).
Te Kuiti
That evening we walked across the railway tracks into the town center, past the statue of famous local Rugby hero Sir Colin Meads, to dinner at a restaurant in the old rail station building. The food and cocktails were excellent, although we were all a little startled half way through the meal by a small bird flying at high speed into the window above Elsa’s head and ending up on the seat next to her. It was clearly very dazed as it didn’t struggle at all when my father picked it up and carried it outside, but was gone when we checked again later; it had either recovered and flown off, or been eaten, I suppose.
Sir Colin Meads
Dinner in Te Kuiti
Elsa and the bird
Arrow76R
Pre-takeoff checklist
Spare cylinder??? I carry some tools, etc., but a spare cylinder??? Nevertheless, another episode of great photos and narration!!!
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
There was one cylinder that was quite new on, before the engine issues and the 6 new cylinders. I decided to keep that one as a spare, but had to lug it around for a while until I could find it a ride back to the airplane's maintenance home!
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
The following morning we were set to go our separate ways for a while. My father would drive west, towards the coast, and Elsa and I would fly east to the city of Taupo. Neither of those trips would take too long, however, so we spent the morning visiting a few of the local scenic spots; a river canyon with rock arch, another (much smaller) cave, and finally a stunning waterfall.
Starting the short hike to the rock arch
The trail to the rock arch
Rock arch!
The drive to and from them took us down the most winding roads we’d ever experienced! After lunch at the glow worm caves on the way back, we returned to the airport.
The waterfall
Our first task was an inspection of the aircraft’s landing gear. My mechanic had replied to my photo oh the broken fairing saying that it was probably not an issue, but could be a symptom of a broken landing gear bolt. We pulled back the carpet and unbolted a couple of inspection panels to check; it wasn’t the easiest thing to see, but everything seemed to be fine as far as we could tell. We spent a fruitless ten minutes looking for the “honesty box” for landing fee payment, that the airport charts reported should be by the fuel pumps; after giving up and phoning they council, they reported that the box had been removed a long time ago. Apparently nobody had thought to update the airfield information! They did mention that they knew we were honest, as they’d been watching us on CCTV wandering around looking for the box.
At the airport...I really don't know.
At Te Kuiti
We took off from the very narrow strip of tarmac in the center of the runway, and headed east. Yet again, the weather was ideal. The flight was very short, and the beautiful Lake Taupo was in view almost before we finished climbing.
Departing Te Kuiti
Looking south across the North Island
The day's flight
Lake Taupo is a busy airport, with very active tourist skydiving outfits working, so there are strict arrival and departure routes to keep one clear of falling humans, with mandatory broadcasting of position and intentions. Happily, these procedures are all very clearly marked out on the airport information available online, and we had no trouble following the directions; approach brought us over the center of town, to land in a southerly direction, and taxi to parking on the grass. I tied down the aircraft in a usefully empty tie-down bay (after asking the locals to see if it belonged to anyone) and covered him up for our two night stay.
Approaching Lake Taupo
Turning on to final approach
Tied down in Lake Taupo
We grabbed our rental car from Hertz at the airport, and headed to our AirBNB. After a brief stop to unpack we headed out again, to a typically Taupo-style activity; hot springs. Just a short drive from the accommodation was the Spa Thermal Park, a large public park with a hot spring feeding into the river that runs along side it. It’s freely open to all and, apparently, very popular!
Spa thermal park
We parked, and I made the decision that clearly I didn’t need shoes just for a short walk down to the river. Fifteen very painful minutes, and a surprisingly long distance later, we arrived at the bathing area and settled in to soak. The springs were lovely, although the irregular mixing of hot water from the spring and cold water from the river meant an occasional very hot or cold surprise!
Dinner in Taupo
That evening we headed into Taupo for dinner at a local bar and grill. An interesting surprise was to run into a DC3 aircraft, entirely painted up in McDonald’s livery. I took this as a sign, and made sure to stop in for an ice-cream.
McAirplane
Starting the short hike to the rock arch
The trail to the rock arch
Rock arch!
The drive to and from them took us down the most winding roads we’d ever experienced! After lunch at the glow worm caves on the way back, we returned to the airport.
The waterfall
Our first task was an inspection of the aircraft’s landing gear. My mechanic had replied to my photo oh the broken fairing saying that it was probably not an issue, but could be a symptom of a broken landing gear bolt. We pulled back the carpet and unbolted a couple of inspection panels to check; it wasn’t the easiest thing to see, but everything seemed to be fine as far as we could tell. We spent a fruitless ten minutes looking for the “honesty box” for landing fee payment, that the airport charts reported should be by the fuel pumps; after giving up and phoning they council, they reported that the box had been removed a long time ago. Apparently nobody had thought to update the airfield information! They did mention that they knew we were honest, as they’d been watching us on CCTV wandering around looking for the box.
At the airport...I really don't know.
At Te Kuiti
We took off from the very narrow strip of tarmac in the center of the runway, and headed east. Yet again, the weather was ideal. The flight was very short, and the beautiful Lake Taupo was in view almost before we finished climbing.
Departing Te Kuiti
Looking south across the North Island
The day's flight
Lake Taupo is a busy airport, with very active tourist skydiving outfits working, so there are strict arrival and departure routes to keep one clear of falling humans, with mandatory broadcasting of position and intentions. Happily, these procedures are all very clearly marked out on the airport information available online, and we had no trouble following the directions; approach brought us over the center of town, to land in a southerly direction, and taxi to parking on the grass. I tied down the aircraft in a usefully empty tie-down bay (after asking the locals to see if it belonged to anyone) and covered him up for our two night stay.
Approaching Lake Taupo
Turning on to final approach
Tied down in Lake Taupo
We grabbed our rental car from Hertz at the airport, and headed to our AirBNB. After a brief stop to unpack we headed out again, to a typically Taupo-style activity; hot springs. Just a short drive from the accommodation was the Spa Thermal Park, a large public park with a hot spring feeding into the river that runs along side it. It’s freely open to all and, apparently, very popular!
Spa thermal park
We parked, and I made the decision that clearly I didn’t need shoes just for a short walk down to the river. Fifteen very painful minutes, and a surprisingly long distance later, we arrived at the bathing area and settled in to soak. The springs were lovely, although the irregular mixing of hot water from the spring and cold water from the river meant an occasional very hot or cold surprise!
Dinner in Taupo
That evening we headed into Taupo for dinner at a local bar and grill. An interesting surprise was to run into a DC3 aircraft, entirely painted up in McDonald’s livery. I took this as a sign, and made sure to stop in for an ice-cream.
McAirplane
birdus
Line Up and Wait
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Jay Williams
Apparently, Billy T. James was a famous New Zealand entertainer, comedian, musician and actor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_T._James
Tim Taylor would've loved the modified Land Rover gearbox garbage disposal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_T._James
Tim Taylor would've loved the modified Land Rover gearbox garbage disposal.
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
Our first activity the next day was to head into town for breakfast. Elsa filled up at a Chinese restaurant she’d spotted the night before, and we then walked a block to meet up with Barry Payne, Taupo resident and previous round-the-world pilot with his wife in their Piper Comanche.
Barry gave us some great tourist tips on what to do that day, so after brunch we said our goodbyes and drove out of town towards our first stop, the Huka falls. These dramatic falls are located on the Waikato River, downstream of Lake Taupo, and at peak times can flow more than 300,000 liters per second (~80,000 gallons). The river narrows as it enters a canyon, from 100m to 15m, and then proceeds down a series of small falls, ending up with a 6m drop into the lower river. At high flow times, the force of the water is terrifying!
Huka Falls
From here we continued to another riverine attraction, the Aratiatia rapids. Situated further down the same river, these rapids dried up when the Aratiatia hydro-power station was constructed. Three or four times a day, the dam is opened and water flow through the rapids is restored to their previous level for 15 minutes at a time. Over about 5 minutes before each release, a series of increasingly urgent sirens are sounded, and once the release began we could see why; the volume of water released was incredible, and rose frighteningly quickly. Any body down in the river bed would have been in a great deal of trouble.
Aratiatia dam: release begins
Full release:
Aratiatia rapids: release begins:
Full release:
Having had our fill of the rapids, we drove back along the highway towards Taupo, and pulled in to the “Lava Glass” studio. This glass studio was founded in 2002 and is mainly dedicated to creating glass art inspired by New Zealand’s many and varied landscapes. They also have a small cafe and a glass sculpture garden, which we spent an enjoyable 40 minutes or so wandering around. I particularly enjoyed reading the story of how they dealt with the glass globe that turned out to be too large for the cooling oven; while debating what to do, they ended up dropping it and thereby solving the problem more directly.
Lava Glass sculpture garden:
Barry gave us some great tourist tips on what to do that day, so after brunch we said our goodbyes and drove out of town towards our first stop, the Huka falls. These dramatic falls are located on the Waikato River, downstream of Lake Taupo, and at peak times can flow more than 300,000 liters per second (~80,000 gallons). The river narrows as it enters a canyon, from 100m to 15m, and then proceeds down a series of small falls, ending up with a 6m drop into the lower river. At high flow times, the force of the water is terrifying!
Huka Falls
From here we continued to another riverine attraction, the Aratiatia rapids. Situated further down the same river, these rapids dried up when the Aratiatia hydro-power station was constructed. Three or four times a day, the dam is opened and water flow through the rapids is restored to their previous level for 15 minutes at a time. Over about 5 minutes before each release, a series of increasingly urgent sirens are sounded, and once the release began we could see why; the volume of water released was incredible, and rose frighteningly quickly. Any body down in the river bed would have been in a great deal of trouble.
Aratiatia dam: release begins
Full release:
Aratiatia rapids: release begins:
Full release:
Having had our fill of the rapids, we drove back along the highway towards Taupo, and pulled in to the “Lava Glass” studio. This glass studio was founded in 2002 and is mainly dedicated to creating glass art inspired by New Zealand’s many and varied landscapes. They also have a small cafe and a glass sculpture garden, which we spent an enjoyable 40 minutes or so wandering around. I particularly enjoyed reading the story of how they dealt with the glass globe that turned out to be too large for the cooling oven; while debating what to do, they ended up dropping it and thereby solving the problem more directly.
Lava Glass sculpture garden:
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
The blog is running a few days ahead of the forum posts, but it's the same material. Anything on the website will be here with a slight delay!
birdus
Line Up and Wait
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Jay Williams
How close to real time are these posts? Is this trip actually over and done with? You can probably infer why I'm asking. If you're actually in New Zealand, I'm guessing the pandemic could have a significant impact on the continuation of your trip.
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
Finished with the NZ section, but still need to cross the Pacific. Just waiting it out at the moment!
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Meet the Fokkers
Timbeck2
Final Approach
Those are incredible!
birdus
Line Up and Wait
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Jay Williams
There are certainly worse places you could be stuck!!! I know doing these posts is a lot of work, and I really appreciate your effort.
Ghery
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Ghery Pettit
I'll second that. I'm really enjoying this series of posts.
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Mantis Toboggan, MD
If I'd known you were going to be where you've already been I'd've said hello.
Looks like you may have run into some friends of ours, or at least shared a field with them.
Nauga,
locked down or locked up?
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
In the morning I decided we should go back to the Aratiatia rapids, and watch from a different vantage point, given that it had been so impressive the first time around. We arrived just before the release, and Elsa told me to go on ahead to get a good spot at the vantage point. My legs are longer, after all. Unfortunately, she missed the turning to the viewing point I was at, so we watched the release separately and met up again afterwards! This time, I was watching from a point halfway down the rapids, and the power of the water was even more apparent and impressive.
Aratiatia rapids, release beginning
Aratiatia rapids, full flow
Having seen all the water we wanted, we returned to Taupo airport, with a brief drive back out to a petrol station after it turned out the one that Elsa was directing us to was actually the Avgas pump on the field. Google maps must be read with care! We’d planned to visit Barry at his home on the airport, but he’d had to fly out to Rotorua on short notice so we just loaded up the aircraft and pre-flighted, before heading out to the north. Once again, the weather was cooperating with us and it was a great day for flying.
Other visitors at Taupo
Departing Taupo
Geothermal plant
The route for the day
Crossing the North Island
We cruised across the central north island, on our way to our first stop. I had chosen the town of Thames to land at for lunch, for no better reason than the fact it was on the way, and it seemed like a relatively short walk to town from the airfield. The airport had a well kept grass runway that seemed particularly popular with local wildfowl; ducks, geese and the occasional pukeko left it until the last moment to scatter out of the way as we touched down. We parked up, and I wandered over to say hello to a couple who were working on a small tail-dragger outside one of the hangars. Elsa had fallen over and hurt her foot when we were leaving Taupo, so stayed where she was!
Arriving at Thames
At Thames
The homebuilt
I spent a while chatting with the couple, who were trying to figure out why one of their wheel brakes was not operational; quite a problem in a tail-dragger. They suggested visiting the garden center for lunch, perfect as it was directly across the road and within easy limping distance for Elsa. The selection turned out to be rather limited, but they at least had good fruit juices.
Departing Thames
Climbing over the Coromandel
Coromandel mountains
The final flight was just 20 minutes or so, across the Coromandel to Whitianga airport. We snuck out ahead of an arriving Diamond DA40 on a training flight, and climbed hard to clear the hilly terrain and turn on course. We bumped up through turbulence caused by the wind out of the east, and enjoyed the views of the rugged, bush covered terrain below. As it turned out, flying over it was a lot quicker and easier than driving through it would be! We joined downwind for landing on the long grass runway at Whitianga, and parked up in visitor parking; Tony from Peninsula Car Rental was ready and waiting for us, having watched our progress on Flightaware using the ADS-B output from the airplane.
Whitianga airport
Whitianga
Parked in Whitianga
The grounded DC3, awaiting engine work
Our drive south from here to the hotel took a little over an hour, and by mid-afternoon we were arriving at the Puka Park resort. I had chosen this hotel as we’d stayed here briefly on a family holiday 20 years before, and thoroughly enjoyed it! The resort is perched on the side of a steep hill, and after checking in, we and our bags were loaded on to a golf cart and driven along to our hut. All of the rooms at the resort are small, semi-detached chalets. After settling in, Elsa found a nice looking restaurant just 2km from us; when we set out, we discovered that it was 2km as the crow flies, but more than 30 minutes drive all the way down the river estuary and back up the other side!
Puka Park lodge
Dinner in Paunui
That night we were woken in the early hours by the sound of an animal running around. After long investigations, we realised it was a possum having a party on the roof.
Aratiatia rapids, release beginning
Aratiatia rapids, full flow
Having seen all the water we wanted, we returned to Taupo airport, with a brief drive back out to a petrol station after it turned out the one that Elsa was directing us to was actually the Avgas pump on the field. Google maps must be read with care! We’d planned to visit Barry at his home on the airport, but he’d had to fly out to Rotorua on short notice so we just loaded up the aircraft and pre-flighted, before heading out to the north. Once again, the weather was cooperating with us and it was a great day for flying.
Other visitors at Taupo
Departing Taupo
Geothermal plant
The route for the day
Crossing the North Island
We cruised across the central north island, on our way to our first stop. I had chosen the town of Thames to land at for lunch, for no better reason than the fact it was on the way, and it seemed like a relatively short walk to town from the airfield. The airport had a well kept grass runway that seemed particularly popular with local wildfowl; ducks, geese and the occasional pukeko left it until the last moment to scatter out of the way as we touched down. We parked up, and I wandered over to say hello to a couple who were working on a small tail-dragger outside one of the hangars. Elsa had fallen over and hurt her foot when we were leaving Taupo, so stayed where she was!
Arriving at Thames
At Thames
The homebuilt
I spent a while chatting with the couple, who were trying to figure out why one of their wheel brakes was not operational; quite a problem in a tail-dragger. They suggested visiting the garden center for lunch, perfect as it was directly across the road and within easy limping distance for Elsa. The selection turned out to be rather limited, but they at least had good fruit juices.
Departing Thames
Climbing over the Coromandel
Coromandel mountains
The final flight was just 20 minutes or so, across the Coromandel to Whitianga airport. We snuck out ahead of an arriving Diamond DA40 on a training flight, and climbed hard to clear the hilly terrain and turn on course. We bumped up through turbulence caused by the wind out of the east, and enjoyed the views of the rugged, bush covered terrain below. As it turned out, flying over it was a lot quicker and easier than driving through it would be! We joined downwind for landing on the long grass runway at Whitianga, and parked up in visitor parking; Tony from Peninsula Car Rental was ready and waiting for us, having watched our progress on Flightaware using the ADS-B output from the airplane.
Whitianga airport
Whitianga
Parked in Whitianga
The grounded DC3, awaiting engine work
Our drive south from here to the hotel took a little over an hour, and by mid-afternoon we were arriving at the Puka Park resort. I had chosen this hotel as we’d stayed here briefly on a family holiday 20 years before, and thoroughly enjoyed it! The resort is perched on the side of a steep hill, and after checking in, we and our bags were loaded on to a golf cart and driven along to our hut. All of the rooms at the resort are small, semi-detached chalets. After settling in, Elsa found a nice looking restaurant just 2km from us; when we set out, we discovered that it was 2km as the crow flies, but more than 30 minutes drive all the way down the river estuary and back up the other side!
Puka Park lodge
Dinner in Paunui
That night we were woken in the early hours by the sound of an animal running around. After long investigations, we realised it was a possum having a party on the roof.
Katamarino
Pattern Altitude
On our first day in the Coromandel, I had organised a very special event at the Driving Creek Railway. The Driving Creek railway was originally constructed by Barry Brickell, started in 1975, primarily to haul clay down to his pottery and also to assist with replanting the hills on his property with Kauri and other native trees. The railway is 15 inch gauge, and was expanded over the next few decades to the present-day terminus at the top of the hill. Here they have constructed an observation tower with deck, the “Eye-full Tower”.
Arriving at Driving Creek
The railway is quite an engineering feat, with three tunnels, ten bridges including a double-decker viaduct, and several branch lines. After Barry’s death, the property passed into the hands of a non-profit that is dedicated to preserving the railway and protecting the land, continuing the work of replanting native species and eliminating imported pests. They have also constructed a zip line course, this being the first season that it was open.
Riding the train
Through a slightly circuitous route of contacts, I had come to know the director of the railway, and he had kindly agreed to organise a combined train ride and zip line afternoon for us. We rode up to the half way point of the line on board “Possum”, together with a group who were headed up for zip-lining. After they disembarked, we continued with our guide Jesse up to the top of the railway. The line winds through the bush, over bridges and through tunnels, finally reaching the observation platform about 165m above the base. Here, with the observation platform to ourselves, I asked Elsa a very important question; and happily, she said yes!
At the Eye-full Tower
Passing traffic
A lot of drinking went into this retaining wall
We returned to “Possum”, and Jesse drove us half way back down the mountain to the start of the zip lining course. Our other guide was waiting there for us, with the harnesses and helmets needed for taking part; once Jesse returned from delivering the train back to the base of the mountain, the four of us set off through the trees, down the first line. There were about 8 zip lines in total, interspersed with forest walk sections including interesting historical and nature information about this part of the Coromandel.
Zip lining
Our amazing guides
The fantastic Neil
After a wonderful time at driving creek, we took the long drive back across the peninsula to the Puka Park resort, and a celebratory dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Showing off a new piece of jewelry
Arriving at Driving Creek
The railway is quite an engineering feat, with three tunnels, ten bridges including a double-decker viaduct, and several branch lines. After Barry’s death, the property passed into the hands of a non-profit that is dedicated to preserving the railway and protecting the land, continuing the work of replanting native species and eliminating imported pests. They have also constructed a zip line course, this being the first season that it was open.
Riding the train
Through a slightly circuitous route of contacts, I had come to know the director of the railway, and he had kindly agreed to organise a combined train ride and zip line afternoon for us. We rode up to the half way point of the line on board “Possum”, together with a group who were headed up for zip-lining. After they disembarked, we continued with our guide Jesse up to the top of the railway. The line winds through the bush, over bridges and through tunnels, finally reaching the observation platform about 165m above the base. Here, with the observation platform to ourselves, I asked Elsa a very important question; and happily, she said yes!
At the Eye-full Tower
Passing traffic
A lot of drinking went into this retaining wall
We returned to “Possum”, and Jesse drove us half way back down the mountain to the start of the zip lining course. Our other guide was waiting there for us, with the harnesses and helmets needed for taking part; once Jesse returned from delivering the train back to the base of the mountain, the four of us set off through the trees, down the first line. There were about 8 zip lines in total, interspersed with forest walk sections including interesting historical and nature information about this part of the Coromandel.
Zip lining
Our amazing guides
The fantastic Neil
After a wonderful time at driving creek, we took the long drive back across the peninsula to the Puka Park resort, and a celebratory dinner in the hotel restaurant.
Showing off a new piece of jewelry
Van Johnston
Pattern Altitude
Talk about your plot twists. Congratulations!
Oh what lovely photos of airplanes and rapids and.... O M G, burying the lead ! ? ?
Mazel tov!
That’s why ya gotta read his blog and not wait until he posts here!!!
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Awesome, congratulations!
gkainz
Final Approach
Ha! Wow! Congrats!
Congratulations!
Congratulations! Y’all look like you’re really having an awesome time.
I must say, I sure appreciate you taking the time to give such great reports, I’ve really been enjoying it all... keep it up!
I must say, I sure appreciate you taking the time to give such great reports, I’ve really been enjoying it all... keep it up!