Originally, the plan had been that we would pop over from Blenheim to Nelson, fly into a little grass strip in the Able Tasman national park, then head on up to the North Island to explore. None went to plan, but they say that bad things come in threes so we should be right now! Also, it was an important reminder that the no matter how well you plan, a spirit of adventure requires you to embrace the disruption and unexpected, because that is the magic that creates the stories you make, leads you to the people you meet, creates opportunities, and steels the spirit such that at the end of the day you have an adventure that was earned.
Oops #1 – Mountain flying in NZ
Originally we were meant to take a short little flight from Blenheim to Nelson. However there was a ‘little’ mountain range and a lot of bad weather along the way. Flying IFR we spent a bit of time working out the route. Rupert has never had to fly standard instrument departure connecting direct to a standard arrival route connecting direct to a landing. After a minor miscommunication with the tower we ended up taking a missed approach which took us 31nm out to sea. In the end a 15 min flight took us well over an hour, but we got there in the end. You can see the flight log here for a laugh!
Oops #2 – Awaroa
We had always knows that Awaroa was a high risk stop on the itinerary. A proper bush strip – unregistered, unknown to the pilot, grass, bumpy and short with only 400m of usable strip (which would be unlandable in the wet as Billie needs an extra 30% stopping distance on wet grass). We had agreed we’d only fly in if the conditions were perfect. We had a plan B.
After two days of rain and a poor forecast we opted for plan B which was hiring a car, driving to Kaiteriteri then catching a ferry to Awaroa (we used the Abel Tasman Sea Shuttle). Arriving we see that the strip is well landable, there was additional length beyond the usable, and the grass was completely dry after the rain had cleared. Whoops #2 was being overly cautious. That said we can only say that in 20/20 hindsight. We made the right call, but it was still disappointing that we didn’t get to do it! With the right conditions, we would definitely do it!.
While sad to leave Billie behind, the Abel Tasman was a lovely adventure. The folks at Awaroa Glamping were beyond lovely and hospitable. They have a little cottage overlooking the runway, beach and headlands. They have two little cabins with a lovely view, and a number of family sized tents.
Completely self contained, the place feels like luxury in the middle of the wilderness and if you ask nicely Mike and Birgit will fire up the pizza oven and pour you a big glass of wine. Heaven.
Landing via ferry about 1.30 we hiked up the hill to camp for a cup of tea, then headed off on a hike up the sky trail before looping back onto the beach. The next day, we arranged for mike to drop our bags at the beach, and we headed along the track back towards Kaiteriteri. We walked approx 13km to Medlands Beach where the ferry collected us and dropped us back to Kaiteriteri. All in all a delightful and easy visit to the park despite the lack of wings.
Oops #3 – the downside of high performance tyres
After the usual refuelling palava in Nelson, and arriving safely just before last light at Hastings airport, we were collected by very close friends who whisked us off for hot showers and a lovely fancy dinner at a local vineyard. The next day we treated the family to a scenic. Upon landing, we taxied to the GA only to get stuck. Proper stuck. Initially thinking we may have been bogged in the grass we were soon to discover that we actually had a very flat tyre.
We recruited some local mechanics to help us and confirmed a bald tyre.
Upon inspection we realised that Whoops #3 was the landing at Waiheke, where we had a very hard stop on the grass landing on the 2% downhill slope. Being tubeless high performance tyres we learnt two things.
- They are very soft.
- They are very rare.
which led us to the conclusion…
When flying a new generation Cirrus,
always travel with a spare tyre.
We ended up discovering that there is a global shortage. None in New Zealand. Next available in America would be 10 days. Luckily there was one in stock in Australia and we made the DHL cutoff with minutes to spare. Very lucky considering the next day was a public holiday and we’d have no chance of getting anything in Aus.
Of course DHL lost the tyre – they were very pleased to tell us that it had been loaded into its connecting flight but unfortunately someone had then removed it from the flight without explanation or scanning. (Joke of the day from Jenny Houtghton – “Thats ops normal for DHL”).
So 48 hours later a tyre arrived. 6pm on a Friday night. We able to cajole the mechanics to working on a Saturday morning (we are dreading the bill!!) and we were away by 11am.
So having blown the tyre Wednesday lunchtime, and getting away Saturday lunch, it was a costly delay, causing us to miss our next three destinations.
It could have been worse. We were staying with very dear friends, surrounded by vineyards, and friendly mechanics at hand. It was sad though having missed out on much of the north island destinations.
As the saying goes “if time to spare, there by air”. An important reminder of the challenge of flying adventures, even with the best of plans, everything can go out the window.
Flyabout Australia 