Wildfoods Hokitika 18

Wildfoods Hokitika 18

This event was the catalyst for adventure flying and had been on the list for a return visit for some time. Life rushes by without events getting back onto the list, let alone to the top. I did enjoy my trip to Healthy Bastards in Omaka last year to experience the fun flying being done there and got reinspired to visit this wonderful area of New Zealand again next year, and so, not only Heathy Bastards again but also Hokitika Wildfoods was "put on the list"....

Some wandering around the North Island during the ensuing 12 months got me enjoying some great strips "off the map" and meeting new people around areas that had been foreign territory while being Wellington based for my early Pelican ownership years.

Talking to various pilots as I travelled "the North" got a few others interested in joining me to the south so I gradually planned the two events. I just love March in New Zealand. Weather is generally more settled, temperatures and daylight still good. The Wellington based years gave me the opportunity to explore the south and Anne and I enjoyed many trips to the top of the south both before and after the Pelican came into our world.

So it was Wildfoods time with 6 proposed starters. The plan was put before the adventurers so they could do their own research and get their ideas to flow. I had my own ideas of the normal "wing it" philosophy pounding away so had a general course in mind but resisted making any reservations. Weather is always the enemy of plans too firmly laid. My flying companions had not done this sort of flying with me so were all new to this game. I did emphasise the need to travel lightly and with tent and sleeping bag to accompany them. This normally eliminates all but the carefree
adventurers!

As the departure day approached I was checking the weather, participating in our Tiger Moth AGM fly in to Whitianga, entertaining friends who were part of the Tiger Moth contingent and arranging locals to get Tiger Moth flights...all great fun I must say. But the weather said lets get out of here a day early in case the forecast eventuates as bad as it looked 24 hours out. So 4:30 am Sunday the email went out to go Sunday afternoon to enable a flight to Turangi to get us away and easily accommodated but bypassing our planned stop in Okepuha Station on Mahia Penninsula.

The pressure was on! Achieved by the three flyers from the north, with gusto! We managed to launch from Ardmore and Whitianga in style that put us within 5 minutes of each other by the time we had travelled to Matamata. This put us comfortably into Turangi with time to walk our gear into Turangi for accomodation.

And so the adventure was underway and the learning was too. Fortunately, the flyers with me were the adventuring kind. Their first taste of the adventure ahead had begun!
"How do we get into Turangi Wal?" "There is a great little river walk from here that I want to introduce you to." ....So bags over shoulders and away we went. "Where are we staying Wally?" I had a plan to stay at the backpackers in Turangi central but as the bags got heavier Bob started calling other accommodators as he was the only one with free hands. A deal was done at the Bridge Lodge Motel so I cancelled the other and we had a top night by arriving just as the sun went over the far horizon and we were in time for dinner too!

And so the adventure was underway in fine form, with three starters again next morning for Masterton! Weather was on our side and we travelled comfortably to Masterton via The Desert Road, Ashurst, Ekatahuna alighting on the Masterton grass in time to be met by the Police outside the aero club. What are they doing here? Are the thoughts in my mind. But the situation was in hand as the policeman drew closer and I realised that Peter had arrived in uniform to drop off our Mogas in the form of a very full 20 litre container. Murray taxied over from his hangar to participate in the event and we were all introduced to each other in conjunction with hangar inspections, landing fee payments, chatting and refuelling activities were carried out.

Bidding Peter farewell ( unable to secure time off to join us with his Savannah), Murray offered to take us on a roadie to Martinborough, for our planned lunch stop, since the airstrip there was NOTAMed closed. This was a good team builder and we had a tasty lunch followed by the round the district drive back to Masterton finishing at the Caltex station to refuel our empty containers.

So we launched as a four aircraft flight on the leg to Nopera via the Rimutuka Saddle and arrived at Titahi Bay, under controlled airspace, and viewing the new Transmission Gully highway complex being constructed through the hillside. A rather magnificent construction, I must say. Weather fine and settled made the Cook Straight crossing a non event for us all, particularly for Doug who hadn't traversed this segment before. I was lead aircraft and others followed in loose formation at similar speeds as we all planned on 85 knots TAS, so a good team. Because the weather had looked acceptable to land at Nopera, I had taken the initiative and asked Mike for the menu they had on offer tonight, before I left Turangi. Knowing not all people eat pizza or mussels could place those pilots at a distinct disadvantage for the overnight planned at Hopewell Lodge!

We arrived over Nopera in a frenzy of activity with four of us in the circuit and two commercials inbound as well, not far behind. We all landed successfully and met the local farmer on site as well as Mike who had arrived to collect us. Tying down our aircraft allowed some filming to occur and observe the C 172 and C206 departures before we jumped aboard Mike's ute back to Hopewell Lodge.

A great feeling to be able to get some of my flying friends into Nopera and Hopewell Lodge after this being on my list since the Wellington days. After a quick inspection of the Lodge on arrival and our gear deposited in our overnight accommodations, it was relax in the afternoon sun with a cold beer and the antipasto plater that Mike lay before us. Oh what a great spot to spend the last of the day in such top company!

The next morning dawned as another "chest beating day" so the days proposed flying was reviewed with the team. Murray and I briefed the flight to Greville Harbour airstrip since it is one of the difficult places for inexperienced pilots with its location at the base of very high hills and awkward terrain surrounding the airstrip's approaches.
I agreed to accompany Doug into the strip to demonstrate the required techniques to make a successful approach and landing there since this was his first time into Greville Harbour. The flight commenced with a few circuits into and out of Nopera to get the feel of this type of flying for Doug in the Storch. After this we all departed on the scenic excursion via the sounds magnificent backdrop under the cloud base which ensured we could only valley fly till we flew into clearing conditions around French Pass. Murray was first to arrive and since he had flown into this strip many times was first into the parking bay followed by the Storch then the Carbon Cub, with Bob making a beautiful wheeler on arrival. Music to the eyes and ears of another tail dragger pilot who also likes this technique. Me!

Well, no time to waste so I climb aboard the Carbon Cub with Bob and away we go to collect the Pelican from Nopera, so I got to enjoy the chance to lift my camera to the window for some great shots that I had been unable to achieve while flying the Pelican.

Returning to Greville Harbour we all reflected on the isolated part of the country this is located in and how difficult it was for early settlers here. A great location though for the Hunter gatherers amongst us as I have been told by Chris Brown that this is the only spot you can shoot a deer, grapple with a pig and go fishing with a good catch and then back home again....all on the same day!

A photo shoot from the hills behind the strip allowed me to take a fine scene in before the next leg of the journey unfolded.....to Motueka for fuel. Bob led the charge from here to there and we all tucked in behind until the Motueka coast came into view and Bob suggested I lead on into the circuit to fit in sequence with the existing traffic. Arrival at the Aero Club had the Avgas boys line up for refuels while the Mogas boys parked in front of the Club to empty their containers into their aircraft. Alistair Hart came over for a chat with Barry in tow and we managed to borrow his car for a sortie to the Mobil station to refill the Mogas containers while some maintenance was carried out on the Storch undercarriage leg which had been identified after stopping on the ramp in front of the clubhouse.

While on the ground here we were introduced to Volkmar and his wife who had flown in from Awaroa for supplies. They are an engaging couple who are also passionate about flying and have their own strip carved out in front of their house at Awaroa. They encouraged us to come up there ( it's on the list of our strips for this trip anyway ) this arvo. I had to advise that our first priority was to fly to Wagner strip to catchup with Bob Wagner and his recently completed long term project of Pietenpole ZK AMY. I had also asked our team to review the aero club overnight accommodation to see that they agreed to overnight there tonight.

All this achieved so a quick call to Nelson Tower to review their requirements for entry into their zone as a group of 4 aircraft for Wagner strip and we were away on the next leg of the fun trip with an appropriate telephoned clearance correctly read back to the controller at Nelson. 😎

Bob was ready to entertain us with his hangar inspections and run down on the Pietenpole project. We parked the Wildfood fleet outside his door and proceeded to be awed with Bob's project. A quick start up and taxi to the other end of his strip had him warmed up and into the air in no time. A "sweet as" note to his Rotec engine had us ( me anyway) wishing we had one of these in Whitianga !

All good things must come to an end so after a quick inspection of his cool store and original Model T, we were up and away again to Motueka, to consider stay, or embark on an Awaroa overnight.

The Awaroa sector was determined to be be the way to go in the prevailing settled conditions so after an appropriate briefing for the team I left the Pelican tied down in Motueka to accompany Doug up to Awaroa in the Storch since this was another new short strip operation for him. Away, via the coast, the three of us flew north passing Kaiteriteri and Marahau enroute via Tonga Bay and over the ridge to Awaroa Bay. As briefed, I suggested to those who hadn't flown in there before, to do a low run along the strip to pick out the points for touchdown and strip alignment and Doug and I went into land, holding our position well out against the western ridges to allow a good stable final into the touchdown zone. We then pulled off at the far end to ensure Murray and Bob were correctly aligned and had room to follow our landing path. This done, Volkmar was there to wave us into his parking bay in front of his house. All these changes since my last visit in 2015 when the farmlet was still for sale and the old farm house still in place there. Now Volkmar and his wife have a substantial new built home on the ridge with a wonderful view of the bay and beautifully landscaped area beside their home to reflect their mountains background. Superb.

As we all shut down and gathered to talk with Volkmar, I had to again pose the question of accomodation to Volkmar, as I had not received an answer to this in Motueka other than "you must come up". Since I had left my tent in the Pelican and Doug had no camping gear with him we were down to two tents and little else. Time was running out for a daylight dash back to Motueka. Volkmar wandered off without answering the question and I shrugged my shoulders to the team and indicated positive vibes that all will be well, to them.

A returning Volkmar said all was well and we could use his new cabins situated beside the parking bay. Not yet in use due to the washing, toilet facilities yet to be completed but a cabin each, with new mattress and shoes off at the door, had us enthusiastically tossing our gear through each cabin door and off for a beer and a pizza at the Pizza Hut through the trees and along the track from the parking bay. Wow! What a way to end another great day on this "Wildfoods tiki tour"!

The beer at the Hut was a great way to end the day on a positive note and I could feel the sense of relief from the team as they enjoyed their first "coldie" knowing they were not to share a two man tent or sleep in the open following "Wally's sense of adventure" bringing them to Awaroa, on what appeared to be a whim of his! And the pizza was very, very satisfying after a couple of beers and even led to the suggestion of a bottle of red wine! Heck, can we keep this amount of adventure and high spirits going for the rest of the week while progressing the journey south to Wildfoods Country?....surely can......

Next morning, after a good nights sleep, we wandered off along the same path that took us "pizzaring" the night before, to the venue we had not had time to get to yesterday. This was where a fabulous breky was the order of the day, at Awaroa Lodge breakfast room. This is an experience not to be missed in journeying around as we had been doing and certainly beats the bag of porridge I always had tucked away for any emergency we came across. We all enthusiastically embraced the options on offer as we didn't know where our next meal might be! Very satisfied we arose and cleared our expenses before I took the opportunity to contact Anne and let her know where we had gotten to and any other updates.

Suggesting a walk along the airstrip to inspect the surface and any traps that we may not have been aware of the night before, had us return to the strip where Volkmar accosted us to explain the setup and indicate specific areas and things to be mindful of when operating into and out of this strip. We afterwards continued on along the strip to the estuary end and then followed the estuary out onto Awaroa Bay beach. A bunch of Bach dwellers were also tracking in the beach direction and our paths terminated at their beach rondeavue where they were to await their Ferry Shuttle pickup. We in turn continued along the beach and observed first hand the recent damage caused by the passing storm that took the Takaka hill road out. We saw the fenced off entry to Awaroa Lodge where the stair/ramp footings were washed clear of their footings!

A good way to see this magnificent spot and show the power of storm damage when a direct hit is scored. Arriving back on the strip to pack bags, aircraft and settle up with Volkmar we realised that the drizzle that we had observed getting closer was gradually encompassing the Awaroa area so we needed to get airborne for Motueka instead of our suggested flight north to Farewell Spit environs. And so we warmed our machines and took flight for Motueka under a lowering cloud base and reducing visibility but made good decisions to go when we did which freed up our options for continuing southwards but bypassing Karamea, our intended stop that night.

We had been briefed by Volkmar to use his car, left at the aero club in Motueka, if needed. Some of our team felt that a shower was the order of the day so used this opportunity to get into the Clubhouse for a freshener while Doug and I prepared our machines for flight by topping up tanks so we could in turn go and collect more Mogas while we had access to a vehicle. This was a welcome opportunity to also take time out for lunch at a suggested cafe along the highway. Toad House was a great venue to discuss our next sector while food was again on the agenda. NPR was the proposed refuel stop and it happened to be virtually opposite the lunch stop. How convenient!

Alas. The time for flight was once again the foremost thought after arriving back at Motueka Aerodrome so we stowed containers and had a quick flight planning session on the grass under the Pelican before climbing into our steeds for the next leg to Lake Station, Murchison, Westport.....such different countryside on this sector and beautiful in the afternoon sunlight. Descending into Lake Station had us aware of different circuit rules and terrain which also impacted on this elevated runway strip. A good long Ag strip so a bit more relaxed arrival here. Nothing surrounding this strip was of interest, as a car ride is required to get back to St Arnaud township here. So it was only a wee stop here before we again launched for Westport

Pity we had to overfly Murchison, but being at the bottom of the high hills we were traversing at a suitable height, avoiding the indications of rotor cloud in the area, we chose to keep our altitude and smooth air and continued on to Westport. This looked beautiful in the afternoon sunlight and so we crossed the last ridge east of Westport to descend quite steeply onto left base for runway 22 being mindful of the afternoon wind forecast that could have meant an easterly crosswind to meet us on arrival.

This turned out to be a non event and we all made a satisfactory landing and taxied into the grass parking bay to the west of the terminal. Doing our "circle the wagons" trick to chose our overnight tie down sites we deposited out pickets and overnight gear outside our aircraft and commenced our overnight procedure. Bob being quickest at this was first to ask " where are we staying Wally?" 'As per normal Bob, get on the Internet and get us some overnight quarters' came the reply. It was not long before our accommodations were sourced and agreement reached with the team. So throw our gear over the fence and chat up the local manager of Sounds Air for a taxi back into town which she quite happily did while she waited for their delayed flight from Wellington that was running behind schedule because of bad weather in the Capital slowing arrivals and departures there.

Ah, the overnight accommodation looked superb as we pulled up alongside the building and eyed it off with glee. One of those buildings from yesteryear that must have been magnificent in its era but still had great appeal to me in its well presented eye catching gleam of afternoon sunlight and settled weather pattern that had greeted our arrival into Westport that afternoon. The TripInn served our purposes well with two rooms allocated to use, right next to the showers and toilet block just along the path from our rooms. It was also a good location to walk with our team into town, to follow the lead for dinner venue that had been given to us by the TripInn manager at checkin. Johnny's was deemed to be where we should have our evenings meal and afternoon drinks to celebrate our day in the air. An exciting day it had been too!

A good walk of Palmerston Street Westport had us get an unscheduled tourist visit of the sights after we told Bob to put his GPS map directions back in his pocket and follow the instructions of the TripInn manageress to get to our meal and drinks! .....well I stopped off at the supermarket along the way, to get some supplies, and came out shortly afterwards to find not a team member in sight! I set off in the direction they were travelling in and checked out a couple of venues as I passed by without luck and eventually saw them approaching from the far end of the street, having not found Johnny's but now tracking back towards me, on Bob's GPS map!

We had a wonderfully relaxed evening on the rear deck, in the last of the sunlight at Johnny's, while we recalled the day's adventure, and the plan for the Moro. At the same time we enjoyed the beginning of the Hokitika Wildfoods over Johnny's great menu. Whitebait fritters were on the menu! Great fritters too, said Bob and Doug, with me choosing the more regular steak to enjoy over a shared bottle of red wine.

Time passes quickly, as it normally does when enjoying the company of friends, who are in turn enjoying the whole adventure together, so it was a relaxed group who made their way home via the top spot beside the wall of the Westport I-Site for our photo shoot.

Next day dawned calm and clear with a generally good, though easterly forecast that may put a crosswind on the destination airfield of Greymouth. Not to be deterred, we set out on the adventure of breakfast realising that our first choices, spied the previous evening, we're not to be available to us hungry guys. Turning back towards Johnny's we came across a great spot that had everything needed to satisfy our morning hunger and so commenced the southward journey again to Hokitika.

Leaving our breakfast venue, three of us strolled off to the now open I site to see if a Denniston mine site visit was possible before leaving town. Doug had, in the meantime, strolled back to do washing and packing so missed this adventure to do the Westport mining museum, inside the I-Site. What a great museum, so professionally portrayed. The women participating on the help desk for tourist enquiries were very helpful in guiding us into a Denniston visit by suggesting a rental car may be the best solution to our transport requirements so we set off to find Doug to to be part of the action. This was agreeable to us all, as delaying action fitted in with the expected crosswind at Greymouth.

Denniston has had such a big history in New Zealand mining, and being a North Islander, I had only been touched by this mining operation after Anne and my previous Pelican flight down this coast from Karamea a few years before. Unbelievable hardships experienced by the early miners and their families in the cold elevated site that required innovative solutions to make this mine a profitable business.

Now was our opportunity to visit this site and seemed to appeal to all of us since the weather was so perfect, warm and sunny and the view from Westport was inviting enough for us to zoom off and rent that car! Packed up and away we went, experimenting with our Air Nav Pro tracker in the back seat, as we meandered our way along the highway out of town, we enjoyed the ride to the top of the ridge by car a lot more than the early residents did, by foot or in a returning coal wagon, up a very steep slope to 2000' AMSL.

It was an illuminating experience for us all to see the remains of the site and the signage detailing events and processes that enabled this mine to function. A peek over the edge of the coal drop, off the middle site, gave us the scale of what had been a very large industrial production site. Awesome. A few photos taken in the sun above the edge of the drop off got us the memories needed to recall this visit in times ahead, so the time had come for return and depart from Westport.

Back on the airfield had us packing our gear aboard our flying machines and neatly placing our tiedown gear in stowage before the Avgas burners used this opportunity to top up for departure. Longer airstrips meant bigger fuel loads were no longer the same problem, load wise.

The plan called for us to bypass Greymouth due possible crosswinds and head directly to Hokitika as this airfield had the luxury of two runways at 90 degrees to each other so a strong easterly crosswind would not have the same impact on our arrival..... Because of the weather when leaving Awaroa, a short 24 hours before, so much had happened to us but the one thing we had missed, was the opportunity to stop off at Karamea which had been in the plan for this southern adventure. We were now a day ahead of our adventure plan!

A very pleasant fly south along the route past Punakaiki and Greymouth with the hills of the coastal fringe passing on our left, green and lush against the clear blue sky and disturbed coastal waters, had us descending into Hokitika on runway 22, with little crosswind apparent and pretty well on the time that we had texted through to Murray Bowes before leaving Westport.

Taxiing in to the terminal had me checking the area thoroughly as this was my first landing here since my last flying visit in 1969! Much change had occurred with two sealed runways and a big new terminal and apron area now prominent when leaving the runways. A slow taxi into the hangar area had us pulling to a halt outside the old aero club building which had been there since my previous visit.

Shutting down one two three four had MAL, CSS, JES and DPS neatly parked on display in front of the Hokitika Aero Club building, like a real aero club day of flight instruction going on. Well, that was a fun flight south for us all and Hokitika is on a plateau above the township so a visual delight when arriving here.

Now where is that guy Murray who was to meet up with us? Having met Murray only once, in Omaka the previous year while sitting out a northwesterly gale, I was not really certain I would remember him, so he had the advantage of knowing us four first! It wasn't long before I established contact with Murray and our flying visit became a personal encounter again. A quick run down of our travel south led us into the next question of where to stay tonight? Murray said, "normally we could get you into the Aero Club building as this had been done in the past for overnighting pilots but it had recently been leased out for an extended period so this option was no longer available". "How about heading off the Okarito?" says Murray.

Now this had been on the plan for this adventure but I had not expected this overnight now. 'What are the details Murray as I couldn't find it after you last mentioned it to me?' The reason became obvious as I hadn't thought to look so far south of Hokitika! 'Are there cabins or overnighting caravans there?' " Not really, as its a DOC camping ground with basic facilities" .....'with the length of strip and uncertain surface that you have described and recent storm damage occurring, I think it best to go two up with Doug and he has no space for tents so we would only have two tents with us. Any other accomodation available?' "There is a kayak shop there and they may be able to help you" counters Murray. ' Well, daylight is running out so we could be pushing things if we can't secure accomodation and Hokitika is full with the Saturday Wildfoods Festival. Any chance of confirming the kayak shop will still be open when we get there and also that they can offer accomodation?' ( already after 5pm in Hoki ) Murray says "hang on I will see if I can get their number" and disappears into his hangar for a while as we discuss the merits of this next adventure and time available for return, if we don't like what we see.

Murray, in due course produced the required number and either Bob or Murray took charge of organising the accomodation with the kayak guy while we others prepare our thoughts and unpack belongings to free up space in the Pelican to fit Doug in and others to carry the overnight gear that we are unloading. All done, so away we went on a magic sunny afternoon on the next leg of the adventure to Okarito.

A Restricted area in the lakes area on track to Okarito meant a diversion either seawards or inland to avoid this lake and bird activity, so we all flew inland across the white pine forests we observed in neat tree rows below us. Another new scene to us North Islanders. Arriving over Okarito, carrying out the required fly past to determine the landing area was free of the obstacles we had be briefed about, I had to not only assess whether the strip was good enough for me in the Pelican but also for the other two aircraft with the overnight gear who were not familiar with this sort of 400 meter airstrip. 3 low level fly pasts got me the required picture in my mind of the safe landing threshold and the track required to avoid soft wind blown sand intruding onto the clear landing area. The distance clear of obstacles was marked at the far end by a stack of white tyres which had not been repositioned the way Murray had described prior to dispatch from Hokitikia, so not quite as expected, but seemed "doable".

Safely on the ground had Doug and I out to see the others do their low fly past inspections and then their approaches and landings. All carried out well and as the landing runway direction was into the light southerly breeze, we all had the joy of landing on this new strip!

The elation of this new strip Landing had us all chatting excitedly as we progressed our arrival into the required tie down of aircraft and hunt out a likely spot to find the local "kayak guy". Our arrival had created quite an interest level among the locals and many with children had arrived at the strip edge to see the arrival of the aircraft one after the other. From one of these people we got the necessary advice as to where to find the kayak shop so proceeded in the nominated direction along a sealed roadway, of all things!

Arriving at the other end of the village we did come across the kayak shop and Bruce was waiting our arrival but had already put the key in the lock of the house that had been allocated for the overnight accommodations. Once this was found, a couple of doors along from the shop, we returned to the aircraft to collect our overnight gear and the much talked about dehydrated rations that Murray had been trying to interest us in, along the trip south. Tonight was the big night to celebrate the unpacking of the rations as no shop was on site in Okarito! This also entailed collecting our six pack of warm beers we had carried forward for a few days on the trip and the two bottles of Volkmar's special Marlborough Pinot Noir. The house freezer was switched on the moment we arrived and we all chose rooms to suit, in the order of arrival into the house.

Great stuff! As soon as the beer was cold enough, the tops came off the first three, but I had to wait somewhat longer for my interest to be roused, so started with a coffee. The lads got enthusiastically into dinner preparation after taking a poll on the selection available. My choice was last and I was happy to get the roast lamb and vegetables. This was a great celebration of the whole trip south and the preparation and thought that I observed that had been put into preparing for this adventure. I was not sure the pilots encouraged onto this trip would be able to cope with the randomness of accommodation and airstrip selection but I was impressed with how everyone adapted to the rolling decision making that we were making along the way. The people we were introduced to and the renewed friendships were what was making this a memorable trip to the wild side!

My dinner turned out just fine and appetising and from the satisfied comments I heard from the others, I have to say Murray, that your initiative in bringing your supplies south were what gave us the wonderful adventure of the overnight in Okarito! Volkmar also, this is where we opened your wine and thoroughly enjoyed the chit chat that followed its opening.....a cork to be removed would have topped off the opening in such adventurous outdoor surroundings, so a pity you were not with us!

Next morning, I arose first and took the short walk to the jetty where the lake boat trips departed from so I could check out departure times and length of the journeys since we were accommodated opposite the Kotuku (White Heron) colony which made this a special place. There was a bird hide on the jetty with panels of explanations along the balustrade overlooking the lake. As soon as I stopped to read the information panels, the invisible sand flies and mosquitos made themselves known! A very interesting place when time permits another southern journey.

So back to the house for breakfast where I managed to pull one of my trusty oats packs from my backpack and, with a little hot water and a banana, I was up and running again to greet the planned adventure day ahead. Meanwhile the others had escaped for their early morning walk ( sand flies included) before adjourning to the kayak shop for the promised carrot cake and coffee, for their breakfast. By the time I had wandered off with Murray's telephone, for a quick call from the nearby signal area, and returned for my cake, it was all but finished!

So we were off for a flying start after coffee and wandered back to our aircraft to deposit our gear nearby, preflight then wander off for a short walk along the ocean beach. Admiring the views and reflecting on the difficulty of negotiating the bar as per the story board we had read on one of the old town buildings. We realised that this is a top spot in fine weather but a hell of a place when the weather cuts up rough.

Back to the airstrip to finish packing our gear aboard our aircraft it was time to decide coastal or inland to Hokitika. Since Murray was a little short on fuel we suggested he go first via the inland route and we would follow so he could peel off at any time and head directly to Hokitika. As it happened were all made a successful journey via the inland route and followed each other into Hokitika to be met once again by Murray Bowes who was keen to hear how we had made out the night before.

Enthusiastic? Yeh haaaaa! You made our adventure south a thing to be remembered Murray! We are all booked in for next year! If the lads can wait that long? ....and the girls are ready to ride the three day West Coast Wilderness Trail.....how many can you fit into the Maule, Murray?............

Wally Pendray   

Tiki Tourist

Part 2 follows shortly