Visiting New Zealand in May - what to see?

[horsepyre]

Hi all,

I know we have some Kiwis in here, so let's hear from you! My family is taking a week-long vacation to New Zealand in May. Obviously I've identified Hood Aerodrome at Masterton as a must-see for me (though regrettably it looks like flying weekends end in April - bad timing!), but it looks like Omaka is a real treasure as well. Unfortunately we are likely spending all of our time on the North Island, which rules out a trip to Omaka unless there's any way to do it in a day trip from Wellington - it doesn't look that far away on Google Maps, but maybe a bit far for me to swim

I'm obviously incredibly excited about the prospect of seeing one or the other collection, but if anyone has any logistical tips for potentially seeing both, I'm listening!

Also open to suggestions for non-WWI-aviation-related sights, of course.

[clipper1801]

Enjoy the trip! We have kids who live and work over there in the games industry and we are planning an August visit as well. We discovered the north/south railroad trip as a scenic but also handy way to travel across the country there, check it out if you are going to be there a while, as I recall its about a day trip each way and opens the southern tip of the north island to some decent stops and sites. The ferry across to the south island is a good link to all things there too. Auckand has a number of great museums to visit one offers a newly refurbished Lancaster and lots of neat planes to see! Have fun, pack a lot of USB cords for your devices as the wall voltage is 210 volts at 50 cycles so AC things do not run well on converters for long : ( Nearly everything does have USB available though . . .

[gully_raker]

Austin Omaka is a MUST.
Sir Peter Jackson's Museum there has an amazing collection of WW1 artefacts, uniforms, dioramas etc.
You surely can re-jig your itinerary to make it there.
Here is one of the exhibits to wet your appetite!

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[BobP]

Well isn't that were the Hobbit was made. Might be a trip to see a Hobbit house other than all the great aircraft there.

[KiwiAce]

Hi all,

I know we have some Kiwis in here, so let's hear from you! My family is taking a week-long vacation to New Zealand in May. Obviously I've identified Hood Aerodrome at Masterton as a must-see for me (though regrettably it looks like flying weekends end in April - bad timing!), but it looks like Omaka is a real treasure as well. Unfortunately we are likely spending all of our time on the North Island, which rules out a trip to Omaka unless there's any way to do it in a day trip from Wellington - it doesn't look that far away on Google Maps, but maybe a bit far for me to swim

I'm obviously incredibly excited about the prospect of seeing one or the other collection, but if anyone has any logistical tips for potentially seeing both, I'm listening!

Also open to suggestions for non-WWI-aviation-related sights, of course.

Not an ideal time to come to see the WW1 aircraft, but hopefully the following will help you plan the trip:


Auckland Museum: The War Memorial Galleries: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/galleries

Museum of Transport and Technology (Auckland): http://www.motat.org.nz/exhibitions/...ation-display/

NZ Warbirds Association (Auckland): http://nzwarbirds.org.nz/welcome/Visitor+Centre.html

Classic Flyers Museum (Tauranga): http://www.classicflyersnz.com

National Army Museum (Waiouru): http://www.armymuseum.co.nz

Tawhiti Museum (Hawera - Sundays only in May): http://tawhitimuseum.co.nz

Te Papa - The Scale Of War (Wellington): https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/pla...ours#Gallipoli

The Great War Exhibition (Wellington): http://www.greatwarexhibition.nz (includes a WW1 aircraft!)

Southward Car Museum (Kapiti, near Wellington): https://www.southwardcarmuseum.co.nz (includes a handful of aircraft!)



For non-aviation things:

Rotorua is always a treat for tourists: http://www.rotoruanz.com

Taupo will also offer some activities: http://www.greatlaketaupo.com/things-to-do/


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Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre (Blenheim)

As for getting to Omaka, I suggest you do sort out a day trip, even if you leave the rest of the family in Wellington, and make it a day trip for yourself. To come all this way and not get a chance to see the displays there would be a real shame -- those people who have been there will tell you not to miss it :-)


Ferry Services Across Cook Strait:

These two companies offer ferry services across Cook Strait you can check out their websites for timetables and pricing:

Interislander: https://www.interislander.co.nz/

BlueBridge: https://www.bluebridge.co.nz

The trip across Cook Strait is a 3.5 hour journey (one way), so it's a long day but you'll be glad you did it.

Once you get to Picton (on the Ferry), you're still 25 miles or so from Picton. I believe there are probably shuttle services available (see A1_Picton_Shuttles, but if you contact me via email early enough I may be in a position to pick you up, take you to Omaka, and get you back to Picton. Would depend on actual date and whether I'm in town (Blenheim) or away on business.


Flying Across Cook Strait:

Again there's two companies you could look at to get you across the Strait for the day -- quicker than ferry but more expensive:

SoundsAir: http://www.soundsair.com (likely to be the cheapest)

Air New Zealand: https://www.airnewzealand.com

A taxi from Blenheim Airpot to Omaka is easily doable (is only a couple of miles) and it won't cost you much. Again if I'm in town I could also help.


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The Vintage Aviator at Hood Aerodrome (Masterton)

As for checking out The Vintage Aviator's flying collection at Hood Aerodrome, you are correct in that you'll miss out on the last flying weekend of the season. May is outside of the normal operational season, but it is possible that you may be able to organise a short guided tour of the hangar (with at least a dozen WW1 aircraft reproductions) anyway. See the details with contact info here: http://thevintageaviator.co.nz/hangar-tours

If you have any difficulty in organising a tour, again, email me directly, and I'll see what I can do. I do have some influence and contacts, and the fact that you're coming all the way from the USA will make it easier to achieve.


Give me a shout if you need any further info,

Allan
Historical Aviation Film Unit

[KiwiAce]

Of course there's also the Middle Earth stuff:

Hobitton (Matamata): http://www.hobbitontours.com

Weta Worshop Tours (Wellington): http://wetaworkshop.com/visit-us/workshop-tours/

Cheers
Allan

[BobP]

I watch the Price is Right most days. There are two prizes I want to win.
1. A trip to Thailand- stationed there and wife from there so a good vacation
2. A trip to NZ to see the wonderful things that are there

Enjoy you trip and hope you share your time you spend there with us.

[clipper1801]

Thanks all! I just booked our trip, some smokin' prices this last week snagged Qantas for a crazy cool price! Now having to rest up for the trip in August! I appreciate the list of aviation sites! Sadly the elves don't have passports, good thing since they would want to stay in Middle Earth and not come back!

[horsepyre]

Well isn't that were the Hobbit was made. Might be a trip to see a Hobbit house other than all the great aircraft there.

Yes, and apparently there's a Lord of the Rings-style feast in Hobbiton on Wednesdays, which complicates matters because it's right smack dab in the middle of our trip and nowhere near the planes I want to see. And I have to admit, a Hobbit feast sounds pretty dang awesome.

But if I never make it back to New Zealand I have to see as many planes as possible!

[Guntruck]

Not an ideal time to come to see the WW1 aircraft, but hopefully the following will help you plan the trip:


Allan
Historical Aviation Film Unit

Great list Allan. Really must get to NZ some day.

Thanks all! I just booked our trip, some smokin' prices this last week snagged Qantas for a crazy cool price! Now having to rest up for the trip in August! I appreciate the list of aviation sites! Sadly the elves don't have passports, good thing since they would want to stay in Middle Earth and not come back!

Just as well Dave - Trumpton probably wouldn't let them back in the country

[horsepyre]

Appreciate the suggestions all (Allan especially). I'm going to try hard to go to Omaka as it looks like a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

[BobP]

Austin I understand where you are coming from. Getting there is a wish list for me because of all the great shots of planes that are posted. Enjoy your trip and I am sure there will be many photos.

[Biggles downunder]

If you check my albums you will see photos that I took at both the TVAL Hood Aerodrome hanger (well, one of them anyway) and the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre.

All I can say is ...Do it!! especially now that the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre has opened their WW2 gallery!

[KiwiAce]

If you check my albums you will see photos that I took at both the TVAL Hood Aerodrome hanger (well, one of them anyway) and the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre.

All I can say is ...Do it!! especially now that the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre has opened their WW2 gallery!

Yeah though not wanted to rain on anyone's parade, but the new WW2 exhibition is not a patch on the WW1 one (only 30% the size), and is (unfortunately) not in itself a reason to travel to Omaka. An extra bonus if you're there, but certainly not worthwhile on it's own.

Cheers
Allan

[clipper1801]

So the Clipper clan are packing suitcases and getting all the trip bits together, will be launching on August 15 for a month down under, knowing the winter is still on there does that impact Omaka and sites down on the south island much?

[KiwiAce]

So the Clipper clan are packing suitcases and getting all the trip bits together, will be launching on August 15 for a month down under, knowing the winter is still on there does that impact Omaka and sites down on the south island much?

August is still essentially winter here so there's not a great deal of flying. The Aviation Heritage Centre at Omaka will be open, and there will be aircraft activity on the airfield, but probably not much in the way of old aircraft activity. The Stearman is likely to be operating if you want to go for a ride :-)

Air Force World in Christchurch will be open. Not sure how much there is to see in Wanaka these days, but the museum next to the airfield down there should be open and it's chock full of old vehicles and a few aircraft as well. I expect the Ashburton Aviation Museum will be open as per it's usual opening hours.

Unfortunately I was informed recently that the The Vintage Aviator's hangar in Masterton is not even available for tour group visits just at the moment -- apparently there's quite a bit of maintenance going on which makes access difficult, so you may not be able to get to that. :-(

Send me a pm to admin@aviationfilm.com, with details of your proposed itinerary, and I can make suggestions or comments that will hopefully help.

Cheers
Allan

[Boreas]

Was going to post, but Allan beat me to it with a wealth of information.
I'd also offer a ride...but I'm in Auckland - so WELL away from Wellington & Blenheim.
Allan is correct though - Omaka is an easily doable day trip from Wellington.