November
7, 2002Betty Obara seized an opportunity of a lifetime to travel to New Zealand in November, 2002, and to take a flying tour around the South Island. This was one of those things that dreams are made of.
Betty has had the good fortune to go on other flying adventures in the past, but this trip was a standout for exuberance and joy. Here are just a few of the many photos she brought back, to share a few small bits of this adventure.
November
7, 2002
Betty, posing beside her rented Cessna at Glenorchy, near the Dart River, where the Jet boat was invented.
Landing sites on the South Island of New Zealand are often very short and always quite turbulent. The plane is a Cessna 172 with a 180 HP conversion, which comes in quite handy with high mountains surrounding the landing site. New Zealand has no radar, so bright yellow helps in traffic avoidance.
November
2, 2002
This is the entrance to Milford Sound with its spectacular water falls and rain forest covered cliffs. The airport is at the other end of the sound from the Pacific Ocean. It is surrounded on three sides by sheer walls from 2000 to 6000 feet high. What a rush it is to fly such grandiose beauty.
November
2, 2002
Here is a shot of a beach landing at Big Bay, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
The beach is a great place to land but be sure the tide is going out. These folks are seining for highly prized fish about the size of a guppy. They beat up some eggs and add these tiny fish and fry them. Buying them in the market would cost you $78.00 a kg. As you can see, the Maule is a real work horse.
November
4, 2002
This was an afternoon stopover at Hunter River, near Lake Hawea.
Landing here can be a little tricky. Betty had to fly over the area several times to determine the winds. You can see there is no wind sock.