awesome

Awesome photos! Have always wanted to travel to and hunt in New Zealand.

Hunting season is here in NZ! The rut (roar) is something some of you will know all about, it's a big deal for deer hunters. We explored some hunting grounds early-season by Bearhawk.

We flew in on a cloudy afternoon, this is about a 370NM flight from home base. We had to get up to 8,000ft to get over into the 900ft ASL airstrip, because of the cloud. Valley fog is a problem this time of year.


The airstrip is one-way into the trees, about 700ft long with a bit of a 'lump' in the middle, which makes directional control important. We had about 5-7kts crosswind for landing.


Stalking deer in the forest


Beautiful weather later in the day. We had a 4-5 other aircraft through the valley while we were off hunting. A couple stopped and poked around our camp while we were up in the bush. We noted their registrations in case anything was missing when we got back.


Another view of the hut end of the airstrip.


The weather packed up again, just in time for the flight out. Valley fog. We and another local aircraft (A185F) were left sitting on two of the local airstrips while we waited for the gorge to clear of fog. The first attempt to fly the gorge in the broken fog (by the 185) was thwarted, and I watched from below as he made a steep reversal turn in a tight spot. I wish I got a picture!!

Still very envious, is it a private strip and land or government property?

ozy wrote:Still very envious, is it a private strip and land or government property?

They are a mixture, this last one is managed by the Department of Conservation and you need to have a concession to land there (not that it stops a lot of other guys) - but personally I'd like my insurance to pay out in the event, so I am working off a concession.

More from the backcountry of NZ

Here we are on a river bar, with friends.


This rarely used airstrip had no tire marks in very long grass. It took more than the usual 3 low passes before both pilots on board were confident. We spent the evening fly-fishing.


Another airstrip in a different place, west coast of New Zealand this time:


As you can see, it's a wet and swampy sort of place.


Here we are tied down for the night. Frost / dew already collecting on the aircraft. Great place to stay, nice cabin with a huge fireplace and lots of handy dead-wood. We caught the first fish we saw, on the first cast, gotta love fly fishing!


Again, tied down on a very windy day. We went fly fishing in the river below while the plane sheltered against the prevailing crosswinds, tucked in by the trees.


Some of the fishing action I speak of.


Here's the result - a beautiful 7lb rainbow trout.


Stopped time in another favourite place. Hard to stay away from such great scenery!


The Bear loves the big mountain country!


Winter's coming to New Zealand.


Makes for great days in the air - smooth air, great views out the window. ​

Really great photos, NZ is so pretty. I spent two seasons at MT Hutt and have very fond memories.

Picture # 11 the light is perfect to see the glacier rolling into the valley below.

Thank you! Very inspirational (to me) as a "wanna be" bush pilot.

Five Star adventure for sure!

Another little update:

Flying South for the winter, with friends.


Frosty nose after a cold night out


Frozen prop blade at the top, a foggy morning.


A cold Bearhawk!

Twelve more days till Winter..

June Solstice 2014 is at 12:51 AM (HST) on
Saturday, June 21

Precisely! I just like to be early

Here's some shots of the 180, for all you Skywagon-ers out there!


Here's a sequence from his landing - great precision for his first time at this particular airstrip - stopped very short given we were both loaded very heavy with gear and people.

it's not a straight-in approach, the forest & hillside mean that you need to be low and turning.

The airstrip is hard to see at certain times of the year, especially if you're new to it. About 700ft long I guess.

Pulled up nice and short despite the wet and freezing ground - the airstrip was in the sun just 5 minutes before we landed (planned it that way...) and look at all the dew already! Tires shiny, not much traction.

Simply stellar! What was the DA (Density Altitude) on the strip? Looks like you had great performance!

Thank you for giving us a peek!

Great pics and TR. Beautiful

Livin the dream Battson!!!!!! I am a hunting guide on the side and am drooling over your adventure and countryside, New Zealand looks simply amazing

really nice shots. Are the 3-letter registration #'s "vintage" like our 3 and 4 character N-numbers in the states?

8GCBC wrote:Simply stellar! What was the DA (Density Altitude) on the strip? Looks like you had great performance!

Thank you for giving us a peek!

DA was about 1000ft.
The strip is at about 690mASL so 2,140ft, but it was 1031hPa air pressure and freezing cold.

scottf wrote:really nice shots. Are the 3-letter registration #'s "vintage" like our 3 and 4 character N-numbers in the states?

Our registrations are all three letters in the South Pacific. In NZ the country code is ZK- and then just three letter registrations. We only have to display country code for international flight, but they always have to be larger than the ones in the USA. Helicopters start with H or I, other letters are reserved for balloons etc. I guess there are enough possible combinations that we haven't run out yet.

Here's a short video of us landing to see a friend on the way home:

scottf wrote:really nice shots. Are the 3-letter registration #'s "vintage" like our 3 and 4 character N-numbers in the states?

The low numbers in this country aren't necessarily "vintage" either. Registration numbers 1 through 99 are reserved to the FAA (the Administrator's Gulfstream was N 1 last I heard), the seven hundred tail numbers were all reserved to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, though some have slipped out via sales of aircraft, many of the six hundred series were reserved to BLM and other Interior agencies.

And, there are probably others, but as you note, many of the low numbers were issued a long time ago......of course, if one of those aircraft is de registered, that tail number becomes available.

Battson...those are some great photos of some great adventures. I have friends who've spent a good deal of time in NZ, and they speak very highly of your country.

MTV

Battson.
You are having way too much fun in that thing. Its great to see and also those wonderful photos of our part of the world. Was that Scotty in BGI? I was in a hut the other day reading an old NZ Hunter mag with an article about a Jonathan Battson chasing some Thar on the west coast. Was that you? Show us some photos of the 26's on the beach's. Even better PM me where you are heading, we might hook up..

Jamie G

Yes on both counts, Scotty and I. That wasn't the Hamilton hut up the Harper was it...?
I'll be taking the 26's to the beach this weekend with any luck, so photos abound.
Where are you based???

Recent modifications...


Loving the new footwear, just working my way down the air-pressure spectrum to find a good place for me.


Testing the new floatation on the beach, good to see the mains riding high while the 'tow hook' drags through the softer stuff:


Scenic flight over a volcanic crater lake.


High mountain tussock lands of New Zealand's NI, snow still melting after a recent fall.


Landing at the bushline, only 4000ft but high enough. In this one I'm taking a 14kt tailwind into this strip, because of the uphill angle of the surface (and mostly because of my pathetic brakes - still waiting on parts to upgrade to match the tires).


I had to park here for a photo... the top end of this airstrip is a bit of a roller-coaster, and was waterlogged on this day. Long uphill, slight bend, downhill, swamp with 3" water, uphill again - plenty of L-R slope too.
My first thought was to land in the short 60m (186ft) swampy hollow in the photo below, to take the cross-headwind so my touchdown would only be at 20kts instead of >50kts, but the rough wet surface and my 'single-puck' brakes meant that directional control was an issue with power-off + crosswind and slope. I did three practice landings to get a feel for the wet surface, and I am glad I did, with some power for steering and the tailwind pushing me I needed the entire length of the airstrip, including the up-down-up swamp section.... New brakes cannot arrive soon enough!!!!
(OK, I am being dramatic...)
​
The rest of the airstrip (photo above) is over the small hill on the right side of the photo.