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New Zealand grand tour...


Paul J

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Someday I'd like to get over there. Do you know about the Bandag Bullet race truck? I think it's kept in Auckland. If it's in your future on your trip, can I ask for an underbonnet picture? If you can't that's ok. I want to make a model of the truck but can't get a good picture of what's under the hood. The Bandag race team won't return emails either. I'd also like to know what engine in the the hauler truck. Like I say, if you can't, that's ok. I'm not on FB but here's a link https://www.facebook.com/Bandagbullet/

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At Auckland. Nice place to celebrate my birthday today. Monday I am popping across to MOTAT while the missus and her friend do some other site seeing and shopping.

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Hi. Am now in Australia. Staying with a friends family . Very near to Camden airport. I,m sure it s of interest so I am getting a chance to visit today(Thursday)  Friday will be spent taking in some sights in Sydney!

What can I expect at Camden?

 

Back in the UK next week.

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Just got back from a visit to Camden. No sign of the museum,apparently long closed. But lots of Cessna,Piper, Beechcraft types everywhere

 Stopped ny a hangar where I spied an Auster. So I went and asked if  I could take a couple pics. So a,huge thanks to Matt and his colleague for making us so very welcome and for the very interesting story of it.  Was told of a couple Harvard's in another hangar but they were locked sadly. However if anyone of our Aussie members know a Matt and colleague Dave of  Dent Aviation at Camden, please pass on my huge gratitude to them. Wonderful welcoming!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hi all. Am back in UK.  Still a bit jet lagged from Sunday .

 

Had a wonderful time in NZ Beautiful stunning country. Great friendly people especially at the airfields I visited. Sadly did not have enough time to go to most of the museums I planned. Did RNZAF Wigram, Omaka, Wanaka and MOTAT in Auckland.

 Aircraft at Wanaka were very few so slightly disappointed but some lovely cars in the same building. Wigram and Motat were superb. And Omaka was a very worthy visit. Some interesting stuff outside but not part of the collection like a Bristol Freighter and a couple Nanchangs. Nearby over at Woodbourne by the road an Argosy in SAFE colours(like the Bristol). Will post photos once I have made a selection of some of the highlights,

Had a nice treat at MOTAT. After absorbing the delights inside, I took a stroll out the back to see a huge structure of scaffolding and tarpauli shhhet. Under it all was the Short Solent with what looked like final paint work in progress. Met a chap who asked what I was doing I simply said I was interested in seeing the Solent so he took me under the covers and escorted me up stairs and was given a personal viewing up close of the work done to it and its history. After that we went in to the workshop building where a DC-3 was in the throes of work being done, then a visit to the flight deck and nose section of the sole remaining RNZAF Hastings! And a retired Air New Zealand B747 simulator.  So if any of our NZ members knows MOTAT and a guy called Mike who helps out there, pass on my appreciation of his generosity. ( just one of the few who were kind enough to let me see their aeroplanes) So many thanks Mike for the personal guided tour!

 

I just loved the country and will be sure to go back... maybe when I retire so I can spend longer there!

 

PS: All the other sights around the country were marvellous too; the rolling hills and mountains the thousands of cattle and sheep, exotic birds, the windy roads in various places like the one up the Coromandel penisular, Napier art deco buildings Mount Cook and surrounding places to name a few.

And a Blenheim town shop where I bought my new camera a Nikon A900 Coolpix to replace my knackered Canon

 

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Glad you enjoyed NZ! It's a bit of a missed opportunity going to Sydney instead of Melbourne - you could have visited the Avalon air show and the RAAF museum at Point Cook. And in my opinion Melbourne is far nicer than Sydney.

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My daughter and her hubby have just returned from a holiday in NZ.  They loved it and I would have commented here on how much they liked it, however there isn't enough page space to fit it all in! :thumbsup:

 

Mike

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On 3/7/2019 at 1:53 PM, Paul J said:

Under it all was the Short Solent with what looked like final paint work in progress.

 

PS: All the other sights around the country were marvellous too... the windy roads in various places like the one up the Coromandel penisular,

Great to hear that you enjoyed your trip! We'll look forward to your photos of the highlights.

The Solent is a bit of a gem, but the collection in total is a bit of an odds-and-sods at times. Hopefully they still had the Mosquito there as well?

 

The Coromandel is a lovely place indeed. One of my favourite roads for a day-run on the bike.

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On 08/03/2019 at 08:19, bootneck said:

My daughter and her hubby have just returned from a holiday in NZ.  They loved it and I would have commented here on how much they liked it, however there isn't enough page space to fit it all in! :thumbsup:

 

Mike

Thats interesting. I met a couple on the Singapore AL flight back to LHR and they were from Somerset. Apparently delayed by a a day when leaving NZ. However all my flights went on time and no delays or issues just the last leg coming home was virtually entirely turbulence ridden  13 hours of it!

 

Still sorting the best of my aircraft pics so will get them up here on appropriate froum thread when all done.

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12 hours ago, hairystick said:

Great to hear that you enjoyed your trip! We'll look forward to your photos of the highlights.

The Solent is a bit of a gem, but the collection in total is a bit of an odds-and-sods at times. Hopefully they still had the Mosquito there as well?

 

The Coromandel is a lovely place indeed. One of my favourite roads for a day-run on the bike.

Yes the Coromandel road was fun even in the rental  KIA Sporatge we had.  

Re MOTAT the Mossie was there still but no Lodestar and Ventura but the Hdson was there  Liked the selection however.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just a little model related item about my trip. Found a couple model shops in NZ. One in Blenheim at the back end of  a Petshop/plant centre at 67 High Street  by the name of Roselands Pets and Plants. I suspect it was the one listed in an ancient yellow pages( well out of date ... 2016!!!)in the hotel I was staying at; as being in Main Street. A fair amount of maistream stuff but no oddies that I was on the lookout for like OzMods,  Ventura etc. Couldn't find the biggish one in Wellington though I looked hard. The other was in Napier. A bit of a mix here. kits and wargaming middle earth stuff. Finally, two in Oz. One in Campbeltown. Nice selection of plastic kits and R/C stuff but nothing for me. The other was Hobbico in the grand Victorian building in Sydney City. I was amazed at the stuf there Abit like walking in to a smaller Hannants BUt lots of mainstream again and diecast airliners and lots of other strange Japaneses stufff Anime Robot thingies and so on.

 I went away empty handed though... 

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