North to South Tour of New Zealand

[Alex]

Thanks for posting all these pictures NZCoffee, really good to see your travels around NZ.

Took a while to download all these screenshots, but the ones into Napier, and over Cook Strait really paid off.

Alex

[ardypilot]

Amazing screenshots- the mesh looks really detailed over the South Island. Love the early morning/evening pictures too, the low light always creates the best results- keep up the good work!

QUOTE

Took a while to download all these screenshots,[/quote]
For me too- perhaps you could post a fewer amount next leg or compress the images to smaller file size?

[kiwibarguy]

Well done mate, have been following your trip from the start! Keep it up and you be there soon. I noticed you have hit rain and fog in your travels , where as i have travelled as far to Indonesia and haven't even seen a drop. That's New Zealand for ya!!!

[Naki]

Nice little trip so far NZcoffee - interesting seeing how FSX looks throughout NZ.

[ardypilot]

We now go from Kaikoura to Christchurch:

QUOTE

Christchurch (Māori: Ōtautahi) is the regional capital of Canterbury, New Zealand. The largest city in the South Island, it is also the second largest city and third largest urban area of New Zealand. A coastal city, it is situated just north of Banks Peninsula, midway down the South Island's east coast.[/quote]

Taxiing at Kaikoura:


















There's the VOR I've been tracking:


That's Christchurch over there, but the visibility is so low:


Can just make out the lights:


I'm instructed to land on Runway 20

First I head to the wrong airfield (Right) Christchurch International is the one I'm now heading to:


Turn on to Final:


Still haven't been cleared to land...


I decide to touch down anyway. I spot the Runway marker on the way down


I'm landing at runway 02 not 20. Oops ops:

I shamefully taxi to parking after being told off by ATC:



Parked up:


Thanks for following.

[ardypilot]

Not to be rude, but I really think you need to cut down on the amount of images you are posting / style in which you are posting them- its a common problem with many simmers, snapping hundreds of screenies per flight and having to pick out the ones you wish to share with the world.. there are a few solutions to this, 1) Sign up free to photobucket who offer clickable thumbnail images of your screenshots which you can post on the forums, saving a lot of loading time. 2) Again with photobucket, sort your screenshots into an automatic slideshow which you can again link from the forums, which loads each image one by one. 3) Look long and hard at the screenshots you have taken and select the top 10 you wish to upload

That final picture in the above post is great by the way, good luck with the rest of the trip!

[NZCoffee]

I do try to tell a comprehensive story of my leg with as few screenshots as possible, but I'll keep it in mind. In fact, here's my next leg with 14 screenshots.

The next leg on the journey takes us from Christchurch to Mount Cook:

QUOTE

Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand.[1] It lies in the Southern Alps range, which runs the length of the West Coast of the South Island. A popular tourist destination[2], it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. The Tasman Glacier and Hooker Glacier flow down its slopes.[/quote]



Small GA aircraft ahead of me:


Air New Zealand airliner behind me:












The view from my window is spectacular:


Keeping below the cloud:






Mount Cook ahead:


Our next trip will take us to the tourist resort of Queenstown!

[NZCoffee]

This leg we go to Queenstown:

QUOTE

Queenstown is a resort town in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's South Island. It is built around an inlet on Lake Wakatipu, a long thin lake shaped like a staggered lightning bolt, and has spectactular views of nearby mountains.[/quote]
NZMC NZQN

Take off:




Climbing out:






Wanaka:


Descent over the hill into Queenstown:

Last edited by NZCoffee on Sat Mar 15, 2008 4:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[NZCoffee]

Queenstown Milford Sound (NZQN NZMF)

As always, this is the route:

QUOTE

Milford Sound, also known as Piopiotahi in Māori, is located in the south west of New Zealand's South Island. Although called a sound, it is more accurately classified as a fjord. Milford Sound, the most famous tourist site of New Zealand,[1] has also been called an eighth Wonder of the World by Rudyard Kipling.[2] It is situated within the Fiordland National Park which is in turn part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site.[/quote]

Take off from Queenstown:












There it is. This probably wasn't the best direction to approach from:




I zigzag to give me time to descend:


This was the last shot I got:


So I figured I'd do it again. Highlights from my second trip:

















Thanks. We've nearly finished!

And here's a sneak peek (peak?) of the next leg:

[NZCoffee]

Milford Sound to Manapouri

QUOTE

Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is at the edge of Fiordland National Park on the eastern shore of Lake Manapouri, close to its outflow into the Waiau River. A tourist boat service operates from the town.[/quote]

Early morning start:


















I look tiny from the control tower:




The next leg will be the last! We're nearly there!