Bannockburn

Bannockburn is a small historic gold mining town located just 5kms from Cromwell in Central Otago. The area was mined extensively for gold in the 1860s and the old gold diggings, sluices, tunnels, races and dams have left the area devoid of natural vegetation and covered in rocks and dry sandy soil. Its a warm and dry micro-climate with some of the highest temperatures & lowest rainfall in the area. These conditions make Bannockburn the home of many vineyards, olive groves and stonefruit orchards. Wine in this region is mainly pinor noir which is suited to the dry climate and soils.

The Bannockburn Bridge and entrance sign welcome you to this historic town. The bridge was built following the construction of the Clyde Dam and the subsequent creation of Lake Dunstan (where we are staying at Lowburn Harbour). The signs pillars are made from the stone of the original suspension bridge that once crossed the Kawarau River.

The day we visited Bannockburn it was very still and calm, the trees, especially the poplars, & vines were starting to turn colour and the reflections on the aqua blue waters of the Inlet amazing. The air was filled with the smell of thyme, the dusty ground all around covered with clumps of dry & seemingly dead thyme bushes which released an intense smell of thyme when I stood on or brushed against them.

Bannockburn reminded me very much of Provence, especially the dry dusty landscape, a little piece of France in New Zealand.

And I'm sorry but once again I've struggled to cut the number of photos so sit back & enjoy this photo-fest of autumn in Central Otago- remember to click on the photos to see them in detail.

Big Kids

Mr Whippy (clever man) did a roaring trade here at Lowburn last night.……and we had dessert before dinner!

Once again Lowburn is a busy campsite, many of us are off to the Arrowtown Autumn Festival tomorrow. The local Upper Clutha Valley MCA is having a rally with parking available near the town and a couple of topless double decker buses to take us to the festivities.

Sunrise this morning-

And then the fog rolled in over Lake Dunstan-

But only for a short while. It quickly burnt off to reveal a beautiful calm & sunny autumn day. The autumnal colours are fabulous, the poplars have turned an even deeper shade of gold than when we were here 10 days ago.

Warbirds- Part 3



Commemorating 100 years of military aviation, these rare & flimsy fighters of the Great War, WW1 took to the sky over Wanaka. Aircraft included the Sopwith Camel, Nieuport XI, Airco DH5, Bristol Fighter F.2B, Fokker DR.I Triplane & the Fokker D.VII

Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk- another favourite of mine (I think it must b the paint job), the RNZAF operated 297 Kittyhawk fighters in the Pacific during WWII. Eventually replaced by the Corsiar the Kittyhawks returned to NZ to be used as advanced fighter trainer.

De Havilland Vampire- considered highly experimental in its developmental stages the Vampire came on line too late to see action in WWII. The Vampire was used as a training aircraft and remained in service in NZ until 1972. And they still look futuristic to me! 

Supermarine Spitfire- another crowd favourite with a beautiful wing profile. This Spitfire was restored & is owned by the Deere Family of Marton who have decorated it in honour of a family member Air Commodore Alan Deere who served with the RAF for 40 years.

 

A North American P-51D Mustang joined the Spitfire for a flight display.

The British inspired, American built Mustang was one of the most potent & versatile fighters of WWII. The long ranging Mustang escorted American bombers all the way to Germany. It was known as the "Cadillac of the Skies" I think it looks like one of those model aircraft you make up; the air intake underneath looks like a clip that holds the wings in place! Add to that the little model man in the cockpit and it could have come straight out of a box.

YAK 3- the sleek & fast little brother of the YAK52, the Yak 3 was regarded as one of the finest interceptors of WWII. German pilots were horrified to find they were being beaten by a well flown, simple little 1300hp Russian fighter made of wood.

A first for NZ & for Warbirds Over Wanaka, Reno style racing. The Wanaka Jet Race- three American pilots & three Kiwi raced their jets around a 5 lap course marked by giant inflatable orange pylons (mega road cones). After three races, one each day, the Kiwis were declared the winners! It was a thrilling race with many different tactics used to gain speed & position.

The grand finale- the airfield is defended by the fighters from an attack by enemy aircraft. On the first day the explosions set fire to the tinder dry grass that borders the runway. From high up on our vantage point we could see tiny figures rushing around everywhere in panic & beating the ground with sacks. The next day the fire brigade crossed the runway well before the finale & drenched the area with water from their tanker.

  

And that folks was WOW- Warbirds Over Wanaka, for another two years. We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the show, it was a good feeling knowing we could retire to our van after the show finished each day without having to be stuck in a traffic jam a few miles long waiting to get home. It was a shame that there was a major storm happening right around New Zealand as some of the aircraft were unable to leave their home towns to fly in to Wanaka but on the other hand the weather Gods took mercy on Wanaka, it was fine all weekend.

PS- Apologies to those that get notification by email of a blog post- you've already seen these photos! The joys of a hap-hazard connection.

Warbirds- Part 2

This is one very brave man; Jurgis Kairys, a Lithuania national is one of the most experienced aerobatic pilots in the world. Jurgis is an aeronautical engineer and he helped develop the Sukhoi aerobatic aircraft, one of which he borrowed to fly for the airshow. The commentators told the story many times about Jurgis. He speaks a little English and when he was telling his hosts about himself he said "I am sixty years but very powerful"- they said it with a forced accent which made it sound all the more funny.

After completing an amazing range of death-defying extreme aerobatics Jurgis took it one stage further, here he is flying his plane along underneath the DC3 (Douglas C-47 Dakota- DC3) & then he did tail loops around the DC3. This photo reminds me of those sucker fish that attach themselves under sharks & whales.

Grumman Avenger- one of the largest single engine fighters of its time. Used by the RNZAF in the Pacific campaigns of WWII. Once the plane had finished it's air display the pilot showed the crowd how the wings fold.

Corsair FG-1D- The Corsair is nearly my most favourite plane, I fell in love with it at the Tauranga Air Show a few years ago. I love the wing shape, how it dips down near the plane body. And although rather quiet I love the deep throaty grumble of the 2000hp Pratt & Whitney radial engine (I looked that up :) The Corsair was nicknamed "Whistling Death" by the Japanese because of it's stealthy approach. And not to be outdone by the Avenger, pilot (Keith Skilling) also demonstrated the wing folding capabilities of the Corsair.

The Royal Australian Airforce paid us a fast & fleeting visit; all eyes stage right as two Hawk 127 fighter-trainer jets roared past us. These two seater jets are around 12m long & can reach speeds of over 1200km/h. One of the jets returned to do a few aerobatic manoeuvres for us & then they were gone.

Our own Royal New Zealand Airforce was in attendance with a selection of craft that they put through their paces.

 NH90 Helicopter-

Seasprite Helicopter- the helicopter that will eventually replace the Iroquois.

C-130 Hercules- Everybody's favourite, the Hercules performed an impressive display of manoeuvrability finishing with a bang as it dropped flares in the sky- a effective strategy against heat-seeking missiles.

Aero L-29 Albatros; a sleek jet built in Czechoslovakia during Communist rule.

 

Aero L-39 Albatros- sucessor to the L29 & internationally the most widely used jet-trainer with a top speed of 750km/h

YAK 52- NZ YAK Formation Aerobatic Team- the YAK is a tandem two-seater Russian air trainer with a top speed of 420km/h that can stand extreme G Forces from -5 to +7. Apparently the fuel tank was small to prevent Russian pilots from defecting to the West.

To be continued.......Part 3