Where in the South Island?

[Rhayader]

Hi all,

I have recently been given the chance to re-locate from the UK to work on the South Island for a number of years. Before I fly out for a familiarisation visit I have been asked to specify which area I would prefer to work in. Given that we are 50, schools and the like are not important but access to private flying is. As a fairly low houred PPL which area would suit us best in that regard. The areas are: Nelson, Malborough and west coast, Canterbury and Otaga and Southland. Many thanks for any advice.

Rhayader.

[Konev]

Nelson: nice place, great scenery and flying.
Malborough: pretty much same area as above.
west coast: wet, wet, wet. best to live else where and fly there.
Canterbury: most active in regards to the club scene, very flat and central to other areas.
Otago: central/wanaka has less of a aeroclub scene but is the best area for flying, westcoast is in easy reach as well as canterbury and southland. probably, dare i say it, best weather.
Southland: great place but limited flying destinations, can only fly north unless you goto stewart island for some fish and chips, can be wet and windy but can also be a fantastic place to live, nice and quiet.

[baron_beeza]

Wow, from the West Midlands... everything in the South Island will be better
the weather, - regardless..
The Scenery, the flying... The job I am not so sure about.

Aircraft are cheap, and commonplace. You could easily buy one. I would think that would be the best bet.

Try Trademe and the recreational flying scene.

Aircraft - Aircraft for sale on trademe.co.nz (http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Aircraft/mcat-0001-1484-.htm)

YouTube - New Zealand South Island Flying (http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=sQtKofImf1Y)


Keep us posted with progress.

[dudduddud]

In terms of purely 'access to flying for a low-hour PPL' the best bet would probably be Christchurch. As has been said there is a fairly active training/club scene there.

No doubt the clubs there organise trips to the various parts of the South Island so you are never really more than a couple of hours away from the scenary of Marlborough, Fiordland, Otago and the central ranges.

In terms of lifestyle though:

Nelson:
Population around 45,000 in the town. It is centered near a reasonably well-regarded vine-growing district and has a strong music and art scene; if not a bit 'hippie'. It hosts a number of food, fashion and music festivals.

It is the sunniest part of the South Island.

Main industries I think are tourism and fisheries.

Marlborough:
The main town in Marlborough, Blenheim has a population of around 30,000. It is also a vine-growing district and is adjacent to the Cloudy Bay vineyard which is credited for introducing New Zealand sauvignon blanc to the world in the early 80s.

Marlborough competes with Nelson as the South Island's sunniest region.

West Coast:
The West Coast is quite a large area covering most of the western coastline of the South Island to a distance of about 200km inland where the central ranges begin.

The main towns are Hokitika, Westport (population about 4000 a-piece) and Greymouth, population 9,000 in the urban area.

General aviation is not huge here and the area has quite bad weather due to its bearing the brunt of the prevailing westerlies.

The main industries include mining, fishing and tourism.

[Rhayader]

Many thanks for the replies. I have emailed the company asking for Christchurch or Malborough. Roll on September.

:)

[big buddah]

Christchurch being the largest South Island has easy access for international flights. Also it is central so makes travel else where easy.
I've lived all over the South Island, I loved my time in Nelson but it has it's down falls.
I'd recommend going to Christchurch first spending some time there and then deciding where you really want to live. Christchurch doesn't get the best weather but being a pom you'll think it's lovely!
If money is not too much of an issue then don't forget Queenstown. It's by far the most beautiful place in NZ, great flying but the property is a little pricey for the average person.

[reynoldsno1]

Whatever you do, get some instruction in mountain flying - it is a horrible trap for the unwary ...

[sleemanj]

Canterbury (Christchurch, or if you can live outside Christchurch then Rangiora and surrounds), for all the reasons above, fairly good weather, centrally located, active clubs.

Both the Canterbury Aero Club for GA (Flying Lessons & Your Private Pilot License from Canterbury AeroClub Christchurch New Zealand | Learn to Fly (http://www.cac.co.nz/)) and the Canterbury Recreational Aircraft Club (Learn to Fly Microlight and Light Sport Aircraft in Rangiora, near Christchurch New Zealand with the Canterbury Recreational Aircraft Club (http://www.recwings.com/)) for light weight.

[latewings]

Nelson, lovely place, but isolated and really a "retirement" location. Great weather and has a lot of places you could explore and never get bored with. Long term however it's a seasonal location.

Christchurch would be the better option in terms of work, lifestyle and club scene, but is so flat it’s almost ironed onto the landscape. Having said that, the southern alps breaks the skyline quite nicely, as do the port hills.

Mountain flying, from next year (2011) will be part of the PPL syllabus (5 hours min) as 60% of NZ terrain is considered "mountainous" and is now part of the BFR process here too, so that's not likely to be too hard to brush up on.

[On Track]

And the best place to do mountain flying training is Wakatipu Aero Club in Queenstown.

[dudduddud]

If you want to fly around the beautiful Southern Alps, a mountain flying course is a very good idea. Lots of peope have gone out into the mountains without doing a course and got messed up bad.