Airstrip on Mt Tarawera?

[corsair67]

Is there an airstrip at the above location?

Have just been looking at some photos of Mt Tarawera, and it looks like there is an airstrip very close to the crater.

By the way: has anyone from the forum been for a wander up to the crater at all?

[Bruce]

About 15 years ago I went on a 4WD tour up to the crater - it is definitely a specatacular trip. There is indeed an airstrip on the summit, however it hasnt been used for some time and would be getting a bit overgrown by now. It was built back in the 1970s and was used up until the late 1980s, and was used by a local scenic operator (Vocanic Wonderflites rings a bell). There are two vectors of graded scoria which were quite channelled and washed out when I saw them. from memory the 4WD tour operator said that the airstrip was closed after a big storm, and due to varius DOC and Iwi policies, they were not given permission to carry out the extensive repairs required.

I would recommend one of the surface travel trips up to the craters - scenic flights are great but dont give the scale -which is huge!

[Bruce]

Found this image on Wikipedia - I have marked the remains of the airstrip with an arrow::

[Dave Homewood]

The incomparable Fred Ladd used to fly his Cessna floatplane down into the crater on clear days with tourists aboard. He took my Dad and sister on a flight back in the 1970's, and Dad especially was utterly thrilled by the adventure of it.

[corsair67]

Thanks Bruce and Dave. I thought it was an odd location to build an airstrip: wouldn't the winds up their be a bit unpredictable?

I've been having a look on the internet, and I see there are daytrips from Rotorua up to Mt Tarawera ($133!), but it certainly does look like a worthwhile trip.

I've booked a flight across to Tauranga from Auckland to have a look at Classic Flyers - upon the recommendations of several people on this very forum.

[Bruce]

The Rotorua Floatplane flight over the mountain is great value too - a similar price to the 4WD trips, but its one of those places that you cant really appreciate unles you are on the ground.
When are you going to be in this neck O the woods?

[stu]

Apr 16, 2008 18:55:57 GMT 12 corsair67 said:

By the way: has anyone from the forum been for a wander up to the crater at all?

I've climbed it twice and choppered over - and into it - a few times as well.

The first climb was a day trip during an Intermediate school camp in 1977. The second time was in 1983 when a friend and I climbed the mountain, crossed the crater and walked halfway down its length one day, camped overnight at the top and then made our way back the next day.

Remembering of course the following perspective of my second trip is from my younger and fitter days when I used to do a lot of hunting and tramping so the climb was something I'd consider only slightly more taxing than going to the dairy.

The walk up the mountain wasn't too strenuous (another matter today probably, it's all downhill - no pun intended - after 40 ;D) and involved a pleasant stroll through the bush following a reasonably well formed 4wd track until the plateau at the top was reached.

At that point, one was tempted to go "goodie, almost there" but it was a seemingly endless walk over a flat(ish) desert like landscape - passing said airstrip - until the craters were reached.

It's hard to do justice to the awe inspiring nature of the craters with mere words, it's really something that has to be experienced to be appreciated. When you first get to the edge and peer over, the sight is amazing - not to mention vertigo inducing at times - and goes some way to giving a very graphic example of what a volcanic burp can do.

Anyhow, back to the tramp ... if you trace a line along the runway in Bruce's photo to where the edge of the crater slopes up at around 45 deg, that's roughly where we crossed the crater.

The return crossing the next day was done around where the crater exits the bottom left of the photo and involved the use of a scree slope. For those who may find themselves on top of a fairly recent volcano and see a slope of soft volcanic debris leading to the bottom of the crater and are tempted to jump into it - DO IT

In the case of Tarawera, you take a deep breath, leap over the edge of a near vertical 700 ft slope, and promptly sink up to your shins in pumice and gravel. From there you start running and let gravity take over while relying on the depth and softness of the material you're running on stopping the headlong sprint from becoming a headlong plummet. A great buzz albeit hard on the ankles, clothing and any exposed bits of skin when the inevitable tumbles occur. The downside is trudging along the bottom of the crater finding a way out.

The chopper flights were between 1986 and 1989 when I was with TVNZ News and based in Rotorua. In those days TVNZ seemed to have an endless budget for helicopter travel and we were only too happy to help spend it. We became regular fixtures at the Helicopter Line's heliport as we were ferried from a to b, quite often via c, d, s and w.

Some of these flights would involve Tarawera and, when possible, we'd do the "Star Wars Trench" approach - across Lake Tarawera and then up the side of the mountain at treetop height and then over the side of the crater. The first thing that happened was that your stomach would fall through your shoes as the ground fell away below you, moments later the chopper would follow your stomach and we'd drop into the crater, hard right turn and blast along near the crater floor and then pull up at the end and rocket through a "notch" in the cliff face (not actually a notch persay when viewed from afar but seemingly very narrow from the back seat of a speeding Jetranger). All we needed was the Millennium Falcon clearing Tie Fighters off our tail to make the illusion complete


Sigh ... happy memories

Well worth a look if you get the chance, and preferably from the ground (unless you know any obliging chopper pilots)

Cheers,
Stu.

[FlyNavy]

Stu, thanks for a great ride there.

[corsair67]

I think I will have to take the trip up to the mountain after your advice Bruce and Stu. I checked online and the half day trip is $133 - but it sounds like it'll be well worth it.

Be good to burn some lard off on a bit of a hike! ;D

[flyinkiwi]

Here's a photo I took in May 07 from the back seat of an Arrow as we flew from NZRO to NZWK via Mt Tarawera which shows the airstrip slightly clearer to the left of frame. To view a full size photo click here.

[piperguy]

That's funny Euan, looks just like the photo I took :-)

[timmo]

Ive flown over it a few times- In fact I did my first solo XC flight across the mountain (although I cant say I had much time to gaze)

Growing up in Rotorua and Whakatane its a pretty dominant part of the landscape.

For the flight simmmers, Ive created and released a free scenery addon of the area- the airstrips are visible but I didnt make them into proper runways....Some pics below:




Strip is just top right of center in this screen shot

[Dave Homewood]

Welcome Timmo, your flight sim shots above had me really fooled, they look more real than the photos on this thread. Amazing!

[flyjoe180]

Thyat first one had me fooled until I read the thread text.

[fletcherfu24]

The history of the airstrip is well documented in Don Staffords book on Rotorua aviation history "Flying The Thermal Skies".