Mini Coral Route Trip

[pjw4118]

During July we went on a business holiday AKL-Samoa-Nadi-Akl and took a few pictures along the way. I have included a few historical photos for comparison.

Leaving from Aucklands hellgate 18 (just 2km from the terminal drop off) a great example of ignoring good airport design and copying Sydneys cheapest is best syndrome.
The 7.30am flight on 777-200 ZK-OKD now in its 13th year of service.



Into Falelolos new Chinese funded terminal



Rather different in September 1945



The old flying boat area at Satupuala is adjacent to the airport but locals didn't seem to know of any remains. The village is hard up against the runway and they are still aparantly waiting for compensation. Has any other forum dweller found remains of the old Teal jetty.



Downtown Apia has its own Fagalii Airport, a single sealed strip home to Polynesians Twin Otters and Talefas Rockwell Commanders. They run a virtual shuttle service on a 20 minute flight to Pago in American Samoa








Talofa also runs to Tonga, 890km away with only MataAho Is an an emergency. I wouldn't be too keen about that flight.
Sadly there's no Apia-Tahiti connection to continue the Coral route most people heading north go via Nadi or out of Pago on US airlines.

So back to Faeolo for a Fiji Airways thrice a week flight to Nadi.





There are three airbridges on order so that nice walk across the atrmac will disappear.

[Dave Homewood]

Great photos Peter!

[pjw4118]

A quick hours hop in Nadis New Terminal. The tarmac was busy with corporate jets, the USAF and Fijji Airways

[pjw4118]

The airfield has been upgraded several times but surprisingly still has no radar coverage.
Photos from the NZ Public Works show some interesting visitors in 1942

[pjw4118]

Looking at this view of the Narewa airstrip and matched to a Google Earth view today, I have been unable to find any remains and none of the locals can recall it. The camp but not the strip. Strange. Maybe somebody can spot it in the latest view.






So back to Nadi and onto ZK-OKB the second oldest 777 and apparently with 55000 hours clocked.

My wife who has long posted my WONZ pictures is now taking them as well! These of our flight crew back to Auckland, I must see if she can sweet talk her way into the jump seat next time

[pjw4118]

[Dave Homewood]

Wow, getting into the cockpit is a rare thing these days! Especially interesting that it in an Air New Zealand aircraft from Fiji to New Zealand, the only international route that they have even been hijacked on, haha.

[ErrolC]

Not that hard on arrival, I think?
Thanks for the travelogue.

[Bruce]

I can make out the runway outline in the GE image - clues are the wiggles in the road and straight treelines:

[isc]

Does ANZ still keep a bottle of Teachers in the cockpit (anti-terrorist weapon). isc

[tbf25o4]

The September 1945 pic of the C47 needs to be reversed as the doors are on the port side not the starboard side

[davidd]

There was a fourth wartime airfield in the general Nadi area, known as Griffiths field, named in honour of RNZAF officer (and Spanish civil war participant) Eric Neville Griffiths. Griffiths was killed whilst on his second official flight in a P-39D Airacobra on 23 February 1942, whilst making a mock attack against an RNZAF Vincent of all things. He had managed to get himself appointed as the RNZAF's liaison officer to the 70th Pursuit Squadron, operator of the aircraft he was flying that fateful day. Griffiths field was located just east of Narewa field, but seems to have been closed down after perhaps a year or two of being completed, almost certainly because it had the shortest runways (by far) of all these fields, and also perhaps because it was separated from rest by a river, which can be seen squirming its way through the area. I think the western end of the E/W runway of Griffith field can just be seen in the wartime photograph, on a direct line with the major E/W runway of Narewa field in foreground. Narewa also had a third runway (NNW/SSE) added later. The fourth field (with just a single runway, also NNW/SSE) and located on taxiway connecting the two main fields in middle of the photograph was known as Martins field, with runway length comparable to both Nadi and Narewa.
David D

[pjw4118]

Thanks Bruce and David , I will have a closer look around next time.
Errol , my wife was invited into the cockpit prior to departure and given an idea of pre flight checks. It was this crew who commented that there are some drawbacks with Fiji still using a manual reporting system as flights can go awol if their reporting isnt up to scratch.