Omarama
How the Average Kiwi Glider Pilot Lives
While I was in Omarama, Nigel and Sheena Davy invited me to stop for the night on my way through Queenstown. They are such lovely people, so I was thrilled to accept their kind offer. I also knew that I would have an opportunity to see how the typical Kiwi lives. Based on my visit I would conclude that they live very well.
Their home is on a hillside overlooking the lake and Queenstown. In their front yard in a glider trailer, provided immediate evidence that I had found the right home. From inside the home, the view of the mountains, lake and city are spectacular. We took the dog for a walk and then relaxed with a glass of wine, In the course of our conversation, I learned that Nigel has a Duo Discus at Omarama that he lets Gavin lease out during the week. Both Nigel and Sheena fly it on the weekend. The other glider they own is a LS 8. He just sold his third glider, an LS 3 that he hates to part with. They did mention their boats too, but really in a very off-handed way. They also love to travel- Antarctica for their honeymoon and recently a trip to China
While Nigel prepared the venison dinner, Sheena practiced a piece on the violin for a wedding that weekend. Her talent was immediately apparent. Dinner was excellent I had not sampled this very popular meat while in NZ. I now regret choosing chicken over the venison. After dinner, we drank Bailey’s and Nigel talked about flying at Minden. He gave me more information about other tricks in mountain flying. Yes, it was just your typical evening with a couple of gider pilots
The South Island and Omarama
February 23: In Picton awaiting the ferry.
My good fortune on the South Island continues. On a sunny morning I left Omarama and headed south to Milford Sound. It was another long drive, but the last portion convinced me that it was worth it. The road to Milford Sound curved up into the sky. Huge drop-offs and a long muddy, downhill tunnel enhanced the intensity of the experience. It is impossible to describe the immensity of the towering peaks. I’ve seen the drama of the European Alps, but being surrounded by huge, almost sheer-faced mountains was something new for me.
I managed to make the drive from Omarama, book passage on the ferry that goes out into the sound and drive back to Te Ana to spend the night. The trip from Omarama to the sound took three days. Oddly enough, the calendar indicated that only one day had passed.
The Te Ana Backpackers inn was right on the lake and was, for a Backpackers place, quiet. I have stayed at a number of these hostels on this trip. Some were primitive, but not terribly expensive, therefore bearable. This was one of the best. The next night I stayed with the glider pilots and then drove over to the West Coast.
This turned out to be a peak travel week, so I was lucky to secure a room at a Backpackers hostel in Fran Joseph Glacier village. This one was sort of dingy. Birds fly in the slightly cracked windows to feast off the crumbs on the floor. That may be the entire cleaning crew. As is true of most of the hostels, the people there were cheerful. I stayed up late sharing pictures and stories with a very young hiker from Australia and a couple on their “Trip of a Lifetime”.
(I don’t like that concept. Imagine planning and waiting and waiting some more. It permits life’s set-backs to have control. Given enough time one may never make that trip of a lifetime. It’s better to start early and finish strong. I have never much money, but I’ve taken great trips. They were especially great because they were never burdened with the title “Trip of a lifetime.” What trip could live up to that expectation?)
I wish I had skipped Fox Glacier – just a dirty chunk of ice. Franz Joseph, on the other hand, is worth a visit. Having seen glaciers before, I found this one most memorable for the tropical vegetation. The climb up through a dense forest provides an important reason for going to the glacier.
I made the drive the rest of the way to the top of the island using an inland route. The sky became overcast and the water, a dull gray, so I took the direct route back to Picton. The West Coast is know for its rain; I was unbelievable lucky to have so many days of perfect weather. I hate to leave the South Island, but on the up side, going back brings me closer to home and Glenn.
February 16: I’ve flown on the ridges, along and through a strong convergence, and now I have worked into an invisible wave. This was a mainly blue day with only hints of wave action in the stationary scruffy clouds that occasionally materialized. Trevor Florence and I struggled to get up on some broken cumulous lift. Finally we were high enough. Trevor then gave me a superb demonstration of the techniques needed to break up into the wave. He plunged into the sink in front of the rotor cloud and then pushed up almost into a stall waiting to see if the wave had been pierced. The first couple of times, nothing happened, no sense of laminar flow. Then like magic, he forced the glider through the rotor and suddenly, quietly, we were in lift. At first the glider ascended slowing, but as we rose, the lift intensified. I could not feel the increase, but the audio-vario started screaming and the nettle pegged out as our rate of assent increased. At 70 knots, we were stationary over the ridge. As we moved forward, Trevor advised me how to line up with the next ridge and stay in the lift.
What a wonder it is. At first we were going up 4 kits in smooth stuff. Then as we moved forward, we finally got into the core of the lift and went up at about 17 up, moving quickly to the altitude restricted area at 14,000’. With a field elevation of 1,400’ that is a climb of 12,600’. What fun. And how informative. When I am flying out west, I must be missing some wave lift. I will experiment with this entry technique when the wind is strong enough. I will also remember that one of the other gliders in the wave went from 17 up down to just 4 up and within a second, into 17 down. That means that the glider is dropping at the rate of 1,700 feet a minute. ( I’ll insert the exact figure later, but that is the rounded number.) The earth is getting larger rather quickly at that rate of descent. Fortunately, they got out of the sink, and had plenty of altitude for the trip home.
I continue to be amazed how friendly people are. I talk with at least a dozen different people each day. Tonight I was drinking a few beers with Jeff Campbell, a tow pilot from Colorado, and a nice young couple from Queenstown. Dagmar, the creative chef and free-spirit, took the night off. That meant that the rest of us would get out the beers, pay for them and close up the place when we finished. Nothing is actually locked up at night. All the buildings are home to all of us at any hour of the day or night. I love the strange aircraft stories that are told on the café patio. It’s amazing the variety of weird things that can happen that are in no way like anything I have ever heard. John and I enjoyed talking about the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, who he often tows for. That is the group of 126ers that I flew with in Parowan. The Gang goes to all the challenging West Coast locations. The fly only down wind and land out every day. In the morning some repair their ships using duct tape.
At the end of the evening the young couple invited me to spend the night at their home on my way north from Milford Sound. I didn’t see hospitality on the NorthIsland, but the South Island is a friendly as the American South. It must be a Southern thing.
Tomorrow I leave Omarama and head off for the high priority tourist destination, Milford Sound. The West Coast is usually rather damp, but it looks like I may be fortunate enough to have some sunlight while I’m there.
Feb. 14th- Along with Trevor, my trusty Canadian instructor, I went up to test-drive the Duo Discus over some of the most impressive landscape I’ve seen. (Check out his web site: www.soartherockies.com)
We used CU lift and a rising cloud base to work back through the ridges south of Mt Cook. Almost the entire horizon was jagged snow capped peaks. Mt Cook glistened as the large jewel in the crown of mountains. Especially notable in the terrain beneath us was the steep inclines topped with gray, steel-like teeth. The odd angles of the ridges along with the many bright blue lakes taught me many lessons in ridge lift, and sun-generated lift.
Trevor tried to get into the weak wave. He used the energy gathered under the highest CUs to propel us toward the wisps that indicated wave activity. We found little minimal lift spots, but the wind was too weak to generate significant waves. The waves we encountered did not have enough speed to bounce up and then down far enough for us to capture. I heave been in wave a coupe of times, so using ridge lift, spotting where it would most likely occur were of primary importance to me. In that respect, the flight was all I could ask for.
On the way back to Omarama, we passed an enormous convergence line, a cold front moving up from the Southeast. The whole horizon turned black as we approached the low line of clouds making the convergence of two distinctly different air masses. Trevor advised me that we should pull spoilers and plunge straight into the frontal line that stood between us and the gliderport. A wise decision. The strength of this front was put into perspective by Gavin Wills at the morning de-briefing. He said that the wind came in toward Omarma from the East, the South and the Southwest combining to become one of the strongest convergence lines he has seen.
By the time we landed, the light northwesterly wind turned into a fierce southerly wind that felt as if it is coming straight off Antarctica. We pulled spoilers and descended to skim under the lower cloud mass and landed into a very brisk wind.
The front continued to grab our attention during the evening. The entire week-long group, and all the GlideOmarama people plus others gathered for a final end of camp meal at the wonderful Café. Since it was also Valentines Day, the mood was especially festive. During dinner, rain poured down. Then, just as we started desert, what was for New Zealand a freak occurred; lightening and thunder broke into the electric piano music being provided by Gee, an instructor. Everyone rushed to the patio to watch. In the morning we saw the final effect of the front, snow on all the mountains, icing on the cake of a terrific day of flying.
Feb. 13- Today I took a short flight in weak conditions. I am still hoping for a strong wind out of the west. The morning lectures are full of useful information for soaring and rugged terrain.
Feb. 12 – Todaythe sun is coming out and the rest of the week looks good for soaring. Gavin Wills invited me to join the morning briefings and suggested I fly when the conditions are strong. Rather than making me feel like I was an outsider, he has made a point of talking with me and involving me in the activities.
A real high point for my trip thus far was having a chance to discuss some lift theories with the real master of mountain flying. Gavin asked if he could join me at the marvelous little café where I was having lunch. We discussed soaring the lea ridges near Parowan. It was so up-lifting (excuse the pun) to find out that he also experienced similar conditions and used then when he did long cross-country flights there. He is quite encouraging of my plan to go back to Parowan to try some long flights.
February 11 Traveling to the South island was an abrupt transition from darkness to light. At last, I saw a country as beautiful as I had imagined. My first stop was on the top of the South Island in Nelson, an upscale city with a large number of art galleries and clothes boutiques. I stayed in a Bed and Breakfast there for two nights. Having a bed was a welcome change from the hard, plastic monstrosity that substituted for a bed in the caravan. Meeting other travelers was also pleasant.
First impressions of the South Island :From Nelson, I drove along the West coast, a place of such great beauty that I placed it near the top of my list of Great Coastline Drives. (Positano on the AlmaffieCoast still has the number one position. However, the PacificCoast north of San Francisco had better start coloring the ocean a brighter shade if it wants to stay at #2.) From there, I crossed the mountains via Arthur’s Pass and headed to Omarama.
Coming to Omarama from the northeast, it is not that impressive a place. The land is much like Nevada, and Mt Cooke is quite far away. However, when I drove south of Omarama, over the pass to Wanaka, I became increasingly delighted. The area continues to look like the drive from Las Vegas to Cedar City, Utah, but the lakes and still snow dusted Alps create a wonderful picture. The Alpine-ish village of Wanaka is situated on the lake with a the view of the Alps. Although the surfaces of the mountains are barren, they possess a rugged charm. The drive near Wanaka has deep green forest of pines along the river, bright yellow fields and a few blossoms on the wildflowers that must have been in full boom last month. On the trip back to Omarama, I felt much better about my plan to spend a week here.
And now to the soaring center: When I arrived, the person in charge of the caravans wasn’t there so I waited at the hippie-casual café on the property. I read while the café owner went to town to collect materials for dinner. Slowly people joined me and soon I was involved in the usual glider hang-out discussions. Gavin Wills, who runs Glide Omarama, joined us. Mandy, the office manager, made sure that I had a caravan to sleep in. Then we ordered dinner. The choice was venison or chicken. I picked chicken, and was treated to a fantastic dinner with bits of every type of seasoning one could imagine combined into an impossible to reproduce dinner. The desert I picked was apricot flan. All the selections looked equally wonderful.
I have been delighted by the warm reception I have received here. Since I am not one of the people paying $4,000 + for a week, I was worried that my presence would not be welcomed. That is not the case. It is a relaxed place, one where I feel right at home. They will work me into the schedule to fly as they can. I would like to go up when there is some wave; that would be worth the high cost to learn more about soaring in strong winds or wave conditions.
I am meeting many very interesting people. It was a real thrill to get a change to talk with Dick Georgeson, the legendary New Zealand record setter. We talked several times, and I bought his book LEADING EDGE and had him sign it. Others may discount the PW 5, but Dick appreciated the fun and challenge of flying such a glider.
If you’re interested in soaring, I highly recommend Omarama as a stopping place in a journey to the southern part of the South Island. Since I am trying to make this trip without a huge expenditure of money, the caravans that are available here are perfect. I have a nice one with lights (gasp!) and a relatively comfortable bed. There is a spacious kitchen with all sorts of utensils, two stoves, lots of microwaves, refrigerators, freezer, etc. It’s set up for many people to cook at once. Additionally, there are well-designed showers, I am sorry that I missed the great fun that everyone had at Christmas time here. When there are large events, at night people gather around the outside fireplace and barbecue and talk till late in the evening. There are not a large number of people here right now, but those who are here are fun to talk to.
I hope to add a soaring report soon. My plan is to attend the morning briefing every day. This weekend has been damp with low clouds. Gavin says that some of the members of the camp don’t like to fly more than two hours. The days are rather long here, so if it is a good day, I will check in the afternoon. I might get to go up during the week. Otherwise, I will fly next week-end. I have a number of places in the area I plan to visit, so I won’t have to just sit and wait.
Political Thoughts- Being an American, especially one from Texas puts one in a somewhat awkward position. When someone asks where I am from, I find myself saying, “I’m from Texas, but I did not help elect the so-and-so.” Here on the South Island, I no longer have to stay defensive. At the Bed and Breakfast, the gliderport and even a café in Wanaka, people want to discuss politics with me. Everything has a different tone. For example, in one discussion, I explained my frustrations in light of the fact that we are a nation who has always tried to make the world a better place. Like so many, I thought we had learned in the 60s how not to battle tyranny. At the end of the discussion, a woman thanked me for saying what I did.
People are worried. They know we have taken a terrible course of action, one which affects the entire planet. It is fear and frustration that makes it impossible for them not to ask me about Bush’s policies. The news of our primaries is covered as if it were happening here. They want to hear that it will be better, that the people running for US President will change the nation’s direction. They want assurances. They are not angry at me. Today, in all sincerity, I can say that the next President will be someone capable of correcting the course and re-focusing the amazing power for positive action that the American people posses. It’s the message they want to hear. They are not against us. They want us to succeed.
A Swiss woman asked to join me at my table in a café in Wanaka. Later her husband and young son joined us. The discussion turned to politics, and at first it was a discussion of American politics. Then they began discussing Europe and the problems that Switzerland faces. The people are divided into 26 tiny districts which create legal difficulties and frictions that divided their society. The man said that he worries about the future of Europe. He said that pessimism pervades the society, unlike the very optimistic American attitude. Americans are still admired in spite of the tragically ill-conceived foreign policy. I look forward to further discussions during this trip.
