New Zealand Historic Flight - DC-3 Route - Hokitika to Wellington
The Golden Age of Flight, the period of aviation history that spanned from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s, witnessed great strides in aircraft technology and countless record-setting feats of speed, altitude, and distance. It was also a time of extensive development of airline routes throughout the world, including in New Zealand.
Air Travel (NZ) Ltd, New Zealand’s first airline, took to the southern skies for the first time in 1934. The operation pioneered air routes on the west coast of the South Island to serve isolated communities with mail, cargo, and passenger service. The first of these routes connected locations on the northern west coast of the South Island and the Cook Strait, which separates the country’s North Island from its South Island.
This route included New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington, located on the southern extremity of the North Island.
In 1947, the route was taken over by New Zealand’s National Airways Corporation (NAC). NAC flew the line using a number of different aircraft for the first few years it operated the route. In the Spring of 1952, NAC began flying the route with the Douglas DC-3, and it kept the airplane on the line for nearly two decades, finally phasing it out in 1970. The iconic DC-3 became a welcome daily sight to people of the communities it served through the years. Today, while the locations along the route have grown, the scenes from the air remain much the same as they did decades past when the DC-3 roared between destinations along the line.
Total Legs: 3 Total Distance: 229 Total Time(125kts): 1 hours 49 minutes
Leg 1
Hokitika to Westport
Leg Distance: 65.81 Approximate time at 125kts: 32 minutes.
Hokitika(NZHK) to Taramakau River(POI1)
Distance: 11.07NM Bearing: 12° 5 minutes
After lifting off from Hokitika Airport, the base of operations of Air Travel (NZ) Ltd and for National Airways Corporation for this route, track the coastline to the northeast, flying just inland of the breaking waves of the Tasman Sea. Continue to the Taramakau River where it meets the sea.
Taramakau River(POI1) to Greymouth(POI2)
Distance: 6.68NM Bearing: 4° 3 minutes
Continue flying in a northeast heading just inland of the shoreline to reach Greymouth, a regular stop during the early years of the route’s operation. Greymouth is the largest city in the West Coast region of New Zealand’s South Island with a population of just over 8,000 inhabitants.
Greymouth(POI2) to Runanga(POI3)
Distance: 4.49NM Bearing: 8° 2 minutes
Continue to the northeast, passing over the Grey River and then parallel a rail line, staying just to the rail line’s west. Continue to Runanga, a small town that grew due to the local coal mining industry.
Runanga(POI3) to Barrytown(POI4)
Distance: 9.96NM Bearing: 356° 5 minutes
From Runanga, continue following the coastline to reach Barrytown, a town that traces its lineage to a regional gold rush in the 1860s.
Barrytown(POI4) to Pakiroa Beach(POI5)
Distance: 3.87NM Bearing: 330° 2 minutes
The next point along the coastline journey is Pakiroa Beach.
Pakiroa Beach(POI5) to Punakaiki(POI6)
Distance: 4.39NM Bearing: 348° 2 minutes
Parallel the coast, flying over the Punakaiki River and then pass just inland of Dolomite Point. Just past Dolomite Point lies Punakaiki, a town surrounded by a number of natural sights popular with tourists, including forests and sea cliffs.
Punakaiki(POI6) to Fox River(POI7)
Distance: 5.05NM Bearing: 2° 2 minutes
Pass over the Pororari River and skirt the Pororari Lagoon, which lies just inland of the Tasman Sea. Continue northeast, passing just inland of dramatic coastal forms, including Perpendicular Point, named due to its vertical cliffs that are perpendicular to the sea. Pass over the small Meybille and Hatters Bays and then fly just inland of Kaipakati Point. Just past Kaipakati Point lies the Fox River where it meets the Tasman Sea.
Fox River(POI7) to Charleston(POI8)
Distance: 7.86NM Bearing: 355° 4 minutes
Enjoy sights of forest, sea cliffs, and long stretches of beach on the journey up the coastline. Gain a visual on a trio of small, narrow bays: Doctor Bay, Constant Bay, and Joyce Bay. Just inland of these bays lies Charleston, a town that traces its roots to the gold rush in the area in the 1860s and today serves as a tourist hub.
Charleston(POI8) to Virgin Flat(POI9)
Distance: 6.8NM Bearing: 355° 3 minutes
On the journey up the coastline, fly out over a gentle bay, then pass back over land and fly over the Totara River where it meets the Tasman Sea. Skirt the eastern side of the Okari Lagoon and then reach Virgin Flat.
Virgin Flat(POI9) to Westport(NZWS)
Distance: 5.64NM Bearing: 26° 3 minutes
Pass inland of Cape Foulwind and sight the Buller River in the Distance. Westport Airport lies on Carters Beach, just to the west of the juncture of the Buller River and the Tasman Sea. The airport was an integral part of the route flown by the DC-3 throughout its tenure on the line.