Touch and go

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One of my favourite sites is metservice.com, a one stop shop about NZ weather information. They have a "VideoRoom section for videos of interesting and/or unusual weather conditions. Not surprisingly a lot of them are about Wellington.

This one is my absolute favourite! 😉 …

Pretty awesome, eh? Luckily only the best pilots fly plane to Wellington 😎

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  1. That is the way of it… Small flights are convenient but very expensive..

  2. I like train trips, too, and enjoyed them when I lived in Japan. Unfortunately NZ's train network is very limited and only offers travel between major cities once or twice a day. Bus coach service is available for less major destinations and more frequently but I get motion sickness on bus and prefer to drive myself.

  3. I prefer train, but because they focus on high speed trains, the common trains tend to be more difficult to use ( they don't manage anymore the lines that lose money 😡 )

  4. Originally posted by arduinna:

    Plane must be a common mean of transportation for you ?

    I take flight to Japan to visit my family. Also a few times in the past I took domestic flights to the South Island cities for tramping. But my usual mode of long distance transport is the car.

  6. It is very expensive, probably just as cheap to go to Oz in the long run

  7. They are offering one way to Gisborne for $39 in mid December and Chirstchurch for $49 in late February. The catch is then I'll have to pay almost as twice for the return flight, let alone accomodation. Hmmm. I've got to think. :confused:

  9. Originally posted by darkesthour:

    probably just as cheap to go to Oz

    :no: OZ is even hotter than Japan :yuck:

  12. Hmmm. Given the exchange rate, accommodation and other spending will be more expensive, won't they?Maybe I should consider Gisborne. 7Wellis seemed to like it.

  16. Airfares are a totally nonsense, some are less expensive than train …. Concerning train, before Internet, it was always the same price, the whole years, whatever your age or the color of your hair : no headache ! Now when I buy a ticket, it seems that they steal my money :faint: !Japan and new Zealand have the same shape, trains are only along the coasts probably ?

  17. Internet did seem to complicate things unnecessarily, except for buying of air tickets. Japan's population means train networks covers entire country, coast or inland. The South Island of NZ has only two train routes, one along the eastern coast line, the other go overland across the middle, connecting the West Coast to the East. In the North, the train routes mostly go overland connecting main centres and regions.

  18. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    NZ has only two train routes

    French railways are centered on Paris and it makes west-east connection sometimes complex.

  19. To be preciseOriginally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    The South Island of NZ has only two train routes

    Originally posted by arduinna:

    French railways are centered on Paris and it makes west-east connection sometimes complex.

    Japan's a bit more complex because of geography. Four large islands, two biggest cities with population bigger than the majority of nations, and many provincial centres with population size still bigger than NZ. (Actually the biggest ward in Tokyo Metropolitan province has a log bigger population than NZ. ) If you take a look at these wikipedia articles on Japanese rail network, you'll understand the magnitude of complexities of it.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Railwayshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_railway_companies_in_Japan

  20. Originally posted by GaryGJBell:

    Now that looks like fun

    Exciting is the better word for it. :p At least you'd be wide awake even afer a long haul overnight flight, if you experience:Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    In a northerly condition, about 5 minutes to the airport, normally the landing plane goes off Wellington south coast and makes a sharp left turn quite low above the sea to head north against the strong nor'wester. Yesterday, when the plane almost completed the turn, it suddenly shook and lost some altitude, then swayed rather uncomfortably to right and left, before gaining back some altitude and resumed decent. I'd landed at Wellington Airport perhaps 25 times before and that was the first time I heard gasps and small screams all around in the cabin. In the end the actual landing was an ordinary non-event. But for one tenth of a second, I thought, maybe this is it!

  22. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    if you experience:

    Used to fly into New York, New York and that was usually a wild ride. On one occasion I could see the tarmac out the window and then at the absolute last minute the plane took off again. After circling for 45 minutes we landed and upon coming to a full stop the Captain informed us that a plane was taking off on the same runway, later that night I heard about it on the TV news as well. :yikes: Vancouver and any flights up to rural areas are the same. I always approached in a fatalistic manner as I had no control over the outcome and knew that the crew was just as determined to get where we were going as I. :worried: 😀

  23. Originally posted by GaryGJBell:

    On one occasion … upon coming to a full stop the Captain informed us that a plane was taking off on the same runway,

    :yikes: Oh, bloody hell, that's scary. And of course he wouldn't have let you know until after safe landing, would he? :DOriginally posted by GaryGJBell:

    I had no control over the outcome and knew that the crew was just as determined to get where we were going as I.

    One thing we've come to appreciate is how cool plane pilots are even at emergency. We've all heard how calm the Captain "Sully" was when he told the air-traffic control he'd ditch his plane into the Hudson. And then there's the captain of the British Airways Fligh 9 just flown through volcanic ash and, according to this Wikipedia article he said what:

    has been described as "a masterpiece of understatement":[3][4]“ Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them under control. I trust you are not in too much distress.”

  24. A friend of mine is an Executive Pilot (for the Canadian Imperial Bank Senior execs) and in all my years I have never seen him get rattled. He was the one that pointed out to that there is someone at the front of the plane who wants to get home just as much as you. I love the quote from the BA pilot :yes:

  25. Yes, the pilot needs a cool head. And without a doubt they have been chosen for the very quality. Originally posted by GaryGJBell:

    He was the one that pointed out to that there is someone at the front of the plane who wants to get home just as much as you.

    I'll remember this next time my flight hits an air pocket. 😀

  26. My worst landing was in Hamilton, of all places, although I've had a few "interesting" ones at Welly.Coming back to Christchurch from Singapore once in a big jet, we had to use the long runway (Northeast) despite there being a howling norwster. We were flying on such an angle that I was watching the approaching runway out my window, and we only straightened up un the last few seconds.

  27. Originally posted by dramatic:

    Hamilton, of all places,

    😆 It's all flat and calm there, isn't it?Originally posted by dramatic:

    we had to use the long runway (Northeast) despite there being a howling norwster. We were flying on such an angle that I was watching the approaching runway out my window

    :eyes: Strange why they didn't build NW-SE runway considering how often they get the Nor'wester down there.

  30. An impressive very short landing for a plane of that size, but did you read that "It only had the pilots and essential crew on board to keep its weight down and allow it to safely land and take off from a runway used for aircraft less than half its size" … for crews only 😉 !

  31. Yes. It was a demonstration only sort of flight. And lucky for all of us, the weather was very kind to the big plane. :DThere are some interesting comments added to the second article that gave me a new insight. According to the comments #8, 10 & 17, large aircrafts such as Boeing 787 and Airbus 350 could land at or take off from Wellington Airport, but the limited length of the runway means the plane would have to be light therefore less fuel could be loaded. So it would be either reduction of the payload or reduction of distance. But of course then there'd be the Wellington winds they'd have to contend with … :left:

  32. Maybe they will come to and fro from Auckland, with just the necessary fuel ?

  33. Possibly. But that would reduce the number of flights, and would be less convenient for the passengers. Two small planes leaving at 1400 & 1600 vs one big plane leaving at 1500: I'm sure the former would be considered more convenient flight schedule. Still if there is a larger number of passengers than usual, say for a special occasion such as the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, a special flight in one big plane probably makes a good sense 🙂

  34. I hope they think over all that before buying the plane :rolleyes: !

  35. I think Air NZ is going to use those for international flights coming to Auckland and Christchurch. 😉

  36. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Hamilton, of all places,

    It's all flat and calm there, isn't it?

    Yes, but we bounced hard – several metres in the air again.

    Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Strange why they didn't build NW-SE runway considering how often they get the Nor'wester down there.

    There is a NW-SE runway, but if they made it long enough for big jets I think it would end up in the Waimakariri River!

  37. A few years ago a 747 made an emergency landing at Wellington. To get it airborne again they removed the entire interior, put in just enough fuel to get to Ohakea, imported Boeing's top test pilots and waited for a gale. Starting off the runway at one end, they just cleared the fence at the other end!

  38. Originally posted by dramatic:

    if they made it long enough for big jets I think it would end up in the Waimakariri River!

    😆 Maybe they could've put a big bridge over it. :p Originally posted by dramatic:

    waited for a gale. Starting off the runway at one end, they just cleared the fence at the other end!

    I wonder if there's a video footage of it on the net somewhere.

  39. :doh: You are just lucky to have the sea to visit you, the air isn't as safe as it may appear !!

  42. :lol:Apparently some cargo ships had to move off and to give the big cruisers their berth space.

  43. Didn't know but The Queen Elizabeth is arriving at the Port of Wellington tomorrow morning. I wonder if it's worth getting out for a longish morning walk over the hill down town & waterfront with my camera.Originally posted by arduinna:

    the sea to visit you,

    Still not safe enough for some. Another new today: Tourist hit by bus on Lambton Quay:

    An elderly man was thrown five metres after hit by a bus on Lambton Quay this afternoon, the latest in a series of accidents involving buses and pedestrians. Emergency services were called about 4.30pm after the man, who is a passenger on a cruise ship visiting Wellington, was hit by a south-bound bus. A witnesses said the German tourist stepped in front of the bus as he was crossing the road. The witness said he was bleeding badly from the head after the accident, but he refused treatment. Fellow passengers took him on to a charter bus belonging to the cruise ship MS Deutschland.

  46. Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    Check out

    ok, ok, you are a good defender of your land :zip: … 😉 !the cruise ships schedule is really impressive.Originally posted by mimi_s_mum:

    I've created a page with embedded map

    It's very quiet at night :p , I should come back tonight ..

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