New Zealand in a Small Airplane

Notes on Flying in New Zealand for US Pilots

Flight Planning

It used to be the case that ForeFlight didn't have the New Zealand VNCs (equivalent of US sectionals). If that's still the case, you can buy AvPlan for not much money and use it for your VFR flying.
You can file New Zealand IFR plans from ForeFlight. You'll want to buy the New Zealand IFR charts and plates in ForeFlight. (AvPlan also has IFR support, but if you're used to ForeFlight then it will seem extremely basic.)
Some major airports require you to file a VFR flight plan before arriving or departing. You can do this via IFIS.
A couple of airports like Paraparaumu (NZPP) have flight service, which you can think of as sort of like Unicom.

Airspace

Most of New Zealand is Class G. New Zealand doesn’t have Class E, and so major cities (by New Zealand standards, ha!) like Wellington grab enormous swathes of Class C which works more or less like Class C in the US. If you’re wondering why a city of 300,000 people has an airport that needs more airspace than LAX, this is why.
Of course, you won’t get IFR services in Class G, so you have to plan your flights to stay in Class C or D.

IFR

There are only a handful of ILSes in the whole country, and they’re all at major airports (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and military bases).
As a result, you should always expect an RNAV approach, and expect to be cleared to a T fix. You’ll never get vectors for an RNAV at an uncontrolled airport.
IFR departures will almost always get assigned a SID. Take the minimum altitudes especially seriously - if they're there, they're probably there for terrain.
Hardly any private pilots in New Zealand have an instrument rating. If you use literally any IFR terminology at an uncontrolled airport, they won’t understand it.
It is possible to pick up an IFR clearance in the air, but there is no concept of a pop-up clearance. You will need to land and file (or, if you can get a data connection on your iPad from the air, file from there).

Safety

Terrain in New Zealand is no joke. I never liked flying VFR at night in New Zealand. The cities are small, and it gets real dark. Plus, the scenery is beautiful, so why not fly in the daytime?
You can (and should) get flight following from Christchurch Information (the frequencies are on the VNC). It's not quite like flight following in the US, and you'll probably be non-radar, but there are plenty of parts of NZ that are extremely remote, and if you run into trouble you'll want someone to know where you are.

Other Stuff

New Zealand now uses Maori names for reporting points. These are not phoenetic in English and can be very hard to pronounce for folks who don't speak Maori. Study up on pronunciations of key reporting points in advance!
It is illegal to post recordings of radio communications in New Zealand. There is, as a result, no LiveATC that you can use to study up on local waypoints (or pronouncing the Maori waypoint names!)
Don’t stop at Auckland (NZAA). I got a $1,000 bill there after landing and staying for two or three nights to wait out a storm. I think just the landing fee alone is a few $100.
If flying in the US has got you used to pulling up next to some Gulfstreams and having a rental car waiting for you on the ramp, some line guys to help with your luggage, and an FBO that looks like a Ritz Carlton… that’s not at all what you’ll find in New Zealand. Even at bigger controlled airports like Nelson, it’s likely that you will taxi onto some grass and tie the plane down. Security will be a gate that — at best — keeps livestock out. The restrooms will be behind a tree. There are often no rental car options, or Uber.

Join the Kiwi Pilots Facebook group, and the great community there will be very happy to give you local advice.

Itinerary

I’m going to describe this clockwise, but you could certainly do it counterclockwise. You’ll start at either Wellington (NZWN) or Paraparaumu (NZPP), both of which are at the south end of the North Island.

South Island

Cook Straight

To get from the North Island to the South Island, you’ll need to cross Cook Straight. It’s only 25nm over water, but it’s a notoriously treacherous patch of water with few options to land on either side of the straight. Further complicating this is that Wellington Approach’s airspace starts at 2,500’, so you’ll either need to stay below that or try to get a clearance. Either way, make sure you have life jackets on!

Blenheim

Only a short flight from Wellington or Paraparaumu, the Malborough wine region is a beautiful destination for great pinot noir and sauvignon blanc. You can choose to either land at the chaotic uncontrolled Omaka (NZOM) aerodrome with its three intersecting grass runways, or you can make the sensible choice and land at Woodbourne (NZWB). You probably want to stay in the town of Blenheim or at a winery.

Kaikoura

A longer flight along the coast to the east and then south takes you past some spectacular mountains to grab some lunch or stay overnight in the cool coastal town of Kaikoura.

Near Kaikoura, keep an eye out for the whale-watching boats, and you should not have trouble spotting some whales from the air. I think the NZ regs are that you’re supposed to fly a minimum of 1,000’ above them, and that’s also the polite thing to do.

Southern Alps

Early European settlers were so taken with the mountain ranges and their reminiscence of the European Alps that they called them the Southern Alps.

From Kaikoura, you can fly south along the coast to Rangiora or Christchurch, and then head inland to get up into the mountains.

If the weather is good, you definitely want to fly around Mt Cook, land at Glentanner for lunch, then head down to Wanaka (NZWK).

Wanaka

Wanaka is a gorgeous town by a gorgeous lake surrounded by gorgeous mountains, and a great place to stay overnight — or for a week, or a month. There’s great hiking, restaurants, and fun stuff to do on the lake.

Milford Sound

From Wanaka, I would take a short flight over Queenstown (the airspace is and then west to Te Anau.

Stop in Te Anau for gas before climbing up high and heading west to Milford Sound (NZMF). Milford requires a special briefing for reasons that will become apparent when you look at the terrain around it. An alternative to getting an NZMF briefing is that you can fly in with a local instructor (I recommend the folks at Learn to Fly NZ at NZWK who do this all the time, and who know the local mountains like the back of their hands.)

From Milford Sound, depending on your risk appetite you can either fly north along the extremely remote coastline (high risk, truly nowhere to land if nothing goes wrong) or head back inland and then north (lower risk).

You can land at Haast, or if not, Hokitika or Greymouth further north. I would aim to land in Nelson, and you’ll be back at the top of the South Island.

Nelson

Nelson is one of my favorite places in New Zealand. I was lucky enough to live there for about six months while I was working on my New Zealand commercial. It has a great airport, beautiful beaches, and is an easy gateway to the spectacular Malborough Sounds.

From Nelson, there’s spectacular flying both to the east and to the west. Flying low level around Tasman National Park to the west is incredible, but my favorite place to fly in New Zealand is through Malborough Sounds.

North Island

From Nelson, you can fly through or over Malborough Sounds. If you’re flying over, be careful to stay out of Wellington’s airspace, but if you’re high enough (over maybe 6,000 ft?) you can probably get a VFR clearance above the jets arriving and departing Wellington.

Stop back at Wellington (NZWN) or Paraparaumu (NZPP) to refuel and continue your adventure in the North Island.

Taupo (NZAP)

Head north to Taupo, a stunning volcanic lake in the center of the North Island. It’s kind of like New Zealand’s Lake Tahoe. Taupo offers great hiking, fishing, and hot springs. Skydiving is a big thing, so keep an eye out for the skydiving planes and their cargo.

Whakatane

From Taupo, fly east to Whakatane. This coastal town is the gateway to White Island, New Zealand’s most active volcano. Whakatane is also a great spot to explore the East Cape’s beautiful beaches.

Coromandel Peninsula

Fly north from Whakatane to the Coromandel Peninsula, known for its lush rainforests and beaches. Landing at one of the small strips like Pauanui (NZUN) gives you easy access to explore the region’s natural beauty.

Great Barrier Island (NZGB)

From the Coromandel Peninsula, fly north to Great Barrier Island (NZGB), a rugged, remote island with perfect beaches only a short walk from the airport.

Kerikeri (NZKI)

Continue flying north to Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, a gorgeous part of the country with more than 140 subtropical islands. There’s car rental at Kerikeri airport (book in advance), and you’ll want to stay overnight (or longer!) in Paihia.

Cape Reinga

From Kerikeri, head north and fly all the way around Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of New Zealand, where the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean meet. Stop at Kaitaia (NZKT) for gas.

If you need a fuel stop on the way back south, stop in Hamilton (NZHN), but definitely don’t stop overnight there.

New Plymouth (NZNP)

From Kaitaia, begin your journey back south, stopping at New Plymouth on the west coast. The city sits in the shadow of Mount Taranaki, and it’s got some beautiful coastline around.

Return to Wellington or Paraparaumu

Finally, make your way back along the west coast of the North Island to where you started, at either Wellington (NZWN) or Paraparaumu (NZPP).