Paragliding in New Zealand - 7 AWESOME sites - Šulko
Вставка
- Опубліковано 25 січ 2020
- Maori bay (Auckland), Barnicoat (Nelson), Treble Cone (Wanaka), Royce Peak (Wanaka), The Tores (Christchurch), Te Mata Peak (Napier), Karioitahi Beach (Auckland-ish)
- Фільми й анімація
![Learning to Paraglide [What it's REALLY like]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uhnUE-Bt5KM/mqdefault.jpg)
Foreign pilots are welcome to come to NZ to fly our sites but please check with the local Club first and make sure to obey the site rules. Flying over the gannet colony at Maori Bay, as this guy did, is expressly prohibited and could result in us losing access to the site, so please be considerate.
Awsome vid.....I’m so going to learn to Paraglide now 👍
Thankyou from Alaska, one of these days i will be able to buy one...
Go for it!
Amazing ;)
Hey,
My name is Isabel, and I am a 18 year old paraglider.
I am a fan of New Zealand since I was a kid, and actually would be there for half a year if it wasn't for Corona. I plan to go in 2022 instead and I have two questions - can I also paraglide in the time from March to September, like is the weather good enough/ are there thermals or is this a bad time because it's winter and it rains all the time? I would probably go to Auckland/Wellington, a few weeks Queenstown.
And second - I just did my license this year in August, and plan to fly much, but is it easy to fly in NZ and/or should you be able to do soaring very good?
Thank you very much!😊
Isabel
Hi Isabel, I wasn't there during winter so I can't say, but probably it will be cold and rainy as you mention. Try to ask locals. I found paragliding in NZ fairly easy, you only need to know sites, accesses and restrictions (every site has rules). Generally, before flying you need to register with NZ PG association and pay insurance (i think around 50 eur and they tend to check it, so definitelly sort it out before going to NZ).
Hi Isabel,
I went to New Zealand in 1992 first time, and wasn't very experienced in paragliding at all. You will be able to find plenty of pilots and even schools to give you information about the local sites. Kiwis are great, friendly people!
Make sure you're flying a paraglider with a reasonable speed because the wind in NZ is sometimes quite strong. If you're planing to buy a new wing, check out prices. Paragliders can be cheaper than in Europe, at least that's how it was at that time (you can get back at least the VAT!)
Wish I could go there and fly all the sites again. Treble Cone at Wanaka has the most stunning views I've ever seen!
Ralf
Hey Isabel, haha know the feeling, I was planning on leaving NZ to travel through Europe in 2020 as well. I'm only a beginner paraglider (just got back from learning in Queenstown), so I'm not super experienced with flying conditions yet, but general rule of thumb is that the further north in NZ you go the warmer the weather. Particularly in Northland (top of the north island, north of Auckland) the winter is pretty mild, and there are a lot of paragliding clubs up that way. Mount Maunganui in Tauranga (not quite as far north) should have reasonably mild weather too. A lot of NZ's paragliding launch sites are costal, so relatively easy to launch / fly in.
If you search up paragliding clubs in NZ you should be able to find contact details / emails for them too. People are pretty chilled here, and clubs would be perfectly happy for you to email and ask them questions about the conditions for the months you're coming / when they fly / what do they charge visiting pilots etc... (usually it's pretty cheap)
I'm from Wellington, and we do have a club down here with a few different launch sites, but just so you know, none of them are particularly close to the city itself, most of them are about half an hour's drive north.
Most places in NZ you'll need a car / hire car. Our public transport in cities is pretty good, but between them you'll have a hard time getting to remote sites, or getting around the country. Plus I would definitely advise against hitchhiking. NZ is reasonably safe, but women travelling alone are still at risk.
One of the main NZ paragliding websites on launch sites and weather conditions can be found here parawait.org/
There are also some requirements for the PG license you hold to fly in NZ legally + membership to our national paragliding organization (I think it cost me only $25 NZD for the year):
www.nzhgpa.org.nz/visiting-pilots
If you have any questions about NZ or paragliding feel free to hit me up :)
Koala
Hi Isabel, I'm a NZ paraglider pilot hopefully I can help a little. The winter period still provides plenty of opportunities for flying. Mosty this will be coastal flying though. We still get days off steady clean air onto the coastal cliffs with long fine periods in winter. There is a lot less opportunity than summer though. Thermalling is not common in winter, so there is a lot less inland flying. I would assume you won't get any. There are however many lovely spots for hike and fly opportunities, but expect lots of hiking for a little flying. Many of us will still fly over winter. I hope this helps and now that the borders are open you enjoy some time in NZ.
NZ has some sites than can work in winter, but this year has been a flop pretty much. Sept to March are the better months sep dec Jan & Feb.
Please check with locals as many of our sites are sensitive culturally and environmentally. Mistakes can lose us sites.
South island has some great thermal sites around queenstown
Nadhera, no tá prudká štartovačka ( s obecenstvom)... To by som ja nedal...
Kia ora, I'm a new pilot, just got my PG1 this summer, but I'm looking to do my PG2. Does anyone have any school recommendations for the North Island? I love the South Island, but staying down in QT for weeks and weeks is going to be out of my price range. Cheers, Koala
I can highly recommend wings and waves if you are still looking. :)