Glass Half empty / glass half full

Glass half empty/glass half full

by Bernice Hintz

If you drive anywhere on Tasmania’s east coast, within 30min you’ll see a winery sign beckoning you to sample their products. Rows of tasting glasses and complimentary food to tempt the visitor to try and buy.

About halfway down the east coast, smack in the middle of the vineyards, is the biggest glass of all, a bay called Wineglass Bay. It is so named because it is the shape—a massive wineglass, broad at the base with a curved beach and closing in at the top end. It is an iconic Tasmanian image, part of the Freycinet National Park, luring travellers to come and see the pristine scenery and taste the fresh air of Tasmania.

There are three ways to see the bay—by land, by sea or by air. On foot requires several hours of uphill/downhill/uphill and finally downhill slog. The boat trip requires four hours of wallowing around on the ocean.

By comparison the flight is 30min, a painless breeze.

One of the benefits of travelling solo is being able to go where you please. One of the downsides is when operators have a minimum capacity; either that or the cost doubles. I followed my nose to Freycinet Air, well signposted off the main road to Coles Bay. I checked out the strip and looked for an aeroplane. Eventually I stepped into the office, just to check out the prices, you understand.

I had three options: go by myself; go with another couple who were doing a longer trip; or wait for another person to do a shorter trip. As luck would have it, another customer turned up just in time. My new friend and I went for a drive to the appropriately named Friendly Beaches to do some sightseeing while the first couple did an hour’s scenic flight.

The airstrip is long (1000m) with the usual obstacles, wires, holes, slope and, in some wind directions, wind shear. Thankfully we had a versatile Cessna 172.

My conservative new friend expressed concern about the size of the aircraft and the age of the pilot (26). I reassured her that the aeroplane was huge compared to some (a Cessna 150). I also pointed out that Jason was at the sharp end of the learning curve, with all his training still fresh.

The minute we were airborne I started smiling. I’d missed my aviation fix. The flight was silky smooth. Jason explained all his actions to Elaine and me as he went, effectively calming any nerves. He explained all the local features. He even did an extra circuit of Bryans Bay so I could check out the seals playing in the water.

The scenery was everything it promised to be. The water sparkles, the granite mountains glow pink, the beaches are wedding white, the cliffs slice dramatically into the sea. The colour of the water reminds me of a male peacock: “Look at me! Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”

The whole area was just breathtaking, well deserving of all its accolades.

The sight of the bulldozed strip in the bush that we were going to land back on did give me a moment until I reminded myself: 1000m, Cessna 172, lightly loaded, uphill, competent pilot. Everything obviously was fine and all up I saved $100—bonus!

Now excuse me while I go find a driver to transport me around a few of those vineyards, to sample a bit more of the local colour.

Half full (flying)                                              Half empty (any other option)
Saved time                                                      Would take longer
Get a chance to fly                                          Get to watch others fly over me while I am not
More fun                                                         Less fun
Bird’s eye view                                              Surface view
No snakes, spiders or leeches in the sky        Chance of engaging with nasty wildlife
See further                                                      Short sighted view
Smooth sky                                                     Lumpy sky
Lumpy sky for limited time                            Lumpy sea forever (4hr)
Get to hang around an airport,                        Having nothing to say to a skipper (for 4hr)

sniff aviation gas and talk to pilots
Support aviation                                             Pilot has to find second job
Time to go to the wineries                             Too exhausted to go to any wineries (walking)

Published New Zealand Aviation News June 2015