« December 2004 | Main | February 2005 »
January 17, 2005
Location Guide - Neale Park, Nelson
Location: Neale Park
Nearest City: Nelson
Surface: Sports field grass
Best Wind: Northwest sea breeze
Useable Wind: W, NW, N, NE
Best Time: Anytime!
Size:
GPS Co-ordinates:
Lat -41.263840
Long 173.292013
Review:
Neale Park is the home of the Annual Nelson Summer Kite Festival in Janurary every year. Theres nothing like kite buggying in amongst the gaint inflatable single line kites during the event. The park is right in the heart of Nelson City and so its great for that after work buggy too. Although the buggy area is not huge (equivilent of a couple of rugby fields) Neale Park get some nice sea breezes throughout summer. Nelson Kite Club holds a monthly meeting here for all kite fliers and theres usually a few buggys in attendance (your author included).
Neale Park (right foreground) with Nelson City in the background.
A group of buggiers from Nelson Kite Club on Neale Park.
Posted by murrayneill at 04:31 PM | Comments (2)
January 11, 2005
Location Guide - Wakapuaka Sand Flats, Nelson
Location: Wakapuaka Sand Flats
Nearest City: Nelson.
Surface: Hard Sun Baked Estuary Mud. Very fast.
Best Wind: SW
Usable Wind: SW W NW N
Best Time: Anytime except after recent rain. Any surface water makes the top layer of mud very slick, but during summer it only needs one sunny day to dry out.
Size: approx 5 acres
GPS Co-ordinates:
Lat -41.209250
Long 173.332911
Review:
Just 10 minutes North of Nelson, the Wakapuaka Sand Flats are a handy alternative when the tide is high (and so the beaches are out of the question), or when the wind is the predominant SW of the non-summer months. In fact this is the only buggyable area near Nelson where the SW wind is usable.
The area was once tidal and was the tip of the Nelson Haven estuary. It hasn't seen any tide in many years (thanks to a raised road, Boulder Bank Drive, which cuts it off from the water), and the old tidal mud surface is very hard and compact. There is some vegetation around but it is mostly short and stocky and doesn't disturb the wind too much. The surface here is fast and great for racing. In the NW corner of the area are some dirt ramps for the more adventurous or there is a large open area in the middle for speed runs.
The area is well exposed and winds from Southerly, through Westerly and right round to Northerly all hit the sand flats cleanly.
Here is a short video of Murray buggying on the Wakapuaka Sand Flats.
There are no unauthorised vehicles allowed on the sand flats themselves but there is plenty of parking near the gate (see aerial photo) and its only a short walk to the buggy area.
The Nelson Kite Club use this area when there are SW winds on their monthly kite day (which is usually held at the North facing Rabbit Island Beach).
Posted by murrayneill at 09:52 PM | Comments (1)
January 10, 2005
Extream AirTime
Check out this lucky guy man is he lucky to be alive.
This is just a reminder that we are fragile fallible insignificant objects and that we are hooking in to a power far greater than our selves and some times it will kick our butt's.
its a BIG ONE be patient!!!!
Craig
Posted by craighansen at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)
January 01, 2005
This Is Inspiring Buggy Craft
This bit of footage spins my buggywheels I slowed it down and put some music to it for fun.
C-Quads are awsome Kites.
Craig.
Posted by craighansen at 11:25 PM | Comments (1)
KBNZ Author Profile - Craig
Name:
Craig Hansen
Location/Home Town:
Ashburton, NZ
How long have you been Kite Buggying?:
Flying Stunt-kites since 75ish, Buggying since 2000.
How did you get started with the sport?:
I never got over flying kites as a kid and still don’t understand how other people do, or why they would want to?? Anyway As I got bigger so did the kites and the budget then one day some one was flying a full size delta on the beach and I asked if I could have a go and the addiction got worse as the power of this baby was able to lift me off the ground and it has been a one way trip from there, bigger, faster, higher, longer you know all the excesses and extremes that addictions can take us too.
What kites do you fly and what is your favorite?:
What can I say I have a addiction too many to mention but my favorite at the moment is the Peter Lynn Rebels for tooling around the dunes and technical stuff, for flat and fast and nuking beaches Phantoms. It must be mentioned that C-Quads are Awesome kites.
Describe your buggy(s)?:
I have two a PL Competition Buggy that has, mud-flap, splash guard, sump guard, (to protect my sump) side rail pads, and a choice of either the standard 95cm back axle or a 95cm gigastrong axle and a custom Drop Axel Bigfoot with all the above (this baby is built for speed).
What has been the best experience you've had in a kite buggy?:
Tooling around the dunes at Te Paki (top of 90 Mile Beach) Awesome check out the link http://nkc.nayland.school.nz/Images/albums/muriwai2004/photos/90-mile_pan.JPG .
What do you look forward to experiencing next in your kite buggy?:
Testing how well the big foot floats so I can nuke Pegasus Bay.
Posted by craighansen at 05:41 PM | Comments (2)