Hitch-hikers

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33067, 7 November 1972, Page 1

Hitch-hikers

Two Japanese businessmen had to hitch-hike from Birch Hill airstrip near Mount Cook to the Hermitage on Saturday. They obtained a ride in a small car laden with lugjage while the pilot who flew them from Christchurch, Mr W. K Wakeman, rode in the Hermitage garbage truck. The two visitors landed by charter plane at Birch Hill shortly before lunch but were unable to raise the Hermitage from the airstrip telephone. Mr Wakeman said that the telephone was so heavily coated with starling droppings that it was impossible to turn the; crank handle.

The incident embarrassed Tourist Hotel Corporation officials at Mount Cook but did not ruffle the Japanese, said Mr Wakeman. He said he had sought permission to land the visitors on the Mount Cook Airlines airstrip at Mount Cook.

However, the company’s manager, Mr M. Corner,, had refused.

Mr Wakeman said that he complained to the Minister of Tourism (Mr Walker), who happened to be at the airport, but he too had refused to help.

The visitors wanted to hire a Mount Cook ski-plane to visit the glaciers when they reached the area, said Mr Wakeman. Because of the shortness of

their stay they would not have been able to do this if they had waited for a scheduled Mount Cook flight from Christchurch. The two visitors were Mr S. Takayama, (right above), president of the Chuwa Wool Industry Company, Ltd, of Ichinomiya City, Japan, and Mr T. Koike, chairman of directors of Ataka Pty, Ltd, who had come to New Zealand in connection with coal deposits on the West Coast. Both were impressed with the standard of the private Mount Cook sealed strip of more than 5000 ft compared with the 1900 ft Birch Hill Government strip. Mr Wakeman said he had complained to the regional operations inspector of Civil Aviation. Mr

H. Skilling, that the Birch Hill strip was dangerous. There was no wind sock, the landing strip was bumpy

and the telephone unserviceable, he said. When Mr Wakeman’s allegations were referred to an executive of the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company, Ltd, last evening he said he preferred to make no official comment.