Golden Bay Air—20 years since our first flight!
By Richard and Lisa: 29 January, 2026
Wow, how time flies! This January marks 20 years since our inaugural flight between Wellington and Takaka.
Launching our first flights
First, the back story: One stunning day, we (Lisa and Richard) flew our 4-seat Piper Warrior from Wellington to Takaka for a day trip. Like many, we felt an instant connection to this hidden paradise. We knew that if this was going to be the place to bring up our family, we’d have to find a way to make it work.
We partnered with the Wellington Aero Club and a third partner Eyal to gain certification as Capital Air. We started with two aircraft: a 6-seat Piper Saratoga Richard had purchased in the USA, complete with club seating and casino red velvet seats . We called her ZK-ZIG. Eyal supplied twin-engine Beech Baron ZK-WLV for instrument flights.
The Wellington Aero Club provided pilots, including our Flight Operations Manager Dan Howe, who was Chief Flight Instructor at the Wellington Aero Club. Dan had previous experience on the Wellington-Takaka route which proved invaluable.
Dan piloted our first scheduled commercial flight on 12 January 2006. Richard’s mum, Margie, was on the passenger manifest. It turned out to be a one-way flight. The visibility deteriorated en route, and Dan ended up spending the next two nights sleeping on our sofa before the weather improved enough for him to return back to Wellington.
That first summer of 2006, we did a house swap to Tukurua to help launch the service from the Golden Bay end. To take bookings, we had to go outside to get phone reception. We only made about three bookings a day—by dial-up Internet—but on the electronic booking system we still use today. The excitement was palpable!
The move to Golden Bay
We initially operated out of the Wellington Aero Club clubrooms on the western apron of Wellington Airport and the Golden Bay Flying Club at Takaka Airport, flying five days per week. Lisa continued working in public policy in Wellington while Richard became full-time dad to Stella and our baby airline.
By August 2008, we were ready to make the leap. We shifted our base from Wellington to Takaka under our own Part 135 Air Operator Certificate, Golden Bay Air and added our Warrior to the fleet for scenic and local flights.
We waited for Hazel our second daughter to be born, then a week later, we moved to the Bay. First-born Stella was nearly two years old.
Being based in Golden Bay allowed us to expand our services. We added flights between Karamea and Takaka for the Heaphy Track, and shuttles for both the Heaphy and Abel Tasman Coastal Tracks. We also added rental cars to give a mobility option for passengers flying with us into the Bay.
Summer-only operations allowed us a nice break over winter, but when we found ourselves finding ourselves raiding Stella’s piggy bank, we knew we needed year-round, all-weather flying if we wanted a proper business and service offering.
While we had access to a twin-engine Beech Baron in Wellington, we could not fly into Golden Bay itself in bad weather because the area was not covered by traditional ground-based navigation aids, such as you have in Nelson. So we commissioned Airways to develop a GNSS instrument approach into Takaka Aerodrome. This was the equivalent of building a new road into Golden Bay, in the sky.
Richard travelled to Canada in 2011 and purchased a 6-seat twin-engine Piper Seneca that matched the seat layout of our Saratoga. Naturally it became ZK-ZAG.
We also built a small terminal and aircraft hangar at Takaka. During construction, gale-force westerlies got under the cladding and tore out the back wall. Local fire chief Phillip Woolf delivered the bad news, and only a well-timed scoop of gravel dumped onto the Colorsteel stopped us losing the wall altogether.
We replaced our Piper Warrior with a faster Piper Archer, ZK-ZOG, which—with individual rear seats—allowed us to carry bikers for the newly introduced MTB season on the Heaphy Track.
By 2017, we achieved our first Qualmark tourism certificate, which we have since elevated to Gold.
Weather, cyclones and financial strain
Running an air service, however, comes with plenty of ups and downs. The most difficult moments have been desperate calls from people needing to reach dying loved ones.
Weather is a constant challenge too. Cyclone Gita in February 2018 stands out. With the only road access Takaka Hill closed for six days, hundreds of people were trapped in Golden Bay. We airlifted people out solidly over that period. This surge was followed by a long, quiet stretch as visitors stayed away from Golden Bay.
The cyclone, combined with years of development, stretched us financially and emotionally. These were tough years. Restricted to five passenger seats, our operation was a little too boutique to deliver the margins a regional air service needs.
New aircraft and renewed momentum
In 2018, we purchased a factory-new GA8 Airvan from GippsAero over in Australia to replace ZIG. The Airvan has 7 passenger seats and flexible cargo handling. Known also for its great efficiency, our new aircraft was flown direct overnight from Melbourne to Nelson on 28 December. Asked how he whiled away the 11-hour flight, pilot Gerard said he read a book! We named her ZK-ZUG.
By early 2020, with more seats and growing demand, things were finally gaining momentum.
Then COVID-19 hit. After another two-day rush—hundreds of panicked calls and extra flights to get people home before lockdown. For the first time in years, we stopped. With the help of wage subsidies, we kept our entire team. Domestic travel eventually rebounded, and government support for regional connectivity, including the Wellington–Takaka route, helped carry us through.
In 2021, an air operator in Auckland folded, creating an unexpected opportunity. Three 10-seat twin-engine Britten-Norman Islanders came onto the market. We took another deep breath and purchased ZK-EVO, investing heavily in a full refurbishment, repaint, and new state-of-the-art instrumentation.
This new addition allowed us to fill our Airvan with passengers to Wellington and still fly them on adverse weather days. The Islander is also a great load hauler on the Heaphy Track, swallowing backpacks and bikes with ease.
Then came the 2022 Westport floods, which also destroyed two bridges on the Heaphy Track. Heaphy work plummeted, wiping out around 30% of our turnover for 20 months.
During this time, we made another wee pivot, launching daily scheduled shuttles from Nelson to the Abel Tasman on top of our Heaphy Track shuttles. That service has grown steadily and now operates daily through a large part of the year.
Finally—20 years on—everything is humming. We are now a significant tourism and transport operator serving the South Island’s north-west. Our two girls—who grew up with the business as the ‘middle child’—are now university students. You may well find them at the end of the phone or answering email queries on weekends and during uni holidays.
The real reward is living here in Golden Bay. After work, we head to the river, Tāta Beach, or the school pool. As keen trampers, we’ve spent years exploring our two national parks—and there is still more to experience. We are incredibly lucky to call Mōhua home. And the seasonal nature of the business also means we can go skiing and travelling in winter.
With thanks to our community
So even in our busiest season so far, we wanted to pause and thank the people who have supported us along the way: our pilots, drivers, and admin team; Repaircraft Nelson who maintain our aircraft, Karamea Express who shuttle our passenger in Karamea, UDC Finance for loaning to us! The Tasman District Council and keen local volunteers for helping further develop Takaka Airport.
And our spirited, supportive local community—we couldn’t have come this far without you. We’re here to stay…
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
