A historic flying boat that had graced the waters of Lake Te Anau more than half a century ago has made a special trip down the length of the country last weekend from its current home at Paihia, Northland, to its old stomping ground at Te Anau, Southland. 

Owner, Grant Harnish, accompanied by his partner Sharee and two friends, flew the Grumman Widgeon ZK-CFA amphibian, arriving in Te Anau on Friday, 14 April.

This was the aircraft’s first visit to Fiordland in 47 years.

Harnish flew to Te Anau in response to Kylie and Ivan Krippner’s invitation to a “floatplane jam”.

He said, about 10 other aircraft from different parts of New Zealand flew in for the occasion. 

The ZK-CFA has an interesting history.

Grant Harnish on top of his Grumman G-44 Widgeon ZK-CFA in Te Anau on 14 April 2023. He is refuelling his aircraft. Photo: Alina Suchanski

It was built in 1946 at Grumman's Bethpage plant, Long Island, New York. In 1949 it went to Havana, Cuba where it was stationed until 1959, when it’s owner moved it to Florida to escape Fidel Castro’s regime.

In July 1963 it was purchased by New Zealand Tourist Air Travel Ltd (TAT) and ended up in Te Anau, where it continued flying until it was sold to Auckland-based Sea Bee Air Ltd in 1976 to be used as an air taxi.

It’s flying carrier was paused in 1984 when it suffered substantial damage in an accident at Whangaparapara Harbour, Great Barrier Island, after colliding with water on take off due to downdraught.

No fatalities were reported.

It was purchased by Grant Harnish’s father, Owen Harnish around 1987.

Restored, the ZK-CFA was subsequently put to work by Grant and Owen Harnish's Aquatic and Vintage Airways based at Paihia, where it is still today.

Te Anau's fleet of amphibian aircraft in the 1960s. Grumman G-44 Widgeon ZK-AVM (in the foreground) and two Cessna 180 floatplanes ZK-BQJ and ZK-BJY. Photo: Ian Campbell

Seaplanes have been around for over a century.

They are divided into two categories: floatplanes and flying boats.

Floatplanes are equipped with floats mounted under their fuselage.

In a flying boat, the main source of buoyancy is the aircraft’s fuselage, which is shaped to act like the hull of a ship. 

Floatplanes and flying boats have been a part of the Fiordland heritage for more than half a century.

Ritchie Air Services (RAS) was the first commercial floatplane operation in Te Anau.

Grumman G-44 Widgeon ZK-CFA amphibian flying over Lake Te Anau (c.1965). Photo: Barry Campbell

Started in 1960 in Gore by Ian Ritchie with a Cessna 180 ZK-BQJ and a Dominie ZK-ALB the airline opened its Te Anau operation in 1962. RAS employed several pilots over the years, one of which was a local legend, Bill Black.

In his book “I did it my way” Black described his many flights carrying tourists, hunters and supplies to places all over Fiordland.

The airline was also used for venison recovery and med-evacs.  

In February 1965 RAS acquired the first Cessna 206 Super Skywagon floatplane in New Zealand, a brand new ZK-CHQ. 

Later that year RAS airline merged with Queenstown-based Southern Scenic Air Services, subsequently bought by TAT, which had a fleet of Grumman Widgeon amphibians.

The ZK-CFA ended up based in Te Anau, alongside another Cessna 180 floatplane ZK-BJY. 

One of the pilots at TAT was Chris Willett, who later played an important role in the presence of floatplanes in Te Anau.

When the Mount Cook and Southern Lakes Tourist Company Ltd acquired control of TAT in January 1968, it inherited two amphibious operations, the northern one based at Auckland’s Mechanics Bay which serviced the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Islands, and the southern one based at Invercargill, which serviced Stewart Island, Fiordland and the Southern Lakes.

Between them the amphibian fleet consisted of five Grumman G-44 Widgeons.

After the takeover Chris Willett continued to fly for Mt Cook Airlines for 15 years, however the Te Anau floatplane was making loss and the airline decided to close its operation.

Willett saw this as an opportunity and in 1983 he bought the floatplane jetty and two aircraft – Cessna 206 MCG and MCH and started Waterwings Airways (Te Anau) Ltd.

The company continued increasing its fleet and at one point in time operated 14 aircraft. Owner, Chris Willett moved to Queenstown to concentrate on land-based operation. 

Alan Remnant was one of the pilots for Waterwings, who in 2001 purchased the business from his former employer and renamed it to Wings and Water which he ran for 14 years.

In 2015 Remnant sold the business to Kylie and Ivan Krippner, who are both pilots and flying instructors.

While Kylie is passionate about floatplanes, her husband loves aerobatics.

At the time the business had only one aircraft – Cessna ZK-DRH.

Today Wings and Water offer scenic flights of varied lengths of time and distance. In 2020 the Krippners bought a second floatplane ZK-DRI.

Thanks to enthusiasts such as Ian Ritchie, Chris Willett, Alan Remnant and Kylie and Ivan Krippner, Te Anau continues to offer floatplane flights to local and international tourists and is the only place in the South Island of New Zealand to do so.