In this impromptu adventure, I navigate a river and found a WWII plane wreck.
Originally, my plans did not involve this spontaneous bush exploration. While visiting family in Wainuiomata, I had intended to meet up with a friend after that, but he was unavailable. With some unexpected free time, I seized the opportunity to photograph Skerretts Creek and the remnants of the old water catchment infrastructure littered throughout the site. Initially, my intent was not to embark on an extensive expedition because it was the afternoon. But with near perfect weather, my curiosity led me further than I had planned.
For decades, I have wanted to see the Kittyhawk plane wreck that hides within the dense bush and river at Skerretts Creek. In fact my first expedition was with a group of kids in the early 1970s. We had been up here a few times and I remember scaling a fallen tree across the creek which was quite high up the valley. In fact, I think we must have walked passed some of the wreckage, because we certainly did go a long way up the creek. However, it is hard to spot because the parts often blend in with the rocks in and around the creek.
On my last trek up there as a kid, my friends and I got sidetracked when we spotted what looked like a firebreak. In hindsight, it was probably a slip. We scrambled up the steep, loose path, and at one point, one of the kids dislodged a rock. It tumbled down the hill toward the rest of the group, narrowly missing one of them. We shouted for another friend to watch out, but as he looked up to see what was happening, the rock glanced off his forehead, leaving a cut. That was enough for us. We got out of there fast and helped him get home. After that, I lost the urge to explore that area again. Still, for the past 20 years or so, I’ve often thought about searching for that plane wreck but never acted on the impulse till now.
Back to this impromptu trek. My goal was simple: capture some photos of the creek and surrounding bush while getting a taste of what lay ahead for my planned expedition to the plane wreck. As I gradually ascended the valley, my enthusiasm got the better of me and I ended up venturing much further than intended. Sensing that I was closing in on the wreck’s location, I found myself facing a small waterfall. To continue, I had to climb over it and navigate a tricky section of rocks. I made multiple attempts, slipping back down each time. Eventually, I paused, reassessed my approach and found a way up.
Then my intuition paid off. There it lay—a V12 Allison Motor from a Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk, nestled amidst serene surroundings and ignoring everything nature has thrown at it so far. The plane crashed further up the valley of course, but over the decades, floods and slips combined with gravity have moved the motor and other parts down to different locations. But here was the engine. Closer to civilisation than it had been since that fateful moment in 1943.
What to do now? I took some photos of course and capped it off with a couple of short videos. This was, without a doubt, the highlight of my day, closely rivalled some 25 minutes earlier when I frolicked through an enchanting gully blanketed with blooming lupins. See the photo to the right if you think I’m joking.
As I retraced my steps back down the valley, my mind was already crafting plans for the future expedition to uncover all the wreckage sites of the plane. Anyway, bush bash 4 to come.
Special thanks to Tony Weir for the location of the kittyhawk engine.
