Warbirds Over Wanaka: travel tips
Warbirds Over Wanaka: advice for people attending and those not attending
Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow runs this Easter, from Good Friday to Easter Sunday, 25- 27 March, attracting around 20,000 people Saturday and Sunday and half that number on the Good Friday practise day.
Held at Wanaka Airport to the south-east of the town, the main highways feeding people to the Airshow carparks from the south are State Highway 6 from Cromwell, State Highway 8A from Tarras and from the Wanaka side, State Highway 6 to the east.
Drivers wanting to
park and attend the Airshow
In order to avoid
traffic jams, drivers parking on Saturday and Sunday need to
be aware that SH6 in the vicinity of the Airport will be run
largely as a one-way system morning and later
afternoon to get people smoothly in and out of the
carparks.
During these times a detour will be available to those using SH6 to go to destinations other than the Airshow – see below for more detail.
From the intersections of the Tarras and Cromwell highways to the south of the airport to the intersection of SH6 with Ballantyne Road on the Wanaka (north) side of the airport, the road will have traffic management controls morning and afternoon/evening.
Morning
inwards towards the carparks 9 am to 11 am
To
get people safely parked, drivers can drive towards
the airport carparks from each side of State Highway 6 in
these hours. Emergency vehicles and residents will also be
able to have access both directions.
People who want to drop others off can probably also do so, but need to exercise caution as they leave as the road lane outwards will be constricted by people coming in. Ideally, they should try to drop people off well before 9 am when the traffic starts to build up and people are looking for a carpark.
Afternoon advice for leaving the
carparks and picking people up 4-6 pm
In the
afternoon the flows reverse. Drivers can go away from the
airport in both directions with no inbound traffic
towards the airport, bar emergency vehicles.
People who want to pick others up need to ensure they arrive and park at the Airshow carparkswell before 4 pm or after 6 pm.
Outside the morning
and afternoon ebb and tide flow periods
Outside
the morning and afternoon carpark filling and carpark
emptying hours, the state highway will be open in both
directions as a two lane highway.
Speed restrictions will be in place and drivers are encouraged to slow down given the amount of people and cars in this area and the Airshow taking up people’s attention.
Good
Friday traffic management – slow down,
Stop/Go
Around 10,000 people go to the Airshow
on the Good Friday practise day, about half the
Saturdayvolumes. Manual traffic management (Stop/Go) will
control inwards and outwards drivers to the carparks and
there will be speed restrictions on the highway.
Not going to the Airshow? There is a detour in place, but it may only be operational at peak hours. Be prepared for it.
• People just
wanting to get to Wanaka or the West Coast via Haast may be
detoured off State highways 8A and 6 from before Luggate
Hill onto Church Road and the Red Bridge and Kane
Road.
• On the north side of Wanaka, drivers
coming south towards Cromwell will be detoured onto Camphill
Road off SH6 towards Kane Road and back towards the Red
Bridge.
• This detour could add half an hour to
the trip for people heading to Wanaka from the south.
•
The detour is able to be in place all day Saturday and
Sunday, 6 am to 10 pm if necessary, but it is likely it may
be only be enforced at the peak morning and evening arriving
and leaving hours – 9-11 am and 4-6
pm.
ENDS