New arrival at Wanaka Airport Ronan Harvey (59) has quite a few things still to do on his bucket list.
He wants to sell his $5 million cocoa plantation in Vanuatu, ship his Lake Renegade 250 seaplane to Wanaka, buy a couple more vintage aircraft, buy a Wanaka hangar for his aircraft collection, build a house in Wanaka and, of course, find the remains of famous American aviator Amelia Earhart.
''It would be great to do it.
''That would be a big box to tick,'' he says while enthusiastically rattling off the details of how he might search the coral atoll Nikumaroro, in the western Pacific Ocean, where he believes Ms Earhart ended up after disappearing on her round-the-world flight in 1937.
He is scoping out the equipment he would need for an underwater search of the island's coral reefs but says he is some way off launching an expedition.
Mr Harvey arrived in New Zealand a few weeks ago, flying his 1945 Beechcraft D18S, fitted with long-range fuel tanks, from California to Hawaii to Christmas Island, then on to Pago Pago and Vanuatu before arriving in New Zealand.
He mentions the plane he bought about a year ago was once used by South American drug runners, possibly to fly cocaine into the United States, before it was impounded by the authorities.
The retired aircraft engineer owns Cotswold Airport in England, which is big enough to land a 747 or any of the more modern planes in commercial use.
Mr Harvey has left the airport in the hands of his daughter while he travels the world kite-surfing and flying.
For the past eight years he has been based in Vanuatu but says he is now ''relocating my centre of gravity'' to Wanaka.
He expects to spend up to six months of the year in Wanaka, although he is off to Britain again this weekend and will spend Christmas in the Philippines.
He has a contract to buy the former Alpine Fighter Collection hangar at the Wanaka Airport built by old friends of his, the late Mark Hanna and the late Ray Hanna, but he is not looking for business opportunities.
''I'm retired. I'm just playing with my planes.
''I want to build up my little collection again and have some fun.''
But, first things first, the Beech has a ''sticky valve'' that needs attending to and its paintwork is in need of a touch-up.
