Monday 6th July
Up early at Faraday and a
bit tardy getting organized to escape North for a couple of weeks.
Des arrived yesterday and is
all fired up to get back in the air for a while.
Down to YKTN at ten am and
it was even colder than Faraday.
I had refueled
theUGlyDuckling on the weekend, and there was evidence of fuel dripping our of
the left wind drain valve.
So taxied to the cement slab
near the clubhouse and waited a while with toes crossed.
It seemed to cure itself and
our CFI suggested it was possibly due to expansion and contraction with very
full tanks.
Finally rolled on 36 at YKTN
at midday and got about 110kts groundspeed all the way to Tocumwal.
Called in for a bladder stop
and our lunch sangas here, and to entertain the senior ladies doing their
tapestry.
Then back in the air with
125nm to Temora, with Des as Captain.
Averaged 110-115kts on this
leg, and arrived at YTEM at 3:30pm.
Des had a yarn to local
farmer Geoff King who kindly offered to drive us into town.
Geoff has only been flying for
fifty years, including about thirty as a tug pilot and instructor.
He understands the
frustration of pilots landing at an unfamiliar town strip and not having ground
transport.
We booked into the Terminus,
well known to regular pilot visitors, and offered to buy Geoff a beer but the
farmers are a little more conservative with drink o,clock.
A young Mrs Elliott booked
us in for the night and I pointed out that her husband Phil must have led her
astray with the wrong spelling.
I will have strong words with
him!
We will have a healthy
counter tea here later, and try and scab a ride out to the airfield in the
morning to continue on to Narromine.
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| Des at the wheel again! |
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| A picture of a ground-based object of unknown identity but possibly little significance. I haven't mastered mutitasking with the iPad yet; will use another photographic device from tomorrow. |
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| A picture of some common instruments used in aviation. Many have been replaced in modern aircraft with en electronic panel known as a TMI--the acronym for Too Much Information!! |
Tuesday 7th
July
I’m sure you
all need to know that I had beef rissoles with chips and gravy and carrots and
peas and mash and broccoli for tea and being a good little boy I even ate all
the broccoli.
And then a
couple of pots for sweets, as a nightcap.
This morning we
headed out to the museum at the airfield and spent quite a while admiring all
the toys that David Lowy has accumulated.
They are all
immaculate and flown each second Saturday in flying displays.
After a snack
for lunch we fired up theUGlyDuckling and headed off to Narromine.
Clear and sunny
skies and we flew over Parkes at 5,500 feet, and got into here about 2:30pm.
And are staying
at the Airport model, right on the field. Run by an aviation nut and his wife
who really look after visiting pilots.
We have the
Spitfire Room and also shared use of a dining and lounge room.
The place is
set up with a real aviation theme.
We can cook up
a storm here in the kitchen this evening, so don’t need to go into town.
And the
aircraft is tied down safely only a hundred metres from our window.
Wednesday 8th
July
Des flaunted
his culinary skills at breakfast time by manufacturing scrambled eggs from the
fresh bumnuts that Nita and Peter had set aside for us.
Fresh from
their free range chooks.
The other motel
guests had to fend for themselves, but the owners really pamper pilots!
The
aforementioned chef used the cheats method by cooking in the microwave, but the
mangled nuts were quite edible with
some grated cheese sprinkled on top.
And of course
be has been boasting about his kitchen achievements all day.
We evicted
ourselves at ten and packed up and refueled theUGlyDuckling for the l-o-n-g
flight of 130nm to Gunnedah.
A bit of a head
wind on this leg, and even at 6,000 feet we were only getting just on ninety
knots ground speed.
Quite a bit of
traffic going into and out of Dubbo, Coonabarabran and Tamworth.
Des flew most
of this leg and I got a good tourists views of the Warrumbungle Range and the
good cropping and grazing country of the NSW central west.
Landed at
Gunnedah about 2pm and phoned a club member on duty for fuel.
It cost a $10 call-out
fee, but then Bill Kennedy agreed to drive us into town, thus saving the
inevitable taxi.
And he took us
for a real Cooks tour of the town including up the top of the town lookout.
Gunnedah seems
a pretty substantial town with a lot of coal mining activity to wack off the
greenies; and a pretty prosperous wheat belt also.
To offset all
those horrible greenhouse gases we are staying at a pretty modest public house,
which is quite comfortable but has no air-conditioning, and it is getting a bit
cool this evening.
Just our
contribution to saving the world.
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| Above Cumulous at 6,000 feet |
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| Warrumbungles |
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| Airfield near white dot over Des's left shoulder |
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| With Bill at Lookout, Gunnedah |
Thursday 9th
July
The counter tea
meals were great value at $12 for either a steak, barramundi fillets, lamb
shanks or pork spare ribs.
And the pub
filled up rapidly after dinner.
It seems the
main attraction was to watch some strange contest involving grown men
scrambling to dive at the ground between two sticks whilst clutching a leather
bag of wind; as other grown men in contrasting uniforms endeavored to lynch
them.
It is called
rugby and referred to as a type of football in which the feet only seem to be
used to nut the opponents, without getting caught by the umpire.
Apparently the
banana-benders lot thrashed the locals who became a bit quiet when the scores
were about fifty to two.
We adjourned to
the services club next door where the more refined locals joined us in watching
the first Ashes test.
Des couldn’t
resist the temptation of the gaming tables and for a modest investment of one
dollar received a gross return of fifteen dollars.
A much more
rewarding investment than the stock market or the Greek banking system.
A ten dollar
ride out to the airfield this morning and climbed out into a cloudless sky to
Goondowindi.
Cruising at
6,500 feet we had a bit of a head wind again and the ground speed hovered
around 90 knots.
Des’s box
brownie has run out of film so there is nothing much to entertain those who
can’t read.
We booked into
the Goondowindi Motel which has new owners who were happy to pick us up from
the airport, and also to return us there tomorrow.
There is a nice
restaurant attached to the motel and we will eat there tonight after a couple
of our own aperitifs.
Goondowindi is
about 1km inside the QLD border, only about 150nm from where ‘Joe the peanut
farmer’ lived, and we will refuel at Kingaroy tomorrow on the way to Murgon for
the night.
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| 'Life's too short to drink cheap whisky' |
Friday 10th
July
But is was cheap whisky—Minto Mist in fact, and
I think it must have caught up with us a bit.
Why else would
the Pitts person whinge all night that he couldn’t sleep due to my snoring, when his un-oiled and muffler-less old chainsaw ran at full revs till
morning!!
After breakfast
at the motel we got a lift with the boss bloke out to the airfield for the run
to Kingaroy.
About 125nm
over some tiger country with a 4,800 peak on track into Joes airport.
At 8,000 the
cloud base was still at least 10,000.
Refueled at
Kingaroy and feasted on our larder of tinned tuna in the terminal.
Then on a
further 20nm to Murgon. Quite difficult finding the ‘field’ which is a 700
metre cow paddock with a sealed road across the middle, and almost invisible
strip markers.
My first real
kangaroo hop landing, but not on the nose wheel!
What a scream
these lot are! The local Mayor owns the cows and the paddock AND the sealed
road, but he lets this bunch of real fly-nuts use it.
Note the upstairs
bog in the pictures complete with composting outfit, the bush clubhouse, and a
wide-span hangar which uses shipping containers for supporting walls.
They mostly own
and fly RAA things—Savannahs, Zeniths and the like, plus a splattering of GA
aircraft.
Not enough
people present today to fire up the pizza oven for tonight and it’s pretty
bloody cold anyway.
But the BIG
attraction is the Saturday morning breakfast, which is on, come hail or shine.
Farmer Deb who
flies an X-Air from her cow paddock a
few miles away gave us a lift into town in hubbies car, and will pick us up at
7am for breakfast at the ‘strip’.
The RSL has a
courtesy bus for honorable gentlemen like us, and we may even avail ourselves
of its services for a meal and refreshments later this evening.
Saturday 11th
July
A great meal at
the RSL which was packed to the rafters, and the courtesy bus was doing a
roaring trade.
Money bags
relieved the place of a further thirty dollars which he is convinced has
nothing to do with luck.
We shall see.
Ralph from the
Burnett Flyers picked us up at seven am for the run out to the airfield.
Thick fog down
to the ground early, but it didn’t deter people driving and flying in for the
monster breakfast.
As things
cleared a bit an IFR bloke in a Grumman Tiger came in through the soup, and
later several Savannahs, a Zenith, a Jabiru, a Storch, a Texan and a Whitman
tailwheel.
A ten
buck-breakfast included a couple of bumnuts, heaps of bacon, sausages,
tomatoes, toast, baked beans and tea and coffee.
Great stories
amongst this lot who come in from
as far away as Cabulture, Archerfield, the Glass house mountains and
beyond.
The local
Rotary Club members were invited, as they may be able to inject some money to
the Club for much needed works.
The CFI took a
few of them for a local flight to encourage their support.
The only income
they receive at present is from the monthly breakfasts, which involves a lot of
volunteer work.
Over thirty
people attended, so I guess they made a few quid.
By midday the
cloud had lifted a bit, and we fired up theUGlyDuckling and headed off.
We were under
low cloud and over a bit of tiger country for the first 100nm, and eventually
it cleared substantially and we were able to cruise at 5,500 under high cumulus
and later, clear sunny skies.
Emerald is a
very busy airport with RPT services and a flash terminal, and a bit of traffic
as we approached.
It was 22
degrees on the ground and time for shorts from here on.
Sponged a ride
into town and are staying at the Emerald Explorer motel.
And took their courtesy bus to and from a local pub-cum-gambling place for a nice meal.
Yes, and the
skilled one did pick up another ten
bucks.
Skill, not
luck?!!
Tomorrow we
will be off to Charters Towers, 236nm from Emerald.
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| Home made Pizza Oven |
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| He had to be the first!! |
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| Pres. Ralph (blue shirt) buttering up the Rotary mob |
Sunday 12th
July
The manager of
the motel had only been on the job for eight days and possibly hasn’t read his
job description yet. So he took us out to the airport at ten am.
We had to call
security for a bloke to come and let us in through the GA entrance. As usual, these ASIC things are bloody
useless.
Refueled and
taxied for take off on runway 24.
A very strong
breeze on the nose and we were air-born in about 200 metres.
As rough as
gutz down low and a very long climb to 6,500 where at least it was quite smooth
and in a cloudless sky, but the
ground speed hovered around 80kts most of the time, with occasional
breathtaking bursts of 95 knots.
The in-flight
catering left a bit to be desired but we were a bit busy to eat a three-course
meal.
The flying was
shared on this leg, each of us taking the wheel for 50nm or so and then
changing over.
As is usual up
here, on descent the turbulence increased considerably and it was pretty rock
and roll joining the circuit and lining up on final.
However I
reckon I pulled off about a 9 on the very long runway.
I left my
in-flight photographic device in the aircraft and hence only have a couple of
pictures on the ground to put on today.
We got a cab
ride to the Charters Towers Enterprise motel/hotel and have separate rooms.
So at least I
don’t have to put up with his
incessant snoring tonight!!
Charters Towers is a
big town of some 10,000 people, mainly based on coal mining; and we flew over
some very large pits from about 100nm out.
The pub doesn’t
do dinners on a Sunday night, and the bar and pokies closed at seven.
So I’ve ordered
a pizza for tea from Eagle Boys and the delivery time is about 45 minutes. Hope it arrives before morning.
Off to Cooktown
tomorrow.
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| Great airport security!! |
Sunday 13th
July
A taxi out to
the airfield, which is quite a way from our accommodation. I’m sure he got a
kickback from the place he recommended for us.
Lots of mango
trees growing wild in the back blocks and the driver says they just get a bag
and pick a heap whenever they want to.
He obviously
doesn’t understand about the herpes virus and that mangos cause violent cold
sores in susceptible persons!
The little wog
character that re-fueled us was a happy chap. About five foot tall with a
theatrical moustache, standing on tip toes on a two-step ladder to try and
reach the wing fuel tanks.
On for a chat,
but we were ready to leave so he entertained the chopper bloke who was next for
fuel.
The flight to
Cooktown was most interesting and over about the longest stretch of tiger
country I have encountered except perhaps Kupang to Dili!
Many rugged
granite clouds well over 4,000 feet, but often with flat land and beaches of
the Coral Coast on our starboard side.
Tracked through
the Cairns steps as we passed Marreba, then over Atherton, Port Douglas, Mosman
and the Daintree forest.
About 30 miles
out I flew out over the coast and tracked into Cooktown from over water.
Several RPT as
we joined the circuit after having spotted the old dirt runway right on track,
a few nm short of the long sealed one in use these days.
Refueling was
easy with an airport attendant on site to fill up a Falcon jet with kerosene.
We settled for Avgas!
Then rang a cab
for the ride into town, which is about 10km away.
First
impressions are that Cooktown is a very lush, very small and very outback town,
which exists on tourism and fishing plus a bit of gold mining further south.
Loads of mangos,
bananas, pineapples and other tropical crops, and certainly shorts weather up hear.
He have booked
into the River of Gold Motel which is recommended in Oz Runways, and is booked
out due to their being a court case jury staying here for tomorrow.
Hope I’ not on
trial!!
A meal at the
bowling club, which picked us in their courtesy bus.
I have booked a
rent-a-bomb for a Cooks tour (sic) tomorrow and we will be moving to a nearby
B&B for tomorrow night.
Haven’t met up
with James yet, but will visit a few of his haunts tomorrow.
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| Biggles always takes care of us! |
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| Dam near Atherton |
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| Another about-to-be redundant eyesore |
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| Private airstrip on the side of a 'ski-run'!! |
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| Great little islands a couple of miles out, near Palm Cove |
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| Tied down, Cooktown |
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| Cooktown International |
Tuesday 14th
July
Picked up our
little Hyundai rent-a-bomb before
ten am and drove down to the wharf area for some early sustenance and a late
breakfast.
Sat with an old
salt who comes up here from south of Newcastle for about six months each year
to drown worms and escape the cold.
A hard life!
Catches heaps
of barramundi and many other species using lures from a boat.
There are heaps
of very expensive catamarans moored in the Endeavour river inlet here waiting
for their well heeled owners who have sailed them up the coast from further
south.
They feed huge
gropers here at high tide which is a bit of an attraction for visitors, but it
is well out this morning.
Out next stop
was up the top of the very steep hill which is where Jim climbed each day to
look out to sea to observe the progress of his boat repairs.
A brilliant 360
degree of the town, river and coast.
Next stop was
the tourist information place which contains a good display of local history
and a collection of reptiles of the area.
There was a
pretty strong breeze during the day so I drove out to the airport to check
theUGlyDucking hadn’t blown away. The airfield is eleven km out of town on
about the only bit of flat and for miles, beside the river flats.
We then visited
the Cook Museum, in a superb old building which was formerly a respite for
naughty holy Roman girls and wayward nuns!
Perhaps the
most remarkable exhibits here are the actual anchor and cannon from Jims’ boat,
which were recovered after much searching in the 1960’s.
So much for
today’s history lesson.
On the way back
from the airstrip I noticed that those giant aliens we encountered on the
Antique Road show have being relieving themselves on the local roads here also!
Our B and B for
the night is pretty well packed out. Set in a lush bush setting with swimming
pool and outdoor eating area it is quite an oasis.
And the pet
frog in the men’s dunnies is very friendly!!!
We felt obliged
to support the local fishing industry by purchasing a kilo of Endevour prawns
straight off the boat for tea.
Hard work I
know, but visitors need to do their bit for Cooktown!
Wednesday 15th
July
A good
do-it-yourself breakfast included in our tariff at the B&B. Juice, yoghurt,
cereals toast and tea or coffee.
Then packed up
and returned the hire car. Had only driven some 50 km, but had to top up the
tank which took a whole four dollars.
Then a ride out
to the airfield with the car company assistant, who gave me a comprehensive
account of the Bahia faith of which he is a proponent.
This bloke is
possibly a Pacific Islander of some sort, and by the time we arrived at the
airport, I was conversant with but not a convert to Bahia.
He successfully
put Des to sleep however, listening attentively in the back seat.
After squeezing
the lemons we fired up theUGlyDuckling for the 285nm to Karumba, a 3.4hours
flight time due to head winds again.
An interesting
take-off from YCKT with very high ground to climb above before 200nm of tiger
country most if the way to Karumba.
Karumba
airstrip is long and sealed, but surprisingly parallel to the beach which of
course almost always means total cross wind for take off and landings.
Tied down next
to a C206 of Graeme Boatman and left him a note.
Des’s mate
Steve who is up here for several months on a fishing trip picked us up and took
us to the caravan park where we booked into a cabin for the night.
Karumba is a
great spot right on the beach at the edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria and seems
to be over-run by Prictorians escaping the winter cold.
Unless you are
into fishing fanatic however, there’s nothing much to do at Karumba; a bit like
places such as Coral Bay in the West.
Later, Steve
took us to the local where we had
a great meal and a couple of drinks with him and several friends.
This spot is a
very popular place to watch the sunset over the water at low tide, which we
did!
It got a bit
chilly in the evening and we even needed jumpers on.
Had an early
night in our cabin. The mens are a fair way away and Des gets a bit excited about using the sink so I will need to make more amicable arrangements.
Lets hope the
wind has dropped a bit in the morning as we are off to Normanton for fuel and to do an oil change; and then on to Julia Creek for the night.
Have booked into the Julia Creek motel for tomorrow night and they will pick us up from the airport.
Thursday 16th
July
Steve offered
to cook us bacon and eggs for breakfast at his van annex in the morning.
And so after he
returned from his daily seven km walk we were getting a bit peckish.
But he didn’t
disappoint, and the bacon, eggs, toast and coffee went down very well.
The morning
breeze was very strong and most of the campers declared it a non-fishing day.
Out at the
airstrip the wind was of course all crosswind. We waited a while but it didn’t
abate, so I took off and climbed inland as quickly as possible.
Normanton is
only 20nm away, so no point going above 2,500 for the short run to there, where
again it was mostly all crosswind, but a very long runway.
A REX airlines
Metroliner was about to taxi out as I turned base, but he had to hold till we
landed and exited the runway.
We refueled
here, and I also bought oil and did an oil-change.
Then it was off
again 165nm on to Julia Creek for the night.
Still a head
wind most of the way, we aren’t having much luck with the winds lately.
We got a ride
into this tiny town and are staying at the Julia Creek Motel which is recommended
on Oz Runways.
A typical
little outback QLD town which I hadn’t flown into before.
The centre of a
vast cattle area with massive yards and road trains for stock cartage.
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| Normanton International |
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| Over Lara Downs Stn--HUGE HOLDING!! |
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| Lara Downs Station homestead |
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| Rural City of Julia Creek |
Friday 17th
July
After a bacon
and egg roll and coffee at the local servo opposite, we were driven out to the
airfield, to again be confronted by a very strong crosswind which was gusting
all over the place.
We sat in the
tiny terminal for a while contemplating yet another difficult takeoff and
climb.
A Rex Saab 340
flight from Mount Isa to Townsville landed and one passenger got off, and two
boarded.
I don’t think
Julia Creek, with a population of
just four hundred, would be a very profitable stop for Rex.
After waiting a
while and the wind not changing, I decided we would take off and head over Winton,
with the proviso that if the wind there was all cross-wind we would continue on
to Longreach.
However, it was
quite smooth at 6,500 en- route, and the wind was mainly straight down the
track which made landing a bit less challenging.
The refuellers
were on the field and kindly drove us into town, after topping up the tanks.
They took us on
a bit of a tour of the town and suggested the North Gregory Hotel, where we are
staying.
Unfortunately
the main Winton museum was burned down a couple of weeks ago. Most exhibits
were saved, but the display is not open again yet.
The place is
famous for the oldest dinosaur footprints area in Australia, about 100 km away.
More
interestingly, Banjo Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda here, and Qantas originated
following a meeting here in 1920.
The pub has
been burned down twice but has been re-built by the community.
And LBJ crashed
his aircraft here in 1942 during the war, and after being rescued spent some
time staying at the pub.
Of course years
later be became President of the USA after JFK was assassinated.
It is bloody
cold here, and even areas of southern QLD have had snow! Welcome to the
Sunshine State!!!!
We will head
off to Longreach tomorrow and may stay there two days, the Qantas museum and
the Stockmans’ Hall of fame need some serious observation.
Saturday 18th
July
Last night we
had a meal at the Tattersall’s pub across the road from our one.
Cheaper meals
but very nice and more people eating there that the North Gregory.
And the bird
who was crucifying the saxophone at Daly Waters when the plumber and I were
there a couple of years ago was doing the same for her keep I guess.
I did however
get her to play Aka Bilks’ Stranger on the Shore, which was pretty good.
This morning we
got a lift out to the airport with the refuellers again, and they took us for a
great tour of the town. I will mention this in the pilots notes section of Oz
Runways.
It is also very
RV friendly, with lots of vans parked out of town beside a small lake.
Interestingly
the town water supply is from bores and comes to the surface boiling hot and
has to be settled in cooling ponds before pumping into the high water tower for
pressure.
It tastes a bit
like kero and hence it’s much safer to drink beer.
We took off
with a bit of a crosswind, but it had moderated a bit.
But we still
only got about 85kts all the way to Longreach for an uneventful landing.
Many GA
aircraft on the ground, and a bit of a treck to escape through security.
Those useless
ASICS again!!
We spent a
couple of hours in the Qantas museum, which has been greatly improved and
housed in new buildings since I was last here.
Then we called
the Longreach Motel and the owner called out and drove us into town.
In have
declared a pilots strike tomorrow, and will be having a full day of rest.
I may even
catch up on my washing and ironing and bathing and all those essential
household duties.
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| Approaching Longreach--hungry country! |
Sunday 19th
July
QUIET PLEASE!
As mentioned
yesterday, today has been declared a day of complete rest.
And so after
washing my complete wardrobe and hanging it out to dry, a day of complete rest
ensued.
Of course the
other elderly gentleman couldn’t resist wandering off to the bowling club and
joining in as coach with a group of much younger ladies!!
For sustenance,
I DID rise at 7pm and we attended the local Chinese place and as we devoured
our modest morsels observed a couple of blokes attempting to devour an
outrageously huge meal.
So much in fact
that the Desmond character reminded me that his mother used to say ‘I don’t know how you get by on one
arsehole’!!
She must have
been almost as crude as him!!
However, it’s
off to Charleville tomorrow.
Monday 20th
July
We got a ride
out to the airport with the motel owner.
Des had
buttered him up with some obscure carpentry advice which turned out useful for
us.
The flight to
Charleville commenced is clear cloudless skies but there was a bit of a cloud
build-up about half way and we were down to below 5000 feet.
We shared the
wheel on this leg of just a bit over 200 nm, and at least the strong winds we
have suffered for about a week have moderated.
Pete the
re-fueler at Charleville is quite a legend and has many positive messages
posted on Oz Runways by pilots flying in here.
After
re-fueling we had a snack for lunch in his café beside the runway, and he even
loaned us a courtesy car for the night.
A great
service, which I will also acknowledge appropriately.
In a weak
moment I attended a trichologist for a beard trim including cleaning up the
soup filter.
After a
comprehensive tour of the town we bought some provisions from IGA and will
patronize the RSL Club for dinner.
Next stop
Cunumulla tomorrow.
Tuesday 21st
July
Returned out courtesy vehicle to Peter the fuel
and cafe proprietor at Charleville airport.
The wind seemed in our favour today, and we
rolled on runway 36 and turned to head south.
Only ninety two nm to Cunumulla and Des took
over in cruise for this leg.
With about 115 knots ground speed it only took an hour including departure and approach
for landing.
Called Donna at the Oxford motel who offered to
drive us in to town. A pretty good
deal as the airfield is some ten km out of town.
In addition she loaned us the car for a bit of a
drive round the town.
In the middle of a very broad and barren cattle
area the town is a pretty scattered affair and seems a bit run down.
The Warrego River runs through town, and
commences somewhere up north and flows down from Longreach several hundred
miles away.
This area is hardly the place for a holiday at
ground level but the scenery from above is worth every moment of a flying
adventure.
We will have a meal here at the motel this
evening and head off to Bourke in the morning.
Only 122nm tomorrow, and out of the lands of the banana benders!!
Wednesday 22nd July
We have summed up last nights place up as either
a disaster already in progress or waiting to happen.
And
hope we are wrong.
But two ladies on their own with no pub or motel
experience and a building about to fall apart without serious intervention, a
miracle is urgently needed.
The meal was OK, the room sparse but passable
but with four other pubs/motels in a town with a diminishing population, things
are looking a bit bleak.
Hence the offer to drive us both from and to the
airport was as essential to them as us.
There are vast tracts of Western Queensland in
similar drought conditions with farmers loosing property to the banks, and
small towns bleeding.
But some places seem to survive, to adapt, to
innovate and ultimately thrive.
Charleville is a good example of the latter.
We hope Cunumulla happens upon better times, and
quickly, or the last person to leave will have to turn out the light.
At the airfield this morning we met a couple of
guys in a Piper from Riddels Creek; heading for Bourke, and hoping to continue
on to Broken Hill today.
They left a bit before us and we followed under
high cloud, and an occasional light shower.
The wind is now in our favour and we
averaged135kts, and I saw 140kts ground speed at one stage!
After landing at Bourke we had a yarn to them
and it started pissing rain, which has continued all day.
A Council worker at the airport kindly drove us
into town and we are staying at the Port ‘O Bourke pub.
Hope the sky clears to fly to Griffith tomorrow
about 270nm.
 |
| Not me, Des with the bosses Rottweiler!! |
Thursday 23rd July.
The Port ‘O Bourke pub is certainly thriving. All
rooms booked out, and they served well in excess of 100 meals last night.
We got a lift out to the airport with Tracy the
proprietor. It had rained quite a bit during the night.
And there was fog down to the ground, so we
cooled our heels for several hours and waited.
Also two blokes in a Piper Cherokee from Riddels
Creek waited with us and eventually we took off for Griffith about 1:30pm.
Kept in contact with them on the chat frequency,
fortunately we were able to climb at 5,000 through a hole into clear skies and
all had a good run to Griffith, with a bit of a tail wind.
Landed and tied down, and the four of us got a
lift into town with the local Aero Club CFI.
And stayed in the same motel.
Des and I have decided to fly to Echuca tomorrow
and stay there an extra night, he has a 21st to attend on Saturday
night and the weather isn’t looking that bright for the weekend.
And our friends in the Piper hope to fly direct
to Riddels Creek in the morning.
This flying game always depends on the weather!!
It hope it is kind to us, and it will be home
sweet home on Sunday!!!
 |
| Healthy crops of something like tomatoes?? approaching Griffith!! |
Friday 24th July
We shared a taxi out to the airfield at 8:30am
with our new friends in the Piper.
Then sat in the clubrooms for a l-o-n-g analysis
of the situation as the rain continued.
Until almost midday.
As it eased a bit, an air ambulance came in and
the bloke flying it reckoned the cloud base was about 500 feet, a bit low for
us.
We fueled-up, and after much checking of radar
of iPads, the Piper blokes decided to have a go for Echuca, and not right
through to Riddels Creek today.
They left about half an hour before us and after
we were air-born we could see their position on the traffic feature of Oz
Runways.
We could only get to 1500 feet for the first
50nm or so, through showers, and occasionally to 2,500 feet.
Their track went over Deniliquin and as their
‘blip’ on the screen circled that place for a while, we assumed they would have
landed there, perhaps for the night, or till things improved a bit.
We continued on at 1500 feet and finally arrived
over Echuca for an uneventful landing in reasonable weather.
A guy at the aero club kindly drove us into town
to the Echuca Motel, which I had booked yesterday.
There is some folk-type-music festival in town
over this weekend and the traffic was like Bourke Street.
However the Workers and Services Club courtesy
vehicle driver kindly picked us up from the motel and we had a ‘seniors meal’
for dinner there, followed by the courtesy vehicle back to the motel.
Having a two-course meal including a roast for
half price makes being a senior a little more palatable.!!
Des is all excited about his family party
tomorrow, but I will be happy to rest indoors and have a couple of scotches
with my dinner.
And then only 66nm to home on Sunday
morning!!!!
It’s been a great trip but I can’t wait to get
home!!
 |
| Shit WX from YGHT; now safely tied down at YECH
Saturday 25th July
Des’s neices 21st party today and a
day of rest this arvo and evening for me.
Picked up in the morning by his sister and to
her place. Met all the
rellies—quite a decent lot compared to him!!
We all then had lunch together at the Moamma RSL
Club and again the ‘seniors’ meal of soup, and bangers and mash was great value
at $13.50.
And they even tossed in sweets for this ‘ole
fart, I think as the result of a dare for which I was the ‘fall-guy’.
I can handle that!!!
Daughter Katherine with two rug rats drove us
about and to our digs in a nice self-contained cabin.
And then we drove out to the airport and ‘rug
rat #1’ (alias Harry) got to sit in theUGlyDuckling and have pop take his
photo.
But he probably forgot to put 620 film in his
Box Brownie again!!
I have opted for a rest in the cabin overlooking
the Murray, with a scotch or two and a pizza!!
And we will be off home tomorrow (me) with Des
staying the night before heading back to the southern climes of Portland.
Our cabin below, my beautiful bird (and my other one waiting at home), and who is having a party??
   |
Sunday 26th July
Up early and a bit of cold
pizza for breakfast. Katherine did a remarkable job of getting her little ‘tackas’
organised and everything packed into the car, and drove us out to the airport
at 8:30am. She is very easy-going and I think possibly takes after her mum! Sorry, Des!
Took off into a westerly
wind on runway 36 for the short but lumpy ride home. Low cloud all the way and
pretty turbulent at 1500 feet and not the best visibility.
A strong westerly blowing at
Kyneton and so it was a landing on the ‘27’ grass runway. Topped up the fuel to
work out the total fuel burn later, cleaned out the aircraft and I was
delighted to head back home as early as possible!
Another great adventure!!
