Outback attractions

Longreach might be a small outback town but surprisingly it has some big attractions on offer. The Australian Stockmans Hall of Fame is a dedicated museum that pays tribute to pioneers of the Australian Outback. Bazflyers had no difficulty spending the best part of a full day here.

The Australian Stockman

Of course for anyone interested in aviation Longreach was the birth place of Queensland and Northern Territory Air Services Pty Ltd or QANTAS as it became known. The QANTAS Founders Museum located at the airport pays tribute to the founders of this great airline and has many unique exhibits commemorating the company's early history. To do justice a full day is needed.

Bazflyer2 standing in a QANTAS Boeing 747 engine nacelle.

Long before aircraft and trains the Australian outback depended greatly on river transport. Longreach sits on the Thomson River along which river boats provided valuable connections and the means of transporting wool and other goods. Unfortunately, frequent droughts and floods interferred with river transport which eventually gave way to more reliable rail and road. The Bazflyers were able to briefly capture the romantic atmosphere of those river boats on a sunset paddle-wheel cruise on the Thomson.

Sunset on the Thomson River

Road transport played a major role in opening up the Outback and when it came to 4-wheels there was nothing bigger across the land than Cobb & Co horse coaches. Only in Longreach can you experience the sight, feel and sound of riding in a replica Cobb & Co coach drawn by a team of four horses at the gallop doing 40 kph. A very unique outback experience.

Cobb & Co coach at the gallop

Longreach

Australia is one BIG country. After a pleasant Easter break back home in New Zealand the Bazflyers returned to Brisbane. Less than three hours after landing at Brisbane airport BAZ was settled in at 8500 feet heading north-west on route to Longreach.

Longreach is a small town in Central Queensland and approximately 1,000 km from Brisbane. In cruise configuration BAZ zips through the air at 300 km per hour which in simple mathematics means the flight time to out to Longreach equals a bit over three hours. However, add a moderate headwind and an on route dog leg to avoid military airspace, our flight to Longreach was a total of 3 hrs 45 mins. 

The afternoon sky out west was near perfect. No cloud and a pleasant 10 degrees C at our cruising altitude. Top of descent into Longreach was initiated with 100 km left to run. During descent the Bazflyers looked ahead for the town and airport and when sighted we were somewhat amazed at the small footprint Longreach made on the surrounding landscape. Yes, the Australian outback is certainly a big landscape.

On the way to Longreach

Bazflyers have wanted to visit Longreach for quite some time and now we are here. Small as the town might be it has some big attractions. For aviators this is the birth place of QANTAS and home to the QANTAS Founders Museam. For lovers of the outback, there is the legendary Stockman's Hall of Fame. 

Even the trucks are big....this one has 62 wheels

Bazflyers look forward to taking you with us as we visit these attractions and other local sights.

Flinders Island

Flinders Island is the largest of 52 Islands that comprise the Furneaux Island group. Situated in Bass strait between Wilsons Promontory in Victoria and the north coast of Tasmania, these islands are the remnants of a land bridge that once connected the Australian continent with what we know today as Tasmania.

Lady Barron

Only two of the Furneaux Islands are permanently inhabited and at last count the population numbered just a few hundred people. After appropriate counselling by a couple of locals at the tavern last evening we were well prepared for a quiet Sunday morning, Flinders Island style. 

Sunday morning at the general store

A short walk found all the action going down at the Lady Baron general store with people dropping by to pick up supplies while others simply lounged outside, chatting or drinking not a bad coffee served up by the solitary store operator. Introductions were superfluous as the Bazflyers had already been identified in advance as the folk from the airplane parked overnight on the airstrip...!

View from the old man's shrine

We sought directions up to the adjacent hill top from a kindly older gentleman with an ageing dog. He was clearly familiar with the way and said he goes up every day and sits there with his dog. 

Forever loved and remembered

We came across his shrine and the epitaph written to his wife. "Kerryn Hatfield 8/5/1958 - 27/10/2011 aged 53 years married on this spot 1/1/2002 forever loved and remembered".

Southern Islands

It is just two weeks since we took off from the BAZ Base. Some 21 hours flight time and 13,000 km later we have settled in for the weekend on Flinders Island. 

Last weekend we attended the Comanche Society annual Autumn fly-in which was held at Clare. Attendance at this event was central to the timing for our current travels. Twenty aircraft flew into the Clare Valley Airstrip and 17 were Piper Comanches representing both single and twin engine varieties. BAZ looked a treat parked among the fleet of Australian attendees and along with the Bazflyer Crew had unequivocally flown the furtherest to be there. It is always a pleasure to socialise with our Comanche mates and the charms of the Clare region provided a wonderful back-drop to the occasion. 

The fly-in weekend came to an end all too soon and with the departure of the last Comanche off Clare airstrip on Monday morning the Bazflyers had to decide where to next...

Just a short thirty minute flight to the south of Clare, Adelaide seemed like a pretty good first option. We landed at the main Adelaide Airport which is located very near the city centre and it wasn't long before the Bazflyers were out on foot exploring the central area. The city is a pleasing complimentary mix of old and new. The markets with hundreds of stalls stacked with every imaginable kind of produce are something else again. 

Adelaide mixes old and new

Like all aviators the Bazflyers are highly tuned to weather forecasts and with a favourable situation on offer we decided to visit Australia's three main southern islands excluding Tasmania. The first of these being Kangaroo Island lying in the Great Southern Ocean and only 150 km from Adelaide. Johnston's Airstrip turned out to be a fantastic uniformed choice. Dean Johnson is a spritely octogenarian still flying his own Cherokee 6 aircraft. A farmer, contractor and aviation enthusiast he has carved out no less than 4 runways on his farm. His wife, Judy, operates a B&B that even comes with the use of a car. Wow, we had just the best stay and toured some of the Island.

Kangaroo Island coastline

King Island is situated over five hundred kilometres east of Kangaroo Island and off the north western tip of Tasmania. The island's population is reputed to be around 1,700. However, an impression gained after a day's drive was that human inhabitants were easily out numbered by the resident Wallaby population. Other impressions include wonderful friendly people, rugged coastline, a restaurant with no food and of course a fascinating historical linkage to our PNG friend Rob Parer.

BAZ track to King Island

Restaurant with no food

Restaurant with no food is the old boat house on Currie harbour

Flinders Island is the last of the three islands we will visit on this southern Australian trip. Come Monday we will point BAZ north again to be in Brisbane by next weekend. 

               

Coincidences

Sometimes random events intriguingly lead to some interesting coincidences which has been a trend over the past few days. 

1st coincidence: After departing Kerikeri and an uneventful 3-hour flight, the Bazflyers landed on Norfolk Island around midday. Whenever we have visited Norfolk Island we’ve always stayed at the Paradise Hotel. Friendly and obliging hosts. This time the mere mention of venturing into the village for lunch was challenged with the keys to a red Mercedes sports car. Lunch was pleasant but when it came time for the short drive back to the hotel we were unable to start the Merc. Our hosts came to the rescue and after explaining an idiosyncrasy involving the key and foot brake we were encouraged to lower the roof and go for a drive around the island….!

2nd coincidence: Monday morning started with an unhurried departure from Norfolk Island. This was followed by another uneventful overwater flight but this time the flight was 5-hours. Remarkably our landing time at Gold Coast airport turned out to be the identical local time as the previous day’s arriving aonNorfolk Island. Additionally, the hour meter in BAZ was reading 600.0 when the engine was stopped for the day…!

3rd coincidence: Today the Bazflyers made the 3-hour flight from the Gold Coast inland to the town of Bourke. Forecast weather conditions along the eastern seaboard did not look too good for the remainder of the week with thunderstorm and heavy rain. All last night it bucketed rain on the Gold Coast so with a temporary respite forecast for this morning the decision to fly inland was a no brainer. 

On-route to Bourke

                                                                      BAZ parked at Bourke

Bazcopilot is a keen woman aviator and Bourke airport is named in honour of Nancy-Bird Walton (1915-2009) a pioneering Australian woman aviator and local identity. In the 1930s, defying the traditional role of females of her time, she became a fully qualified pilot at the age of 19, and became the youngest Australian woman to gain a pilot's licence. She went on to provide an early Flying Doctor service to outback areas of NSW using her own Gipsy Moth that she later replaced with a more suitable aircraft.

Nancy-Bird Walton AO, OBE, DStJ.

Ziezo

“Ziezo” is a lovely dutch word that loosely translates as “behold” or “look”. It is also an appropriate word on which to begin a new series of Bazflyer blogs.

Ziezo...the Bazflyers, Barry and Sandra, are once again overnighting in the small northland town of Kerikeri following a smooth one and half hour flight in our Piper Comanche from Taupo. Tomorrow morning after completing Customs formalities at the airport we’ll point ZK-BAZ into the northern skies for its three hour run up to Norfolk Island. The next day we make a five hour flight westward across the Tasman Sea to Gold Coast Airport. This will be the first time we have not transited through Lord Howe Island when crossing the Tasman Sea and should be a good test of bladder capacity!

So what’s the significance of “Ziezo”…? It happens to also be the name of a delightful small cafe resturant in the centre of Kerikeri that serves a scrumptious Devonshire afternoon tea. Freshly baked scones, whipped cream and homemade strawberry jam. Yum.

Ziezo says it all….the Bazflyers invite you to share our new adventure right here on the Bazflyer blog.