BAZflyer: Forest

It was the physicist Isaac Newton who famously proclaimed that every action has an opposite and equal reaction. Aircraft pilots learn very early on during their initial flight training that every aeroplane very definitely operates on this principal. One of the obvious action and reaction paradigms is burning fuel to provide forward thrust. A simple translation; more fuel is required the longer the distance to be flown.

The great arid Nullabor Plain stretching for over 1,000 kilometre separates West and East Australia with the wild Southern Ocean on its flank. Travelling by road or rail across this sparsely populated natural barrier is usually measured in days, so it is not difficult to see why the faster mode of air travel has always been a preferred means of travelling between East and West. Which brings me back to Newton and the fact that airplanes require stops to refuel.

Somewhere near the middle of the 'Nullabor', as it is usually referred to, is the tiny settlement of Forest with a population of just one couple and Wally their adorable Basset Hound? The locals who are normally in-residence for a sojourn of eighteen months, look after the strategically important all weather airstrip, refuel aircraft or vehicles, greet itinerate travellers and otherwise take care of this historic location.

While crossing the Nullabor from Kalgoolie to Port Lincoln in the east, the Bazflyers dropped into Forest, replenished the Comanche's fuel tanks and our own. A well needed coffee was served with delicious freshly cooked muffins. In our opinion, Forest may well be the friendliest and most positive town we have ever experienced.

Perhaps Forest sitting beside the longest straight section of railroad in the world, is no where near as critical to transport as it was in the very early days of air travel, motor cars and steam locomotives, but the Bazflyers would be reluctant to ever overfly this gem of a place even it it was to simply say "hello" to the locals, and of course, Wally.

Airport Terminal at Forest International