Stockmans Challenge

It could be said that the Australian Outback was tamed by tough men, resourceful women and great horses. No question, horses and the great outback have been synonymous with this vast land since man first ventured beyond the continent's ocean perimeter. Before the motorised age, horses, hundreds of thousands of horses, linked outback communities and in so many ways were central to the nation's economic development.  

The lean sun-tanned stockman on horse back accompanied by his faithful dog is an iconic image imortilised in Australian art and culture. However, venture outback today and you'll find this scene is still everyday rural life and enthusiastically celebrated with gatherings like the Cloncurry Stockman's Challenge. 

Under a cloudless outback sky hundreds of horse transporters accompanied by nearly two thousand stockmen and stockwomen gathered at Cloncurry for the 2017 Stockmans Challenge; and among the spectators this year were the Bazflyers. The Cloncurry Stockman’s Challenge is an elite and prestigious event that is regarded as one of the greatest horse events in Australia. It celebrates the talent and passion of horsemen and women drawing competitors from all states in to a fierce and thrilling competition.

Big Rigs and Cattle

Those sun-etched folk who call the great Australian outback their home are by nature a wonderfully unpretentious lot and perhaps this is also the defining uniqueness of outback towns. They are not big and showy, just proudly purposeful in their existence and the Queensland town of Roma is one such example.

Poised on the edge of the outback, the small rural town of Roma can justifiably claim a rich pioneering history. Perhaps it's more notable contribution to the history archives was being the site of Australia's first oil and gas discovery, an industry that today still continues to underpin the local economy. But it was not oil and gas that steered the Bazflyers into Roma, this town also has the largest cattle sale centre in the Southern Hemisphere. 

Cattle sales are held twice a week and on any sale day over 8,000 head of cattle will be auctioned. Almost as impressive as the sales yards is the associated transport infrastructure. Cattle from near and far are carted to and from the centre mainly in giant multi-trailer trucks known as ‘road trains’. The atmosphere of a Roma cattle sale with its dust, noise and controlled mayhem has, in recent times, become a significant local visitor attraction. During our morning at the sale-yards store cattle consistently fetched record high prices without any visible reaction from the vendor….thereby reinforcing the unpretentious character of true outback folk. 

A typical cattle road train

Cattle lot awaiting their turn with an auctioneer

Working the yards

Another type of big rig. This is the original rig responsible for Roma's oil and gas discovery

The streets of Roma are lined with Bottle Trees

Gayndah

Detour inland away from the coast anywhere around Australia and it's not just the landscape that changes…it is also home to a whole different culture and lifestyle. Affectionally referred to as ‘the outback’, this vast expanse of rural enterprise is deservedly the real Australia. 

The journey was barely a one hour flight for the Bazflyers on a NW heading out of Caboolture. Our destination was the small rural town of Gayndah, a friendly place famous for its oranges. As good fortune would have it, our weekend stay coincided with the town’s annual food and produce festival. Festival activities included a delightful local produce market and a guided opportunity to explore the surrounding North Burnett region. Travelling by bus with a mostly local contingent on board was both enjoyable and informative. 

As the Comanche made its way skywards out of Gayndah’s well presented airport we viewed the countryside below with admiration for the region’s hard working and innovative folk.

The flight from Caboolture to Gayndah 

Blueberries on an enormous scale…200 hectares of them all under cover.

Mandarin oranges galore

Gayndah is the is the home of the Queensland Derby first run in 1868.

Snow Bird Time

In a very modest way the Bazflyers could justifiably claim flying their Taupo based Piper Comanche across the Tasman Sea to Australia has become a well rehearsed routine. Somewhat in the manner of habitual Snowbirds, those retirees who wish to avoid the snow and cold temperatures of winter, waking up to a few frosty mornings is all it takes to once again trigger our annual migration. This year we have chosen Central and North Queensland for our winter playground.

Prior to every Tasman Sea crossing ZK-BAZ is given a through 100 hourly inspection. All of its vitals are checked and tested. For example, even although the installed set of fine wire spark plugs had reliably performed for 700 hours, the Lycoming IO540 engine was shouted a new set of twelve Tempest fine wire plugs. Uncompromised reliability and performance is never negotiable. When the Comanche is flight ready it is loaded with an already prepared travelling pack-up. This includes bottles of oil and essential spare parts, tools, life raft, survival kit and even spare pens. Everything stowed in their rightful locations and checked against a master list. 

Bazflyer selfie while in the cruise somewhere over the Tasman Sea

A routine of weather-watching precedes each Tasman crossing with suitable conditions a prerequisite. Route planning for this week's flight went through several iterations due to there being no AVGAS presently available on Norfolk Island. Then there was a last minute notification that Australian quarantine services were not currently available at Lord Howe Island. A final routing solution was settled for Wednesday 28 June which also promised a suitable weather window. 

It was decided then....the Bazflyers would overnight at Kerikeri and in the morning after receiving our all important Customs clearance, we would fly for 5 hours 15 minutes direct to Lord Howe Island. Here we would do immigration formalities into Australia and up lift 50 litres of fuel before flying a further 2 hours 15 minutes to the Gold Coast airport for quarantine services. 

Flight route across the Tasman Sea

Onroute winds were true to forecast enabling us to average 150 Kts ground speed for the 1150 NM flight. The friendly controller on Brisbane Approach had us slow-up to 130 knots for our descent from 8000 feet into the Gold Coast. We were expertly vectored onto the RNAV for runway 33, all the while nicely sequenced as number-two for landing behind a Virgin B737. 

The view outside

The quarantine man was there to meet us when the propellor finally stopped as we came to rest on the Platinum Aviation ramp. A generous release of cabin insecticide later we were set free on Ozzie soil. Another uneventful Bazflyer flight across the Tasman Sea. Tomorrow we head outback.....where the weather forecast looks great!