Our original plan was to fly around the Gulf of Carpentaria to Cooinda which I had visited many years ago. At Cooinda, you can do the Yellow Waters cruise which is lovely and includes seeing some pretty ferocious crocodiles in their natural habitat. It’s school holidays here and we weren’t able to get accommodation so that idea was sadly scrubbed.
Next idea - let’s go right around the Gulf of Carpentaria at the top of Australia to the strangely sounding Groote Eylandt. I haven’t been there before.
With accommodation planned and a call to the friendly ARO at Groote Eylandt airport to check what, if any, Aboriginal land access permits we needed to land on the island, we were off.
In the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Australian continent sort of merges into the sea. The land barely rises above sea level and, apart from the mangroves, the coastline is pretty indistinct. Across the land, green fringed waterways make their way to the sea and, from the air, look like capillaries from some biological text book. The few settlements in the Gulf are dozens of miles inland and so the coastline is remote and isolated. With appropriate attention to the Civil Aviation Regulations of course, it’s fun to drop down low and zoom up and down the waterways. Birds are a hazard but, on this occasion, I saw few.
Andrew and I positioned the aircraft so he could get some video of me flying along the coastline. When that was done, I carried on “zooming” and having a great time.
The Gulf is about 350nm (650km) wide and so it was necessary to get some fuel. We called into Borroloola for that and wandered down the road to the local service station for an icecream and cold drink. The temperature was about 29 degrees.
Borroloola is a bit of a rough looking Aboriginal community and, although the aircraft are in a secure area behind a locked gate, I didn’t want to leave them for long. We scurried back to the airport with melting icecreams in hand and briefed our flight onto Groote Eylandt.
Groote Eylandt was named by the Dutch (“eylandt” is Dutch for “island”). It’s aboriginal land and there are strict access permissions and large fines if you take alcohol onto the island without permission. On the west coast there are massive opencast manganese mines which are impressive as you fly over. There’s also regular mine blasting and NOTAMS advising of that which, as a pilot, you need to be aware of as the mines aren’t far away from the airport.
Allan, the Groote Eylandt Airport Manager, was a very friendly chap and offered to drive us the 20km to the Lodge we had booked in the main settlement of Alyangula. On the way he told us lots about the mines, the traditional Aboriginal owners and life on the island with his young family.
The Groote Eylandt Lodge was a lovely resort with a high standard of small but comfortable rooms. It was very pleasant sitting on the deck with a drink in hand watching the sun go down.
Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
Icecreams & cold drinks at Borroloola on a 29deg day
Groote Eylandt traffic
Post flight debriefing (with adult beverages) on the deck at Groote Eylandt Lodge
Although I flew ZK-VRV across the Tasman in 2016 and knew what to expect, I was nervous about this crossing. Perhaps as you get older you become more risk averse, aware of your own mortality and conscious that you have limited time left on this planet and so don't ant to hasten the end. Now that I have grandkids, perhaps it as wanting to see them grow and blossom. Perhaps it was the Underwater Evacuation Training we did in preparation for this trip. I don't know. Whatever it was, as I lined up on Kerikeri's runway 15 and pushed the throttle forward for takeoff - I was scared.
Kerikeri to Norfolk Island
The weather forecast was good with light tail winds over the entire 484nm (896km) to Norfolk Island.
Simon Ford had generously flown up to Kerikeri in his Tecnam Sierra (ZK-LSF) to see us off and had left before me with the objective of taking some in-flight photos as we started our trip. I caught up with him about halfway along 90 Mile Beach and did my best to position ZK-VRV so he could take a picture of me.
Simon saluting me as I flew past
After passing Simon and saying cheerio to him, it wasn't long before Cape Reinga came into view and the first leg of a long over-water crossing began. The butterflies in my tummy were subdued but still there!
At this stage I had climbed to 6500' but there was a bank of cloud in my path and I was faced with that classic pilot dilemma. Should I go under or over it (my pilots licence doesn't allow me to go through it)? As I didn't know how extensive this cloud was I opted to descend and pass under it. However, when I got to about 3500' and would have to descend lower to pass beneath it, I chickened out and I didn't want to be too low over water. The edge of the cloud wasn't far to my left so I altered my course to climb beside it so I could pass over it.
On a trip like this your altitude is constrained by your height over water - you don't want to be too low and have no time to diagnose and correct a problem, too high (above 10,000) - where the effects of hypoxia can start to impact your judgement, and well clear of cloud if the air temperature is 2 deg or lower - at those temperatures even nicking the side of a cloud can result in icing. It's a constant juggle.
As the legs across the Tasman Sea are so long, flying on top of cloud is not a problem until you're within about 50nm of your destination. It's normally not that extensive and you don't have to vary your course much to be able to remain in the clear.
At 8500' I was on top of the cloud. It came and went as I cruised along and I stayed at that altitude most of the way to Norfolk Island with only the odd deviation +/- 1000' and left and right of track to remain in the clear.
With my autopilot taking care of the flying and "Thunderbird 6" contently humming along, I quickly settled into a routine of monitoring and logging ZK-VRV's engine parameters every 15 mins and carefully watching my fuel usage. For improved endurance I carry a 40litre fuel bladder on the passenger seat beside me which I use after takeoff but is exhausted after about 1.25hrs. It's not good if the fuel being supplied by the bladder runs out and the engine stops.
Andrew, John and I chatted over the radio about all sorts of things pilots care about but would bore most other people to tears.
Well into the leg to Norfolk Island we independently calculated our Point of No Return and verified that with each other. Before reaching that point I rang the Automated Weather Station at Norfolk Island to check the actual weather conditions at the airport were as forecast and it was safe to land and passed that onto Andrew and John.
Descending from 8500' approaching Norfolk Island I had to dodge some clouds. Clear of them, Norfolk Island came into view right where it should be. Thank God for GPS!
I did a circumnavigation of the island and joined long final for Rwy 11. With a firm bump, we had arrived at Norfolk Island and after 3:23 the first leg of our Trans-Tasman crossing was complete.
Andrew, John and I had spent weeks swotting up on Australian Border Force (ABF) and biosecurity rules for our Tasman hop and were feeling very pleased with our attention to detail. Instead, we were greeted by a bolshy ABF officer who informed us, with great enthusiasm, that we’d done everything wrong, sent the wrong information, and apparently hadn’t given them anywhere near enough notice. I got a proper telling‑off. You can’t argue with these people, so you just stand there, apologise, accept your new status as a complete muppet, and smile sweetly. We were later told not to take it personally — they give the same treatment to every itinerant aircraft pilot.
Norfolk Island to Lord Howe Island
After a whistle-stop tour of the historic area of Norfolk Island we were back out at the airport at 7am the next morning (1 July 2026) to complete our crossing of the Tasman Sea.
As Lord Howe Island is a world heritage park you're not allowed to stay on the island when traveling east to west. We only had permission for a "tech stop" - land, refuel as quickly as possible, don't leave the airport and be on your way as quickly as you can. On the way home from Australia we plan to stay a night to have a look around and that's permitted.
Leaving Norfolk Island I settled into my routine of monitoring and logging. Again, 8500' was a good altitude to avoid the cloud and an economic cruise height. Some rain cloud had to be avoided but the winds were light and the ride was good.
In the Tasman Sea, there is no land mass to disturb the wind so even thought the wind can be strong, the ride is pretty smooth. There are lovely puffy cumulus clouds all around and the shades of blue and white are spectacular. With Pink Floyd playing quietly in my headset to set the scene, I never tire from taking in the view.
The forecast winds at Lord Howe island were light when we left Norfolk Island but by the time we reached our Point of No Return a direct crosswind of up to 14 knots had developed. I knew from experience, that would also make the air turbulent as I approached the airfield. Braced for a lumpy ride in the vicinity of the airport and a tricky landing, I began my descent. It was a bit wild on the approach and my re-acquaintance with Mother Earth was less graceful landing and more surprise arrival.
The refueler was waiting for us and the biosecurity guy that needed to check us over was quick and efficient but ... then we encountered our first aircraft problem ...
After refueling we always drain a sample of fuel from each tank to check for water and debris. In Andrew's Cirrus that's achieved by pushing a thin needle into a valve and letting the fuel drain into a small clear cup. When he did that on the left tank and removed the needle from the fitting the fuel continued flowing. He yelled for help and we quickly tried reinserting the rod and wriggling it to reseat the valve. However, every time we tried this the problem got worse and fuel was p*ssing out. The only thing that would stop it was putting a finger over the outlet. Uh oh - now we've got a big problem.
As it wasn't practical for John to hold onto the wheel spat with his finger over the fuel drain while Andrew flew him across the remainder of the Tasman Sea to Australia, we made a call to Andrew's engineer back in New Zealand for advice. He told us how to remove the drain valve and clean any debris from it so that it would close and reseal. The problem was we were removing a valve from the underside of a wing tank that was full of fuel! Fortunately the refueler and other bystanders quickly provided some buckets to catch the fuel that would pour out of the tank when the valve was removed. With the valve removed, a finger over the outlet stopped the fuel flowing but it was a messy job that required careful coordination of people and buckets.
We successfully removed the drain valve, cleaned it and reinstalled it and it stopped running - phew. Although there was no evidence of further leaking, the valve was quickly replaced by an engineer after we arrived at Gold Coast Airport and were cleared into Australia by the authorities.
The relief of seeing the Australian coastline appear on the horizon didn’t last long—things ramped up quickly as Air Traffic Control handed me my approach instructions for Gold Coast International Airport and I was maneuvered to take my position amongst much bigger aircraft than me. Since Gold Coast is a designated First Point of Entry, touching down there wasn’t optional; it was mandatory.
We were only on the ground at Gold Coast Airport for just over an hour before leaving on the final 30 min flight to Archerfeld where we would be leaving the aircraft for two nights before continuing on our trip around the continent.
After 6.8hrs of flying over two-thirds of the Tasman Sea, I crashed into bed, exhausted but satisfied that we'd safely completed a large over-water crossing completed by few light aircraft pilots.
Refueling at Norfolk Island
Reflecting on the day - Norfolk Island
Thank you ZK-VRV for carrying me safely across the Tasman Sea
Video of ZK-LDY & ZK-VRV taking off from Lord Howe Island kindly provided by Peter Phillipps, Chase n Thyme Journeys (https://chasenthyme.com).
Checkout Andrew Schofield's Blog too: https://nzcirruspilot.com/trans-tasman/
After a welcome two nights rest in Brisbane we were back at Archerfield airport for the beginning of the REALLY big trip counterclockwise around Australia.
Archerfield to Shute Harbour / Airlie Beach
While packing the aircraft, we were able to whistle down a passing Avgas tanker and our aircraft were refueled in the parking area which is a novelty for us Kiwi pilots.
We left Archerfield on Friday 3 July and even on a weekday morning it was busy. Two parallel runways operating with an air traffic controller dedicated to arrivals and departures for each runway and another providing taxi instructions for aircraft maneuvering on the ground.
With a clearance for a "Northern Departure" I was cleared for takeoff, after Andrew and John passed the end of the runway in ZK-LDY and I was off. The departure procedure holds you down at 1000' for the first 5 miles and it was bumpy and a bit unpleasant. Even when we were able to climb, it was still bumpy as we passed around Brisbane International Airport's airspace to the west.
The Australian air traffic system is very good. Brisbane Centre coordinates all air traffic outside controlled airspace in the northern half of the continent and Melbourne Centre takes care of aircraft in the south. If you file a flight plan and contact Brisbane Centre and request Flight Following, they will advise conflicting traffic and pass you from one controller to the next as your flight progresses. Once you're talking to a Centre, in busy airspace, it takes away the need to determine which airspace you're entering, what radio frequency you should be using and who you should be talking to.
The Centre controllers can be very busy, but as we progressed north there was sufficient time for one of the controllers to ask how we got our our "ZK" (New Zealand) registered aircraft to Australia. He was impressed when we told him we flew them across the Tasman.
The trip north up the East Coast past Hervey Bay and Bundaberg was nice.
We landed at Gladstone for fuel and a bit of lunch. To access the cafe in the terminal we had to pass through security. As we were the only people in a largely closed terminal we had a bit of banter with the security lady as Andrew and John tried to get knives they were carrying (to cut seatbelts if necessary) past her. She gladly held onto them while we were in the terminal but it was ironic that she gave them back when she knew we were walking out onto the apron and our aircraft.
Leaving Gladstone we were routed through Rockhampton and Mackay's airspace before descending and setting heading for the Whitsunday Islands. We descended to about 1,000–1,500 feet and wandered between the islands, taking in the scenery. With the sun sinking low, the light carved out every ridge and contour, making the islands look spectacular.
With our meandering around the Whitsundays complete, we joined for and landed at the beautiful Shute Harbour Airpark. This is a beautifully manicured airport with lovely hangar homes lining the runway. I could live there very easily.
Shute Harbour to Karumba
We'd had to rethink the second day of our trip but it all turned out for the better.
We were planning to overnight at Burketown but found the runway was being torn up and re-sealed. Over breakfast at Shute Harbour's Hangar Cafe we re-worked our plan and decided to head for Karumba on the east side of the Gulf of Carpentaria. You've got to be flexible on these trips.
As we planned our route to Karumba, we found our track passed over a little airfield called Pinnarendi (YPNA). Looking into that, it seemed they had a cafe and was about halfway to Karumba so it was a good spot to pop into for a coffee. After a call to the Pinnarendi Cafe to check on the airstrip conditions, we were off.
Climbing to 8500' we were cleared over the busy civil/military Townsville airspace and tracked NW across the Great Dividing Range to Pinnarendi. It always cracks me up that the mighty “Great Dividing Range” tops out at under 3,500 feet. In New Zealand we call that “a gentle rise in the lawn.” We routinely fly over hills that would give Australians altitude sickness.
Pinnarendi was our first taste of the outback on this trip and was great. Very remote and Australian red dust coating everything. The coffee and toasted sandwiches were great.
Leaving Pinnarendi we tracked over largely barren and featureless terrain. Looking down and trying to identify the stations, wells and roads shown on the chart passes the time. And I always have music playing quietly in the background when not taking off or landing.
In the early afternoon it was hot and bumpy, but at 8500' the ride was sweet. But what goes up must come down and the descent into Karumba through convective turbulence was a bit wild in parts.
We were followed into Karumba by Allan & Sandy who were also on a tour and we spent a pleasant time over dinner with them swapping flying stories and places to visit.
Passing Bundaberg (no ginger beer in sight)
Whitsunday Islands (*)
Whitsunday Islands (*)
Airlie Beach
Landing at beautiful Shute Harbour (*)
Pinnarendi - in the middle of nowhere
Enjoying a break at the rustic Pinnarendi Cafe
New flying friends Allan & Sandy with Andrew John & I
(*) Photo taken by Andrew Schofiled. Checkout Andrew's blog too: https://nzcirruspilot.com/trans-tasman/
Planning is half the fun of a flying adventure. Poring over charts, finding out what there is to see and do at stops along the way, reaching out to others for advice, working out a route that works all build excitement. Finding answers to questions like what is interesting about the place, will fuel be available how do we get into town and where can we stay are some of the multitude of things that must be considered.
Trans-Tasman Crossing
The REALLY big trip begins with a crossing of the Tasman Sea to Australia. ZK-VRV doesn't have the range to fly from New Zealand to Australia direct and, even if it did, it would be a huge undertaking at my cruise airspeed of 145 kts (268km/hr). Therefore, we island hop across the Tasman Sea and stop at Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island where, on each island we can have a break and refuel.
The Tasman crossing begins in Kerikeri where we New Zealand Customs approves us to leave the country.
On the legs across the Tasman there are reporting points where we are expected to update Auckland Oceanic Control that we have passed the point and what our estimated time of arrival is at the next reporting point and our final destination.
Coincidentally the distance between Kerikeri and Norfolk Island at 484nm (896km) is almost the same as that between Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Islands at 483nm (894km). The distance from Lord Howe Island to Gold Coast airport is a shorter 354nm (656km).
On reaching the Australian mainland, we must call into Gold Coast international airport as that's one of the few recognised First Points of Entry on the east coast of Australia where you must be cleared by the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry (DAFF).
Trans-Tasman route
The Route Around Australia
The REALLY big trip around Australia
There's many places in Australia that I've visited that I'd like to return to and areas places that I haven't been that I like to visit. When I joined these places together I ended up with a circumnavigation of the Australian Continent.
Our plan is a wish list. We've not booked any accommodation because there are too many things that can influence a reliable commitment to be at a place at a certain time. We have the time to do this trip and part of the fun is, where shall we go next?
Flying in the centre of Australia in the true outback, is fantastic and, the more remote it is, the better I like it. However, the reality is the distance between places is vast and there is not as much in the centre as there is on the coast.
Some have asked why we're not visiting Tasmania. The reason for that is the weather in July in the south of Australia can be unsettled like New Zealand and, we have to get home sometime!
After crossing the Tasman our route will start at Archerfield Airport in Brisbane and head north counter-clockwise around the country.
I did a flying trip to the tip of Cape York in 2023 so we'll skip going up there again. Flying at low level along the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria is always good fun so that was added to the plan. I've not been up into Arnhem Land in the far north so we'll take a look up there before approaching Darwin from the North. My absolute favourite place to fly in Australia is the Kimberley region so that's a "must visit" addition. Although I've done multiple trips in Australia, I've not had the opportunity to fly much of the coast of Western Australia. It's a helluva long way from Broome to Perth but, hey, lets do that too. ZK-VRV and ZK-LDY are booked in for their 50hr maintenance checks at Jandakot Airport (YPJT) in Perth to give them some fresh oil and to ensure they continue running sweetly.
Originally I was going to cut the corner from Perth to fly through Kalgoorlie to the coast of the Australian Bight, but many people have recommended flying around the SW corner of the continent with visits to Albany and Esperance so that was a late addition to the plan.
Forrest (YFRT) is a large remote airport with lots of history that I briefly visited once and would like to go back to again.
A key objective is to take my aircraft to Adelaide and visit my grandkids, Arlo (6 - nearly 7) and Annabelle (5). They've both sat in ZK-VRV when visiting New Zealand but I know they'll think it's cool that "Pop's Aeroplane" is coming to see them.
My fascination with flying in Australia started in Stawell (YSWL), South Australia. There I met Graeme, Val and John who led me on some of my first trips through the Great Southern Land and taught me much about what I know about flying in Australia. A call into to see them for a night is another key objective.
Andrew and John in ZK-LDY will do their own thing as I have a few days with my grandkids in Adelaide and visit friends in Stawell. From Stawell, I'll make a bee-line back to Archerfield to meet up with them in preparation for our flight home across the Tasman.
Having now retired I have more time to invest in my passion - flying my Vans RV-6, ZK-VRV, "Thunderbird 6".
New Zealand is a great place to fly and we are spoiled by the freedom we have, the differing terrain and scenery none of which is much more than a couple of hours of flying away. However, I've also been privileged to be able to fly extensively in Australia and I'm fascinated by the vastness of that big dusty continent.
Since 2005, I’ve criss-crossed the Australian continent on
10 wonderful flying trips.All were
great but none lasted much longer than 3 weeks due to work commitments.I’ve long dreamed of having the time to do a
big trip in Australia – a REALLY big trip. A trip that takes in some of the places I've visited and a trip that covers some new ground. Something like this ...
The time has now come and, after months of planning, on
Monday 29 June I’ll leave Paraparaumu for Kerikeri to fly across the Tasman on Tuesday/Wednesday.I’ll be on my own in my aircraft but good
friends Andrew Schofield and John Kilby will be accompanying me in Andrew’s Cirrus SR22,
ZK-LDY.They’ve enthusiastically signed up for the
big trip around Australia and it will be good to have their company.
Andrew is a skilled photographer and blogger and will also be keeping his blog up-to-date as we travel. Keep an eye on NZ Cirrus Pilot \ Trans-Tasman and check out Andrew's other interesting blog posts while you're there.
My bag is packed, Thunderbird 6 has been inspected and checked thoroughly and the paperwork that must accompany a light aircraft flying from New Zealand to Australia is filed ready for use and presentation to the authorities. I now just need a good nights sleep before leaving home tomorrow.
There were westerly winds of 20-25kts forecast for our final flights back to Brisbane from Charleville. That was good news as we were flying almost due east! Apart from the time spent taking off and landing, strong winds in outback Australia aren't the same concern as they are in New Zealand. As the land is flat there's nothing for the air to rise over and create eddy's and uncomfortable (and sometimes dangerous) rotors like New Zealand. We enjoyed ground speeds of 140 - 150kts (259 - 278 km/hr) all the way.
The total distance from Charleville to Redcliffe was 237nm (438km) so we decided to stop after approx. 1hr at Roma. I'd been told there was a good cafe in the terminal so it seemed like a good idea to stretch our legs, have a pee and grab a coffee there. Unfortunately with no scheduled flights imminent the cafe was closed. However, we did the other two things!
The final flight from Roma back to Redcliffe (where we'd hired VH-DXJ from) was uncharacteristically quiet compared to the banter I've enjoyed with Bruce and Rob during previous flights. I think we were all reflecting on the good times we'd had over the last 11 days and that our adventure was coming to an end.
About 75nm out from our destination things started to get busy as we had to avoid active military areas and descend beneath Brisbane's airspace. We were also passing through a busy area pilots from Redcliffe, Caboolture and Coloundra use for training. There was a bit of traffic about but nothing too bad until we encountered an annoying helicopter practicing auto-rotations at Redcliffe.
With final bump onto Redcliffe's sealed runway our trip was over :(
We busied ourselves for the next hour unpacking and washing the aircraft to return it spick and span.
It's been a great trip with a mixture of new places and places I've already visited. I really enjoyed showing Bruce and Rob the outback and, of course, flying up the east coast to Cape York was a highlight. That's a corner of Australia I've now "ticked off".
We had relaxing day in Longreach yesterday. Bruce and Rob visited the Qantas Founders Museum and Australian Stockmans Hall of Fame and I spent a couple of pleasant hours kayaking on the Thompson River with Shelley, Pete, Kristen and Gabby. Like most rivers in this vast flat land, there is barely any current so it was nice not having to exert yourself too much and just cruise along dipping an oar gently in the water while chatting.
There's a 747-200 parked outside the Qantas Founders Museum (under a big roof now) that you can tour. It's customary when flying into Longreach airport to take a photo of your aircraft in front of the 747. After packing our plane we pushed it into position in front of the 747 and took the following photo:
It's customary for visiting pilots to photograph their aircraft in front of the Longreach 747
After re-fueling we left Longreach for our next stop - Charleville.
We are deep in the central Queensland outback now and the country we're flying over is parched cattle country. Dotted over this remote flat land are large cattle stations, most of which have their own airstrip. Aircraft and helicopters are common in these parts due the large area of the stations. We've seen several helicopters far below mustering cattle or sheep. How the animals survive in these parts is beyond me.
Far in the distance sometimes you see a line of dust. That's a rare vehicle on an outback road kicking up a dusty trail that rises hundreds of feet into the air.
The flight to Charleville was lovely and smooth at 3,500'. With our aircraft trimmed nicely it pretty well flew itself with just the odd nudge to keep it on track. Although the land is barren and some might say boring, I love it out here. It's so different from home and I often describe it as like flying over an oil painting - full of colours and textures.
We'd timed our arrival at Charleville so we could join the WW2 Secret Base Tour. In 1943 3,500 United States Army Air Force personnel were stationed in Charleville supporting the war effort and servicing up to 300 B-17 aircraft. Charleville was chosen because of its isolated position in central Queensland out of reach of Japanese bombers which didn't have the range to get to the base and return. Although all the buildings used by the Air Force have long since gone, their foundations remain. We'd been lucky enough to be given an airport car to use for our stay and so joined the drive-around tour around the former air base.
