A dose of conservation

Returning from the Horizontal Falls we had a lazy afternoon and pleasant overnight stay in Derby.  The following day we then had a short flight to Mornington Wilderness Camp (MWC).  It was stinking hot in Derby as we left and was a pleasure to climb to 5,500ft and cooler air.  However, it was just as hot, if not hotter, on our arrival at MWC.

MWC is run by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC).  They are largely funded by fundraising and philanthropic donations with some assistance from Government to allow them to manage 3.9 million hectares of conservation land at 29 locations throughout Australia.  MWC is one of the seven sanctuaries AWC manage in the Kimberley and the base of their Kimberley operations.  Their influence in the Kimberley extends across 4.3 million hectares.  In addition AWC also coordinates an EcoFire project which delivers a prescribed burning program across 3 million hectares in the central and northern Kimberley. This is the largest non-Government managed fire program in Australia,

MWC is a 320,000 hectare property that was formerly a cattle station.  Over the last 15 years it has been progressively de-stocked and left to return to its natural state.  Part of the land management involves controlled burning at the beginning of the dry season, when the ground is still moist.  Early burning reduces the fuel load so big fires can’t develop later in the dry season.  They’ve had considerable success at MWC with regenerating flora and fauna and rescuing species which are near extinction.  It’s a mind boggling job when you consider the size of the land they manage and their objective to return that land back to its pre-European state.

Our two night stay was in eco-tents in a gorgeous setting.  It gets very cold at night (near zero) but the beds are very comfy with heavy blankets - I was as “snug as a bug in a rug”.  The nights are noisy with critters sniffing and snuffling around and you can’t sleep-in for long as the dawn bird song wakes you early.

On the full day we had a MWC we were taken on a tour to Dimond Gorge by a exhaustingly enthusiastic young guide who really knew her stuff.  The gorge was a beautiful, peaceful spot and I thoroughly enjoyed the 3km or so that we canoed down its calm waters.  Our paddle was followed by a refreshing swim where we collected the canoes from.

This area is known for its geology and there’s impressive examples of rock folding that occurred when the sedimentary rock was thrust up and “bent” as two continental plates collided millions of years ago.  Most of the rock around here is red and, together with the folding, displays some great patterns.

We’ve really enjoyed our time in this beautiful, peaceful spot.  The AWC team at MWC are to be commended for their conservation work.

Leg Summary:

Route: Derby (YDBY) - Mornington Station (YMNT)

Distance: 141nm (261km)

Time: 1.5hrs

Alt: 5,500ft

Mornington Station approach

Termite mounds the size of aircraft!

Accommodation for the next two nights in an eco-tent

Comfy beds

Mornington Wilderness Camp reception and open air dining room

Dimond Gorge, Fitzroy River

Dimond Gorge, Fitzroy River

Outback lunch in the shade as it was bl**dy hot (L to R: Neil, Susie, Susie (guide), Simon, Pete, Shelley)

Beautiful, peaceful outback scene

Beautiful, peaceful outback scene

Horizontal Falls & The Horizontal Hotel

The centrepiece of this flying trip in Australia was a float plane flight out to the Horizontal Waterfalls and night staying in floating accommodation at the falls.

We had flown into Derby airport and were collected from there by an amphibious Cessna Caravan and flown about 30mins north to the falls.  It was nice to sit back and let someone else do the flying and watch the world slide by.  The approach into the water landing site involved flying down a short twisting gully and was probably not necessary but good fun. Both Simon and I were watching the wingtips carefully as they were just about clipping the trees.

Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures has two "house boats" moored just outside the falls that sleep about 50 guests.  There are various pontoons clustered around the house boats with helicopter landing pads, swimming cages, a bar, etc.  A high standard of accommodation is offered in small but very nice rooms.  I had the best sleep of the whole trip so far in a very comfortable bed - it may also have been the sea air.

When we arrived it was hot and stayed warm right into the evening as we dined outside on the upper decks.

The highlight was the fast boat ride through the falls.  The Horizontal Falls are formed by water filling and draining from the enclosed Talbot Bay.  We did two rides through the falls; one late in the afternoon and one early in the morning when there was about 1 - 2 metres of tidal difference on either side of the falls.  There are times during a spring tide that there can be up to 4m of difference but that can be too dangerous to get a boat through.

The boat was powered by four 300hp outboard motors and was skillfully guided through the falls fast and slow by a young guy.  This morning he allowed the falls to suck the boat in backwards and held it there. It was like being in a washing machine.  Damn good fun in a beautiful part of the world.

Arrival at the Horizontal Falls (lovely aircraft)

The “Horizontal Hotel”

Swimming with the Grey Nurse sharks that hang around the pontoons

Our gang having sunset drinks (L to R: Simon, Me, Neil, Shelley, Pete & Susie)

Rushing through the Horizontal Falls

Parked in the Falls

I love the Kimberley

We had a gorgeous flight today over one of my favourite places to fly - the remote and insanely beautiful Kimberley Coast.  Setting off from Kununurra about 9.30am we flew to the head of Prince Regent Gorge in smooth and clear flying conditions.  It’s very remote in this part of the world and there are few stations and roads.  As we flew down the Gorge we slowly let down to 1,000ft as the Gorge widened out.

A turn SW then had us tracking along the edge of the Bonaparte and Buccaneer Archipelagos over the numerous small islands and beautiful sandy beaches.  The sea is a pale azure colour and, where there’s exposed rocky outcrops, you can really see the tide running.  The tidal fall is 11m in these parts and the currents can be treacherous.

We landed at Derby and immediately encountered a serious problem.  We’re being transported by float plane out to the Horizontal Falls this afternoon for a night on their floating accommodation and have just realised you can't purchase alcohol there. One of our party was quickly dispatched into town in a taxi with a shopping list while the rest of us prepared to hold the plane up until he returned.  Phew - that was close!

Leg Summary:

Route: Longreach (YLRE) - Derby (YDBY)

Distance: 386nm (715km)

Time: 3.2hrs

Alt: 1,000 - 4,500ft

Head of Prince Regent Gorge

Beautiful Kimberley Coast

Beautiful Kimberley Coast

Beautiful Kimberley Coast

Beautiful Kimberley Coast

Derby.  Do they realise the sea levels is rising?

Out the back of the Outback

The flight from Adels Grove to Kununurra is the longest on this trip.  This takes us across the top of Australia and the northernmost point of our journey.

We got away early again around 8am.  The flying conditions are smooth in the morning as the air is cool and the low light brings out the colours and texture of the country.

We called in briefly at Borroloola for fuel but didn’t leave the airfield.  Borroloola is an Aborginal community and there’s not much there.

It was Simon’s day to fly and, because the leg from Borroloola is so long, he opted to drop into Daly Waters to stretch our legs.  That was a great decision as Daly Waters is a quintessential outback town with nothing there but a pub.  The pub was built in the 1930’s and, as is the habit in these parts, is full of all sorts of paraphernalia left by travelers as they’ve passed through.  The theme of the beer garden was jandals (thongs) and they were hung everywhere.

The pub is rambling, the floors uneven and it sells everything.  The lamb wrap I had for lunch was delicious and I would’ve loved a beer - but we don’t do that when flying.

The Daly Waters airfield is also interesting.  It has a large sealed runway and once was an important stopping off point for international aircraft flying from Sydney or Melbourne and destinations to the North of Australia.  It also played a role in WW2.  There’s nothing there now but the old hangar has some great information boards that tell you all about it.

Leg Summary:

Route: Adels Grove (YALG) - Boroloola (YBRL) - Daly Waters (YDLW) - Longreach (YLRE)

Distance: 642nm (1,189km)

Time: 5.9hrs

Alt: 2,500 & 4,500ft

Up at sunrise

Early morning departure from Adels Grove

Nice tailwind up our bum

Interesting geology in these parts

Bush fires are left to burn

Approach into Daly Waters

Daly Waters pub

Daly Waters pub

Daly Waters service station

Peaceful (but sad) Adels Grove

The emerald waters and lush vegetation of Lawn Hill Gorge form a beautiful oasis in the outback, attracting abundant wildlife and offering exceptional views, walks, canoeing and cultural sites.  It’s a stunning place which I was looking forward to showing Siimon.

Sadly, the main reception, kitchen and restaraunt area at Adels Grove Camp adjacent to Lawn Hill was burned to the ground in July which has seriously compromised the operation.  It must have been heart breaking to watch the building burn as the nearest fire engine is 1.5hrs away and the building was all but gone by the time they arrived.  The camp has had to limit the numbers that can stay but the staff remain positive and are making the best of what they have left.  Reception is operated from a caravan and meals and drinks are served in an outdoor dining room which is actually very pleasant given the warm climate.

When we arrived we jumped straight on the bus that ferries people the 10km to the Lawn Hill National Park.  We hired a canoe and paddled up through the spectacular gorge to the Indarri Falls.  Flowering lillies lined the river banks leading to the rich ruby coloured walls of the gorge.

At the Indarri Falls you can leave your canoe and explore the area.  At the small jetty I wanted to introduce Simon to the Archer fish that live in this area.  I’d perked some bread from another person visiting the park and told Simon to sit on the jetty and slowly crumble the bread into the water.  If there’s Archer fish present they shoot a jet of water at you as they think the falling bread crumbs are insects.  The jet is quite powerful and gives you a helluva fright if you’re not expecting it.  Of course, I hadn’t told Simon this!  Sadly, my plan was foiled as there were no Archer fish.  Bugger.

After returning the canoes we did the Island Stack walk which takes you high up onto a plateau to view the lower gorge.  It was a hot but pleasant walk.

Beautiful Lawn Hill National Park

Me paddling hard

Water lilies adding to the colour of the gorge

Indarri Falls

Lower Gorge

Our cabin accommodation at Adels Grove

All that’s left of the Adels Grove lovely big dining deck, restaurant & kitchen ☹️

What is it with Airport Managers?

We only booked one night at Adels Grove and wanted to keep the afternoon free for use there so the alarm was set at 5:30am and we departed from Longreach at 7:20am.  Strong southerly winds and turbulence was forecast over our route but we settled down at 2,500ft, the view was spectacular in the early morning light and we had a nice quartering tailwind that pushed us along at 130kts.

Our route took us overhead the Combo Waterhole where Banjo Patterson reputedly wrote Waltzing Matilda.  The waterhole is in the middle of nowhere but there were some Grey Nomads parked who waved as we circled.

It was “blowing dogs off chains” when we called into Mt Isa for fuel.  Careful parking of our aircraft after refuelling in the shelter of a large tree while we went in search of a coffee raised the ire of the Airport Manager.  We hadn’t parked in the designated park and our tail was infringing (an enormous) taxiway by about 1 metre.  There was more than enough room for a large aircraft to pass behind us on the taxiway.  Most Airport Managers I know had their common-sense removed at birth and this guy was no different.  He would rather we expose our aircraft to blustery winds and damage when it could be parked in shelter without interfering with ground movements.  What is it with Airport Managers!

It was a short flight up to Adels Grove that was uneventful followed by a challenging crosswind landing onto their gravel strip which had me working hard.

Off now to explore the spectacular Lawn Hill National Park ...

Leg Summary:

Route: Longreach (YLRE) - Mt Isa (YBMA)

Distance: 320nm (593km)

Time: 3.0hrs

Alt: 2,500 & 4,500ft

Route: Mt Isa (YBMA) - Adels Grove (YALG)

Distance: 130nm (241km)

Time: 1.3hrs

Alt: 4,500ft

Early morning departure from Longreach in lovely smooth flying conditions

Combo Waterhole

Turning base onto Rwy 23 at Adels Grove. Camp is to the right of the threshold.

A day off in Longreach

We arrived in Longreach on a 33deg afternoon and it was a killer securing the aircraft and lugging our bags to the Motel about 0.5km from the airport.  To lower our core body temperature we had to have an emergency beer and then blobbed out at the Motel until wandering into town to find somewhere to watch the second Bledisloe Cup game between the All Blacks and Wallabies.  It’s tough being in an Aussie Pub trying to keep your excitement at a 36 - 0 thrashing of the Wallabies by the All Blacks.  There were some long faces at the bar!

The following day we spent the morning at the Qantas Founders Museum and afternoon at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame.  This is the third time I’ve visited these great facilities and always find something new to look at.  It was a long day on our feet but Simon and I enjoyed them both immensely.

I first visited the Qantas Founders Museum in 2008 and toured the 747-200 they have on display there. I have to admit though that after over 10 years in the harsh Australian sun she’s looking a little weary. However, the museum closes in a few weeks for about 6 months for an enormous $11.3 million roof to be constructed over the 747, 707 and Constellation they have on display. The roof will include a viewing gallery that will allow you to view the aircraft from above so that will provide a unique viewing perspective.

Leg Summary:

Route: Charleville (YBCV) - Longreach (YLRE)

Distance: 208nm (385km)

Time: 2.5hrs

Alt: 4,500 & 6,500ft

Lovely flying conditions on the way to Longreach

Approach into Longreach

All pilots visiting Longreach have to get a photo of their aircraft in front of the 747

Dedicated rugby fan risking his life watching an All Blacks / Wallabies game in an Australian pub

City of Bunbury, 747-200 at the Qantas Founders Museum

Every boys dream!