Crossing the Australian continent with an overnight stop in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory. Expedition Day 47 From Broome to Cairns, I flew past multi-million square acre cattle stations spread out across the vast and desolate outback. Due to the distances involved, Australian air traffic control requires pilots to blindly broadcast position reports on shared multi-frequency repeaters located near the cattle stations. The desolation is astonishing. You can fly for a hundred miles without seeing any sign of human impact on the ground. I signed up for adventure on this trip and Australia delivered in spades. Dusty landing strips with uniquely Australian names like Margaret River Station, Halls Creek, Browns Range, Herbertvale Cattleyards, and Century Mine popped up on the GPS. The Nevil Shute books I read in my youth came to life, while crossing the outback and Gulf country. A dream flight over unforgiving terrain below. CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited) weather, 40 knot tail wind in smooth air, and moderate winter temperatures while flying over the entire Australian continent. Jon Johanson, (a famous Australian aviator and a mentor) who flew around the world three times in his experimental RV4 (east, west, polar) reminded me to not underestimate the outback. If you are forced down, you may never be found if your ELT and PLB are destroyed in the crash. He equated the risk to that of the north Atlantic crossing. My plane carried extra water and survival equipment for polar, desert, and marine environments. The engine runs smoothly and all systems are nominal. Credit: Britannica I flew for 5 hours over the exceedingly barren Western Australia and Tanami deserts, before landing at Tennant Creek airport. Tenant Creek is positioned at junction of two great highways, the Barkly and the Stuart, also known as the Overlander and Explorer's Ways. I marveled at the change from humid coastal, western Australia to the dry, blast furnace of the outback. The airport supports the mining companies and Aboriginal communities in the surrounding areas. When I arrived, the place was extremely quiet compared with the international airports I had recently visited. A few dogs barked in the distance, so I knew the town was not that far away. I eventually found the manager/caretaker busy working in his maintenance shed. We chatted for a bit, and later drove into town at the end of his shift. As mentioned in the "About" section of this web site, the around the world flight is dedicated to my mother who brought me to my first flying lesson. Throughout her lifetime, May admired Australia through books and film. Actor Brian Brown in "A town like Alice" and the film "The Man from Snowy River" were some of her favorites. May never made it to Australia in her lifetime, but she finally made it to the land "Down Under" in spirit.
Comments are closed.
|
Archives
September 2018
Categories |