An Australian Outback adventure

[chrisag]

What a great trip Ross . Once again , very envious. Just have to get myself organised to do it too one day soon. Cheers.. JC

[rosslr]

Thanks for following Guys!
As David says Steve- look forward to welcoming you one day!
Eddie - We only like to fly a max of 3-4 hours a day. Our plan is to leave in the morning fairly early and have the whole afternoon for playing around and exploring the destination. And we always plan a cuppa/ bladder stop about every 1.5 hours. The max. I will plan for is 400 nm on a tank. That ussually leaves a comfortable reserve. So most commonly on these trips we plan for between 200 and 400nm. That said, last year we did the Tanamai desert where fuel was not available so we carried a spare 20 t and landed mid trip to tip the 20lt in.
Hey Jim, good to here from you! only thinking about coming over for another Wilsons prom trip with our Super Cub Buddy when we get a nice patch of weather.

I will do the Day 3 post now.

cheers

[rosslr]

Heading west from Birdsville the are over 1100 sand dunes running N-S that are part of the Simpson Desert. our plan was to spend a bit of time in the middle. I don't want to be too specific about this as it may not be entirely legal but you will get the idea
There are a couple of 4WD tracks that cross the desert. Mostly crossing in a straight line E-W but occasionally they run N-S. We following one of the tacks - there are 3-4 vehicles that are crossing the track at any time and it is fun to see an occasional vehicle.
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Occasionally you see a nice image and actually have the camera ready!
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Col and Anna in their Super Cub were flying in company most of the time.
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The track across the Simpson
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Between the sand dunes the track crosses clay/salt pans - easy going for 4WD when dry but a trap when wet - same would go for air planes I imagine!
We came across this vehicle and made friends with them!
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the rest of the photos are pretty self explanatory - happy to supply more details to those wanting to do the trip themselves.
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A fantastic day's flying and a great camp1

CHEERS

[efwd]

Hey Ross, if that is an HD image of your plane in the sunset, would you be willing to email it to me? It would look great on canvas. My home is decorated in aviation stuff. And, as I have said I appreciate sunsets.
eddie.forward@yahoo.com

[David47]

Ross, we need you to have an operation to have an RS-232 port installed somewhere on your person so we can plug in and download all this experience and info you've gained on these great Australian adventures .... and nice touch with the Wolfe Blass Yellow Label too ..... !!

Also, that picture with the vehicle looks like a salt pan (?). How'd you determine whether it was hard enough for a landing - the guys in the car, wheel touches, ?.

[rosslr]

Photo forwarded Eddie.

Hey Dave, I have all the spots ready marked for you! As for the saltpan - more a clay pan there with a light salt crust - yes, you must be really careful - assessed suitable by a combo of noting no recent rain, the car tracks crossing, then two touch and goes and subsequent inspection. Any landing right up against the edge.

cheers

[rosslr]

Day 4 was to finish the desert crossing and spend the night at Mt Dare Hotel on the western side of the Simpson. Lovely flying weather so we kept low and followed the track enjoying the spectacular scenery. We had identified a few spots as possible landing areas from google earth so decided to 'ground truth' them in case of a need to land in an emergency.
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We planned to stop at the hot springs at Dalhousie - remarkable feature on the edge of the desert fed by the hot water from the Great Artesian Basin. The landscape changes remarkably on leaving the desert.
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Tony and Jason in the 180 arrived first and landed only to call us and say the ranger had harassed them for landing and threatened a $220 fine - apparently the strip is closed but their were no crosses on the strip nor entry in the ERSA!! Bureaucracy! Nonetheless, we decided to fly on to Mt Dare, our stop for the night.
Mt Dare is a great stop and Graham Scott, the owner, is a keen aviator and welcomes aircraft. He went out of his way to fill a 44 gal drum and pump fuel in to planes - nothing is too much trouble. We spent a great night with good company at Mt Dare - the sunset was fantastic too! I took Grahams 2 staff ( english backpackers) for a scenic flight to get photos to send home and Col took Graham for a low level flight! Highly recommended stop for those heading that way. Hopefully, SA Parks will open up the Dalhousie strip soon too!
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[rosslr]

Sorry about the repeated photos below!

r

[Rooster]

Wow!
Ross, what fantastic memories you are racking up!
I like the picture of the spent Cabernet cartridge next to the planes.

Nothing nicer than enjoying that beer in the warm evening after a good flying trip with friends...

Keep them coming, and so you know, I am green with envy. Weather is getting cold fast here, and the lack of a starter still grounds the Foxy Feet.

Reid

[rosslr]

Today we left Mt Dare Station and headed sth to Lake Eyre. This is very remote pastoral country and we found a nice water hole to stop at and boil the billy. The ground was fairly rough but clear of obstacles.
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Then we headed to the top of Lake Eyre - Australia's largest salt lake that gets a flood every few years but only fills about 4 times each century. At it's lowest point it is 15m below sea level and you have to be careful to avoid suffering from 'white out'. We flew along the eastern edge so we always had a good horizon. The path of the creeks that drain into the lake can be clearly seen even if they were dry.
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There was still a lot of water at the mouth of the Warburton Ck with hugel flocks of pelicans that took off and swarmed around up to 1500ft - so caution was needed!
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The lake and the creeks that feed it are spectacular and when in flood the lake has its own frequency dedicated to aircraft looking at the spectacle. The bird life is stunning!
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Having successfully dodged all the birds, we headed to the famous Coopers Ck where a friend told us of a possible landing spot up stream ( I should say up sand as there is no water in it!).

We were ahead of Col and Anna in the Super Cub and found it amongst the sand dunes. We landed and cleared a few logs for Col to land - have to make it easy for those Super Cubs!
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Now this spot is VERY remote - a long way from the Birdsville track which is probably the nearest place to find traffic. But what a great feeling to tie down in such a place overlook the creek.
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It was great to walk the dunes and see all the animal tracks - dingos, rabbits, roos, goats, wild donkeys and horses ..... The flies are bad until the sun goes down to fly nets are essential to remain sane!
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The setting sun made for some memorable photos.
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And the evening was magnificent out there with the full sky of stars and the howls of dingos to entertain us. A memorable evening.
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Cheers