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An Uber carried me back to Archerfield, where I loaded my overnight bag into Planey and pre-flighted. I departed to the southeast, back towards the coast. My first destination was Heck Field, the home of the Gold Coast Sport Flying Club. I switched to the common traffic frequency a few minutes out, hearing two light sport aircraft in the pattern practicing their take-offs and landings. I slotted into the traffic pattern between them and landed, taxiing in to park in…

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I started my day bright and early with a visit to the nearby market for some breakfast. This bustling assortment of stalls was mostly full of various juicy and exotic fruits, but there was no shortage of pastries and drinks to choose from. Now well-fed, I called an Uber and rode back to Cairns’ GA terminal. The gate was locked, so I called the posted number and waited on the airport operations truck to arrive on the other side of…

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It was a peaceful night at Hell’s Gate and the temperature early the next morning was much more agreeable as I prepared Planey for departure. I taxied back across the road and set off down the runway, turning right away from the rocky escarpment and made my way east. I tracked east towards the small settlement at Doomadgee, a mostly indigenous community with a population of about 1,400. A mission was established here in 1933 with the intention of providing…

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I had spent much longer in Western Australia than expected, and seen rather less than I had hoped. Today I would be leaving at last and entering the Northern Territory. I had filled in the required paperwork and received my travel approval a few days earlier, so I was good to go. This was a good thing given the lack of internet access in this part of the world! It was still before 7am, and reception was not yet open….

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Ten days and one negative COVID test (my only allowed outing) later, I was free to go. Not a single traveler from South Australia had tested positive, underscoring the massive waste of time that the Western Australian government had forced on all of us. I was awake at dawn and on my way to the airport, keen to restart my adventure. I’d used the time in isolation to plan much of the rest of the trip around Australia; today I’d…

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The morning sun over The Lily was beautiful, and I spent a while taking pictures of the Stirling Range, the windmill, and the DC3. Pleun and Hennie had kindly provided me with a light packed breakfast. I managed, for the very first time ever, to smack my head hard on the lowered flaps of Planey while performing a preflight, resulting in blood pouring all over the ground and slightly disturbing Pleun and his friend. As with most head injuries it…

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Today would be the day I entered Western Australia. This state had had a particularly extreme reaction to COVID, closing down their borders to everyone at the slightest provocation; a real over-reaction. Finally they had deigned to open up the borders to most of the rest of Australia, with the exception of Victoria where the tail end of an outbreak was still being managed. Given their jumpiness, I was extra careful to properly fill in my travel authorisation request, and…

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The next morning I was up shortly after dawn, and took an Uber back to Parafield airport. Today I’d be leaving the coast and heading inland, with a final destination of Arkaroola in the South Australian desert. I had been invited to visit by the owners of this beautiful fly-in destination, and they’d arranged a 4×4 tour for me that afternoon; I couldn’t be late! However, there was one thing I needed to do along the way; since encountering “The…

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In the morning I packed up my bags, and walked up the hill a little way to the local supermarket; I needed some snacks for the cockpit, and some more batteries for my noise cancelling headset! The taxi picked me up from there and dropped me back at the airport, where I used the code lock to let myself through the gate (the code is usually displayed somewhere so you can see it as you exit, and get back in)….

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Ollie collected me bright and early, and we drove out to Cambridge to meet up with the others. Mitch already had the Cub and the Maule out of the hangar, and I opened up the next door hangar and brought Planey out to join them. It was looking like a perfect day with light winds, and clear skies. Ollie pre-flighted the Maule on Paul’s behalf, as he hadn’t shown up yet, and once he did we were ready to go….

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