The return from the tip

After a couple of months going back and forward to the tip on a commercial aircraft, I decided to bring the trike back. I decided to do a leisurely trip back over three days. The weather was great so I decided to make the most of it.

Day 1 and I took off from Bamaga at 6am and then headed South West up the road to the main intersection for the telegraph road which I was going to follow south.

The country here has not got many reference points and it is real tiger country as it is mainly swamp. Arrived at the Jardine River in about 25 minutes. It is amazing it usually take vehicles a couple of hours.

Over the Jardine and I was just cruising at 1000ft at 40 knots. What a rocket but the weather was great and I wasn't in any rush. That's what it is all about. You should be able to look around and not be in a rush. You will miss to much.

After an hour I could see Heathlands up ahead and much needed toilet stop. As I did on the way up I landed on the driveway again as the airstrip is about 2 kms from the homestead. When I landed I couldn't find the ranger so just threw some fuel in and I was about to go and then an Aboriginal bloke turns up and he was supposed to be the new ranger but he didn't seem to know what he was doing there.

Anyway up and away and back to the telegraph track and onto Moreton Telegraph station on the Wenlock River.

When I landed there the new caretaker came out in his Ute and picked me up. The weather was now getting quite warm but it was still ok to fly, as the turbulence had not got to bad. Got some fuel and had a good chat. Off again and it was about 10.30 so I estimated I could get to Archer River in about 1 ½ hrs and have lunch and a bit of a brake. As I said earlier, the weather was looking good so I decided to keep on going while the going was good.

After a leisurely cruise to Archer River I arrived at Midday and the weather was getting quite rough with a reasonable 10-15 knot wind. I did a few orbits of the roadhouse to indicate that we were going to land at the strip. This is the normal thing that you do. I landed and tied down the trike. Then I waited hoping that someone would pick us up. After 20 min I decided to walk, so I grabbed some water and I was off. It was about a twenty-minute walk and it was about 35 degrees. When I got to the roadhouse I walked in with a fair bit of sweat and the lady at the counter just looked at me with this blank look and said in a real Aussie voice, "Where did Yu come from" I just pointed up in the sky.

I grabbed a meal and drink and then decided to sit around for a few hours to wait for the weather to cool down a bit. At about 3.30 I headed off again and it was still quite rough with a strong easterly.

Got over Coen and this place as usual was showing how tricky it is as I hit some sink and there I was with full power, at best climb speed and still going down. Finally started to go up when I was at three hundred feet and was able to clear the ranges. Fuel was looking good so I decided to push on the Musgrave station.

Just after Coen though the winds started to turn southerly and I was making real slow progress. I new there were some more airstrips so I decided to land at them and refuel as I still had a full jerry spare. This is where things did not go fantastic. I got to my first strip but it was surrounded by 20 metre trees and the wind was at least 15-20 knots so there was no hope of a safe landing so I just pushed on to the next strip. This was the same!!

I kept looking at the fuel and I had about 15 litres left and I needed about 12 to make it. A bit tight!. I kept looking at the road but the weather wasn't being kind and the turbulence down low was shocking. I could finally see Musgrave in the distance but the light was getting less so we just prayed that the old girl would make it. I just kept saying to the trike, "don't get too thirsty'.

I now knew though, that if I did run out of fuel, I could land on the road as the wind had died down a bit as we had come down from the tableland that is north of Musgrave and the country is a bit friendlier. Finally we got to the airstrip and landed. The wind was really picking up now though and had an interesting landing. Filled the old girl up and she needed 40 litres and only holds 44 so I was right on the limit.

It is good at Musgrave as they have hotel units and you can park your plane right in front of your room. You need to anyway or the horses will eat it!

The next day I was of at sparrow's fart and straight into a strong and rough head wind. The flight should have taken 1.5 hours to Laura but I was up to 2 hours and still not there. Finally got there after 2.4 hrs and low on juice again.

There was this front passing through and it was the same one from the previous day. Filled up with fuel at the Laura post office which is a bit of a novelty and then off again.

I was a bit weary of the route, as the winds were a bit of a worry but it was quite sheltered on the way to Lakeland downs. I flew at 500 ft the whole way and it was good fun flying through the gorges and valleys to Lakeland. Landed on the road into town and taxied into the petrol station to get some juice. You would think that some people have never seen an aircraft in a servo before!!

The weather was a lot better now and it was about 10.30 and I rang the lions den pub near Cooktown for the conditions there and they said no worries so I decided to make tracks for the pub. Just on a 1-hour flight and we had a good view of the Black mountain range. These are a strange set of mountains as they just look as if someone has dumped a pile of Rocks there and nothing has grown on them. They are very black so they really stand out.

There was an airstrip up the road from the pub but found out that it was totally overgrown so we headed for the pub to see if I could land out the front. I got to the pub but there was no chance of landing out the front as there were too many power lines as well as a tailwind. I flew further down the road and found a good spot. The only problem though was I had to taxi across a one-lane bridge with trees on either side of it. This is where a trike is good. Because of its short fuselage you can sort of lever it around things and get through gaps that no other plane can as well as being able to tip the wings this make it easy to dodge road signs. A bloke in Ute turned up and escorted us to the pub. There was a band on for the day and when we turned up it was like we were the stars for the day. I then parked the trike by the great accommodation that they have there and had a nap.

It was really great staying at the pub, as they are very hospitable and you get to meet some really interesting hippies. The next day was upon us too early but I had to get back so it was up at daybreak and took off out the front of the pub and climbed out over the Bloomfield track through a beautiful valley between cloud and rainforest. We cleared the gap and found the airstrip at Home Rule, then proceeded down the coast bound for Mareeba.

The weather was fantastic and had a bit of a tailwind. I just love flying down the coast here as it is so rugged and remote. We passed Thornton's peak, which is the third highest mountain in Queensland, the Daintree World Heritage area which has the oldest Rainforest in the world and then to Mossman and Port Douglas.

Landed at the strip at Yalkula on the Atherton Tablelands and topped up with fuel. A good 2-hour trip and I landed at my home strip at 8.30. It was a great trip with no problems except for the headwind but the trike performed faultlessly.

I would highly recommend anyone to have a go and fly to the tip. You should take it easy as well and not try to break any records and really have a look around. This country has so much to offer.




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