South West QLD - It's still damp out this way! Hungerford Trip

Relfy · August 26, 2010

Last Friday I decided due to the weather being pretty damn good and due to work committments and not being able to make the Dalby Wings and Wheels Spectacular..., I needed to go for a fly somewhere. It was getting towards lunchtime so what better place to fix that craving than with a famous steak sandwich from the Royal Mail Hotel in Hungerford, down on the QLD/NSW border.

With the flight planning out of the way, weather check completed, it was off to the airport to prep and check the mighty J120 and top the tank off. The weather gods suggested a head wind on the way down but a nice tail wind to return. With my SAR watch person notified I was off tracking towards the city of Hungerford, with all 10 or so of it's residents! Truthfully though, the lure of the steak sandwich was only part of the attraction as I thought what better way to go and see the lakes in the Currawinya National Park than by air and on such a great day. This part of Aus is quite remote so the trusty 406mhz beacon (thanks Ian and Clearprop) was a great passenger to take along for the ride. I tracked along a road I'd ridden on my motorcycle a few months ago through an area known as Pitharty as there are a number of properties with strips along the path. It's a long way between towns out this way!

On the way down I came across a lot of water around the various lakes, creeks and rivers with a lot of other water still sitting in the low lying areas. The enormous amount of water that came through here a few months ago was incredible. If only I had the Jab then, it would have been an amazing sight!

With the Jab running flawlessly and the temps looking great, Hungerford was soon on the horizon and the lakes were sparkling out to my right. I'd planned to pick them up on the return trip and take advantage of the tail wind. An inbound call and noting the traffic in the area to the south on survey patrols, I overflew Hungerford township to signal to a mate that I was there. A precautionary search before landing to check the condition of the strip as there's no full NOTAM service available and there has been the odd skippy make it inside the relatively new fence. All clear. A short time later I was tied down and on my way into town to the pub for lunch!

Apparently Dick Smith is a regular visitor out here and loves camping in the Currawinya National Park just to the north of town. He lands the big blue chopper in the yard behind the pub to have a shower and refresh before heading back out to his 'secret spot' in the park (permit required). The locals love it but the chooks aren't too fussed on the big blue chook blowing dust and small buildings out of the way on it's arrival. My mate Dean caught up with Dick on his last trip and didn't know who he was due to his Something-About-Mary camping adventure hair style and general normal looking attire.

Out came the steak sandwich. It stands about a foot tall and you have to be on top of your game to tackle it. I had thoughts of having to dump fuel for the return trip. The Royal Mail is one of those great little Hotels in the true outback fashion. There's an assortment of stuff stuck to the walls, floor, bar and roof and everwhere you look there is something interesting that has a story behind it. There's a steel boat outside at the moment sitting on the fence and a black and white photo inside of the locals loading a model T Ford onto it to cross the floodway at the entrance to town! The boat is probably a bit smaller than a surf boat...hmm, that would have been interesting to see! You know what they say, necessity....

The strip at Hungerford is sealed and over a km long and really rivals a lot of strips located in the more civilised areas. There's a great clay cross strip and generally you overfly town and a do a few orbits to signal the managers of the pub, who will come out and pick you up from the strip. A quick update on the park conditions revealed that most of the tracks within the park were still closed and cut off by the volume of water present. This being the case, I figured I'd jump up to a higher altitude to increase my safety margin as the chances of getting help in there if needed, would be pretty limited. There will always be another time to get down low and see the detail!

Back out at the strip, a quick check of the Jab and back into the air tracking north to the park. The sheer water volume is incredible. The photos I took don't do it justice. I climbed to an altitude to allow me to make it back to the Currawinya Airstrip, which is just off the main road north. There is also a large disused but preserved shearing shed on the eastern side of the road near the park entrance. I called in there on my motorbike trip and it is amazing. The shearing equipment is there and the smells and feeling of how hard it would have been to work in there in the hotter months really make you appreciate our modern a/c environments.

After a few snaps I set course for home and seeing 120kts g/s on the GPS brought a smile, all the way home. It's a big country out this way and there's lots and lots of nothing with the occasional something thrown in to break it up. If you get a chance, drop in to Hungerford and even stay for a night. The hospitality is wonderful and you're made to feel welcome.