Adels Grove?

[walrus]

Anyone flown in to it recently?  I can’t seem to find advice and I’m wondering if the new owners are maintaining the strip?

 

I think a precautionary search might be in order followed. by going somewhere else. 

 

Furthermore, even assuming the strip is OK, the latest reviews of the Adels Grove experience are less than stunning.

 

Emails go unanswered…..

 

 

 

 

[walrus]

Thank you all for your concise and illuminating replies.

 

I decided it was too risky.

[Garfly]

Ha, ha ... where is it, anyway, Wal?  Somewhere between Kabul and Tranquility Base?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by Garfly

[onetrack]

The problems at Adels Grove are simple. The previous non-indigenous owners of Adels Grove sold out to the local indigenes in Oct 2021, and the new owners appear to be less than welcoming to tourists.

 

"In 2020 the site and business were taken over by Waanyi Advancement Limited Group, a commercial entity that fosters the economic development of the Waanyi people."

 

https://adelsgrove.com.au/history/

 

This is the problem (below) behind Adels Grove, and Lawn Hill Station, on which it is situated. The indigenes have "reclaimed" their land, and you are going to find a very different "welcome" to the previous owners, if you rock up there.

 

https://the-pen.co/exercising-their-right-to-the-land/

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Gary;
ADELS Grove is near the border between NT and QLD up near the Gulf. We have a video on our channel

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by cscotthendry

[walrus]

I really, really wanted to see beautiful and peaceful Lawn Hill Gorge again…….

 

‘’I would fly into Adels Grove and stay there. The emails I had (phone was unavailable) were fair in that they warned me that the restaurant was under construction and that they hoped it would be open in a week. There we’re no tours available. There was no accommodation available (probably used by the builders). No problem, I would bring camping gear and my own food. Someone would give me a lift to the park. 

 

Then the day before,  I saw a new ABC article about revised management arrangements for the park. I went looking on the web a bit deeper.

 

Tripadvisor latest reviews were just terrible. There were further reports (google) about a month old, saying the campground amenities allegedly weren’t in any fit state - the water systems had allegedly been torn up during construction. The builders were allegedly abusive towards visitors for turning up. No problems, I could avoid them, I couldn’t find out about fuel, no problems, I could carry a reserve. I could probably live with the usual construction chaos, it might even be fun.

 

On the day, the weather forecast gave me potentially a major cross wind (+12 knots). No email on the state of the airstrip. No advice available from anyone. They don’t answer the phone at Adels Grove. I thus had no way of managing risk except a precautionary search maneuver followed by a two hour return over tiger country in what would then be “moderate turbulence” - willie willies - dust devils in the middle of the day, as the weather forecast portrayed, if I didn’t like what I saw.

 

I still wanted to go… Then I thought “why are you going to accept a major risk to your aircraft, let alone your time, money and potentially your life, trying to revisit a place where, on the balance of probabilities,  you are not wanted and are 99% likely to be disappointed by what you are going to find?”. 

 

I went elsewhere.‘

 

….and yes, I suppose I could have checked before getting this far, but somehow I didn’t think I needed to.

 

 

Edited June 9, 2022 by walrus

[APenNameAndThatA]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:32 PM, onetrack said:

The problems at Adels Grove are simple. The previous non-indigenous owners of Adels Grove sold out to the local indigenes in Oct 2021, and the new owners appear to be less than welcoming to tourists.

 

"In 2020 the site and business were taken over by Waanyi Advancement Limited Group, a commercial entity that fosters the economic development of the Waanyi people."

 

https://adelsgrove.com.au/history/

 

This is the problem (below) behind Adels Grove, and Lawn Hill Station, on which it is situated. The indigenes have "reclaimed" their land, and you are going to find a very different "welcome" to the previous owners, if you rock up there.

 

https://the-pen.co/exercising-their-right-to-the-land/

 

 

Their land, their rules. 

[walrus]

Their land, their rules? Why yes. According to reports, the start was not auspicious.

 

I hope Adels Grove and boodjamulla becomes a great success story. We will see.

Edited June 10, 2022 by walrus

[Thruster88]

If the Creed family sold their property would the new owners be obliged to continue to host The old station flyin? Be very nice if they did but completely understandable if they had other plans.

[NT5224]

Adels Grove was a jewell in the Gulf, packed during the dry season. Michelle and her husband had made a wonderful destination and prospered.

 

Lets hope the Waanyi folks can bring in some competent management and then they too will prosper. They have  a great opportunity to educate about the dark history of that country and their prosperity on the station would be a fitting reversal of fortunes.

 

Lets hope this destination comes back online soon. 

 

Alan 

[spacesailor]

My daughter  & son in law visited there only a couple of weeks ago !.

No problems for a ' four, wheel,drive, club, '. 

Then, Normanton , karumba , Undara , & on to cains.

After that , meet up with more of the club member,s todo the Cape Yorkw trip.

spacesailor