wishiwasupthere,
You reminded me and I just checked the logbook....20 years ago last week. It was my first flight for real in the C210 in wet season - I'd been checked to line for a couple of days and had done some short runs to Daly River and back, weather around but fairly benign. I had 800 odd hours at the time from down south, including some IFR.
I had an early afternoon Batchelor departure, Oenpelli, Bulman, Ngukurr, Borroloola, and to return the last part NVFR into Batchelor (the C210 wasn't IFR).
The late knockemdowns were in full swing and it was scud running around as far as Ngukurr (pre GPS) then on to Borroloola. BIG storms around. By this stage it was getting late and got away from BRL pretty much at dusk to be faced with a wall of black. Lighting everywhere. I felt the pressure to go, but that was internal, part pride, part wanting to get the job done.
I poked around and decided that Territory VFR at night for 2.5 hours wasn't going to cut it so turned back, shut down and made the phone call. I was soaked to the skin in the rain. Nervously I said, it's thick storms and its now dark, it was barely VFR getting here, I'm not happy going back at night.
"No problem, grab a hotel room, have dinner and come back in the morning. Keep all receipts" was the reply.
I got a room at the pub, ate dinner in the "less uncivilised" side of the bar/cage, and slept well and the next morning arrived back in Batchelor, and it wasn't an issue.
Not many of my fellow pilots in the Top End had such experiences with their managers. I was lucky.
PS... I didn't work for Air Frontier!