Wish I could have done the same. Take a partner to share the experiences. You might ask in advance about facilities: barbecue, after-hours showers/toilet, etc., but if you take a tarp (ropes and stakes) to throw over the wing for light rains, a swag, mosquito repellant and an Esky with a few cold beers, it's nice to spend a night or two under the plane too. Makes it easy to meet people with a big, blue advertisement over the wing. Do clean up after yourself and it'll make it easier for the next person to get permission if it's needed.
Coastal routes will be more tolerable for temperature. My choices would include destinations for sightseeing: Snowy Mountains, Canberra (for the War Memorial and not far from the airport), coastal past Sydney (ask ATC for a scenic tour over downtown...you never know your luck if the traffic's light) to somewhere between Newcastle and Coffs. If you like wines, then somewhere in wine country Vic, NSW or SA would be nice. Byron Bay is good for an hour of joyflighting in the area. Dubbo for the zoo. If you're out that way, Lightning Ridge is "interesting" for the same reason as Coober Pedy. Same isolated character and the opals are spectacular. Armidale is a nice party town on a Friday night with the college. Pick out a few national parks on the way to fly over as well for the scenery.
In Qld, if you have saved the cash from a couple of overnights under the wing, the Hyatt Coolum is a nice stay and will impress the partner. If you get up that way, anywhere on the reef is an experience, but it's not a good time of the year for Nth Qld - prone to floods and very heavy rains/cyclones. So far, there hasn't been much of a challenge to your navigating skills. The coal mines are an interesting area to fly over. The channel country will test your visual navigation, particularly if you stay low. If I was doing the flight over outback areas, I'd plan on just one or two nights out there and then get back to the Gr8 Dividing Range rather than spend a series of nights in the outback. Plan on departing early and landing early rather than putting up with the heat in those areas. There are some wonderful places to visit in the outback, but there is a lot of nothingness with big, consistent turbulence in between and I'd want something more to look at during the flight to feel like I was getting the most for my money. Some of these places you'll never get back to, so make the most of it. Have fun.
Last edited by Lodown; 22nd Jan 2010 at 17:27.