Central Australia trip questions

[Desert Flower]

A friend of mine from New York is looking at doing a trip through Central Australia sometime next year, most likely in a PA28. He wants to know what Tennant Creek is like as far as accommodation goes. He's heard that it's a bit of a scary town with poor accommodation. Is there anywhere else near there that has good accommodation & Avgas available? Would really appreciate some feedback, so I can let him know.

DF.

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Ahhhh, Tennant Creek!

I had it up there on my list as Australia's least attractive town ...

... until I went to Coober Pedy!

Dr :8

PS: Good spot to stop for fuel though.

[Fred Gassit]

The Bluestone lodge in Tennant Creek is fine, does he want to see Australia or just the brochure version?
It will be hard to avoid at least some of these places with the range of a PA-28.
Uluru might be more suitable but it isn't really nearby.
Katherine is ok as well.
Agree about Coober Pedy

[tinpis]

There is no life as we know it between Alice and Darwhine.

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

DF - What's the route they hope to fly? Would be easier to make some intelligent (well perhaps not in my case!) suggestions, if we knew where they were coming from and going to.

Dr :8

[Howard Hughes]

Why not try some of the many stations that are out there, perhaps Old Andado (http://www.oldandado.com/), or Mt Dare! (http://www.mtdare.com.au/) These are both a long way South of Alice, but there must be some up around Tennant.

Cheers, HH.:ok:

PS: Get a WAC chart, find a strip then Google the name, I am sure you will find plenty of more interesting places that Tennant!

[PLovett]

Ah now, Tennant Creek.

Imagine Australia about 40 to 50 years ago and that is what Tennant is like.:}

There is plenty of accommodation available ranging from backpackers to decent motel style. Best time of year is probably May to August. DO NOT COME HERE IN SUMMER.:=

Advise them that the $20 offers from friendly locals in the street come with conditions, generically called STDs.:yuk:

Yep. The place can be violent but mostly only between non-whites but avoid the pubs. They are feral.:uhoh:

Positives, the airport is sealed, the navaids work, the lights work and you can talk to centre on VHF :ok: and if you are flying north or south there are two great navaids to use - the Stuart Highway and the Ghan railway.:E

[AerocatS2A]

Much rather stay in Coober Pedy than Tennant Creek. At least there's a bit of character and you can stay in a dinky underground hotel. Tennant Creek is just ****sville all over.

If I was travelling through central Australia I'd take a tent and stay the night away from the "main centres", sure, get you're fuel from TC but don't stay the night there, why would you?

[tinpis]

Awww ...I dunno Tennant is easy place to get a free overnite bed
If yer insane dont miss the place....




Police get busy controlling drunks
Posted Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:44pm AEDT
Northern Territory police say an influx of people into Alice Springs and Tennant Creek has kept them busy overnight.
Tennant Creek police say they had an extra patrol car on last night and took 119 drunks into protective custody.
The town's sobering-up shelter has room for only 16 people and was at capacity by 4pm ACDT yesterday.
In the 24 hours to 6am ACDT today, Alice Springs police took 27 people to the watch house and a further 54 to the Drug and Alcohol Services Association to sober up.
Police say the high number of drunks was due to yesterday being a Commonwealth pay day and many people coming into the towns for Christmas.
Sobering-up shelter director Stuart Naylor says at least another 10 beds are needed to cope with demand.
"It's not enough. It's quite a small unit compared to Alice Springs or Darwin," he said.
"I know that it is on the agenda for the department to have an increased capacity here in Tennant Creek."
"We're hoping to get a 26 to 30 bed unit, which is pretty much average for most sobering-up shelters."

[morno]

What the hell is ACDT? If it's Aus Central Daylight Time, I don't remember the Territory having Daylight Savings, :rolleyes:

[apache]

maybe it's "all C**ns Drunk Tonight" or "Ahhh Can't Do That".... or maybe it really is Australian Central Daylight Time, based on SA daylight saving time ???ie 1hr ahead and ten years behind the NT ?

[havick]

dont forget ayers rock costs an absolute motsa in landing fees, then if you park up overnight it has to be one of the most expensive airports around..

[John Hill]

Curtin Springs station is not far from Ayers Rock, they have basic cabin accommodation and camp sites for overnighters, a bar and a bit of a restaurant (seems to serve great chunks of beef and not much else). I understand if you buzz the bar someone will come down to the strip to meet you.

[Pilotolatino]

I've just come back from a trip around Oz to build Command time. Leigh Creek (population 8) is interesting (to find &) to visit. The pub's interior is covered with notes, business cards, lingerie, etc. William Creek for fuel if you like - Nice sealed RWYs. Coober Pedy was an interesting experience - paid $0.01 per litre of Avgas, drank with the locals and a delicious meal in the greek restaurant there...apparently the underground church is worth a visit. But apart from that it's a bit of a hole and definitely not on my "to return" list.

There's a whole lot of nothing in the middle of Oz. You'll be doing long legs with jacksh*t to see. Alice Springs arrivals are awesome. THAT is a cool town to visit - friendly locals, great watering holes (do pay a visit to Bojangles). Note: Uluru is further away than you think it is!

I'd recommend spending more time on the east coast. Such a beautiful country. Can't say anything about NW WA or Darwin/Kakadu but I'm sure someone'll comment on them.


Safe flying.

[Desert Flower]

I've just come back from a trip around Oz to build Command time. Leigh Creek (population 8) is interesting (to find &) to visit. The pub's interior is covered with notes, business cards, lingerie, etc. William Creek for fuel if you like - Nice sealed RWYs. Coober Pedy was an interesting experience - paid $0.01 per litre of Avgas,

Pilotolatino, you are one VERY confused young man! I suggest you read what you wrote, & correct your mistakes. And you paid only ONE CENT for a litre of Avgas at Coober Pedy - you've been out in the sun too long son! :ugh:

DF.

[Peter Fanelli]

There's a whole lot of nothing in the middle of Oz. You'll be doing long legs with jacksh*t to see. Alice Springs arrivals are awesome. THAT is a cool town to visit - friendly locals, great watering holes (do pay a visit to Bojangles). Note: Uluru is further away than you think it is!


Geez do you sound like a "city boy"

Suggest next time you look outside instead of concentrating on the GPS.

[maxgrad]

There is no life as we know it between Alice and Darwhine.

TINPIS...I resemble that remark!
I spent a year operating out of TNK, I was lucky to get out of town with just ...this ....annoying....twitchich. The people (hospital staff) that I worked and associated with, made it a survivable adventure.

TNK really is just a refuel point and a place to have a quick look then depart, you can easily walk from the strip into town, takes about 5 minutes.

Places like Old Andado etc would be much better, flying/experience and people meeting wise.

Katherine is also a good place to overnight, leave DN in the morning, track to fly over the range of falls, Jim Jim, Twin and Edith Falls, (note these are better in the Wet Season...der), then fly over the Gorge to land at Tindal, do the gorge boat thing and continue with your trip.

Coober Pedy....I spent a total of 40 minutes there about 8 yrs ago, all I can remember is that all the public phones have straws in the money slot, put there by tourists getting free international calls.

[flog]

Once upon a time I did a CPL command building trip that went like this:
Melbourne, Broken hill for fuel, Leight Creek (is Rose still there? I watched her drag a PA-31 with her arm around the prop because it wasn't close enough to the fuel pump. Nice lady, wouldn't want to piss her off) to fix landing gear that came down and wouldn't go back up, Coober Pedy for the night (Underground hotel was nice).
Then from there to Oodnadatta and Alice to pick up a pax (sister in law) and on to Uluru for a few nights in a tent.
Then back to Alice for a few nights.
The we went to Delhosie (spelling?) Springs for a few nights of sitting under a tree and swimming in the hottest and most remote spring you'll ever see. Awsome spot with nothing to do.
Then Birdsville for a night at the pub before heading back to Melbourne via Broken Hill again.
Sweet trip, plenty of places to stop along the way if you want to take longer than the 8 days I took.
Happy travelling!
Flog.

[Desert Flower]

Suggest next time you look outside instead of concentrating on the GPS.

And get his creeks in order too, eh Pete? ;)

DF.

[morno]

Pilotolatino, geez, hope you never venture west of the Great Divide again, :\. The less idiots like you out here the better :rolleyes:.

I have flown over a great deal of Australia and a heck of that has been inland over remote Aus. You must have been blindfolded the entire time buddy, because you missed out on seeing some of the best parts of Australia!

The East Coast has some nice places too, but overall it's just a bunch of hills and overpopulated towns and cities, ;).

morno

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

I've flown over a bit of Oz in the last 35 years! It is just a huge fascinating country, and I feel enormously privelaged to get a good look at it.

Below is the "snail trail" of the Forktailed Dr Killer for 2007.

http://www.fototime.com/37385ABA8EBDEA2/standard.jpg

As the original post was about a trip to Central Oz - here's a few thoughts.

1) There are places in the north of SA that look interesting - others in here will know more.
2) Coober Pedy - fascinating pimple on the butt of Oz
3) Lake Eyre - worth a look, especially if there is water going into it.
4) Birdsville and the Channel Country - ya gotta go there at least once for a look
5) Alice Springs - must visit. Across the Simpson Desert from Birdsville to Alice is a must do - once.
6) Ayres Rock - long way from anywhere but well worth the trip. I am hard to impress but "The Rock" is impressive. Horrendously expensive! Consider doing it as a day trip from Alice and get a hire car.
7) Tennant Ck - good for fuel and not much else
8) Tanami Desert - fascinating. Keep your eye out for the recently discovered Lake Forktailed Doctor Killer.
9) "Dig Tree" - on my list of "to do's" before I kark it.

Pilotolatino - suggest you stick to the latte scene!

Dr :8

PS: DF, make sure your mate from the US is well prepared for such a trip. While I have great faith in a well maintained lightie, if you go down in parts of Oz you are in real strife unless well prepared. I carry lots of water, emergency rations, fire making gear, warm clothing, 2 x EPIRBS, strobe light, sat phone.

[bushy]

Some years ago I bought a Cherokee six from Melbourne, and had to fly it back to Alice Springs. A young CPL holder had been looking for a job to get experience so I told him he could come along on the flight.
He flew it from Stawell to Mildura and he commented that flying "the outback" was not so hard. The next leg was to Liegh Creek, and he handled that OK. It was a hot (40 degree) summer day, with 8/8ths blue sky, and the aeroplane baked in the sun as we ate our lunch in the little terminal building. Taxi ing and takeoff was hot and unpleasant (normal) and the aeroplane did not want to climb. It was hot and turbulent. He continued to coax it (normal) and finally got to around 7000 feet where it was cooler. This was a long leg to Alice Springs. All was OK so I went to sleep for a while. When I awoke he immediately said "we are fuel critical. Where can we go for fuel?" There was nowhere, so I looked at the power and mixture settings, and the nav numbers, and we continued. We landed at Alice Springs with two hours fuel remaining. He then completed the paperwork thoroughly and correctly, took his gear and went.
I never saw him again. I don't think he wanted that job flying the outback any more.

[Desert Flower]

PS: DF, make sure your mate from the US is well prepared for such a trip. While I have great faith in a well maintained lightie, if you go down in parts of Oz you are in real strife unless well prepared. I carry lots of water, emergency rations, fire making gear, warm clothing, 2 x EPIRBS, strobe light, sat phone.

FTDK, all good sound advice! This won't be my friend's first trip out in those areas though.

DF.

[Yusef Danet]

Dalhousie Springs, Old Andado, Curtin Springs, Kings Creek. From there to the Kimberly, back across the Top End, inc Kakadu, and back down via Mataranka and then across to Central Q.

[Peter Fanelli]

Leight Creek (is Rose still there? I watched her drag a PA-31 with her arm around the prop because it wasn't close enough to the fuel pump. Nice lady, wouldn't want to piss her off)


And you didn't offer to help???


And get his creeks in order too, eh Pete?


Absolutely!

[Towering Q]

Pilotolatino, I'm a little confused...on the RFDS thread you write...

sure the miners/doctors/nurses earn maybe more than a driver...but, are they sitting at the pointy end looking out at that amazing scenery?

And then on this thread you write...

There's a whole lot of nothing in the middle of Oz. You'll be doing long legs with jacksh*t to see.

Hope you don't end up at Central Section.:uhoh:

[Walrus 7]

Don't forget Mungerannie! Beer, hot springs and plenty of laughs. Nice long, wide runway and even a concrete run-up pad!

Walrus

[Peter Fanelli]

Don't forget Mungerannie! Beer, hot springs and plenty of laughs. Nice long, wide runway and even a concrete run-up pad!

That sure doesn't describe the Mungeranie I knew, When did they build the new airport?

I used to like Mungeranie, if you could time it right you could send all kinds of vehicles off the road and into the bush by making them think you were about to land on that road they were driving on.

[185skywagon]

New strip has been there at least 4 years now. North of the closest sandhills near the Roadhouse/Pub.

[Flying Binghi]

For the tourist pilots who can navigate - If you can handle the bumps and heat, fly about 1000' - 1500' agl, see a lot more that way.

Note, 500' agl is legal min, but you may be doing a bit of unwanted cattle mustering in places.

[Atlas Shrugged]

Pilotolatino,

There were a few more than 8 people living in Leigh Creek when I was there yesterday, and how's it so hard to find. Damn place sticks out like the proverbials :ugh:

[Pinky the pilot]

if you could time it right you could send all kinds of vehicles off the road and into the bush by making them think you were about to land on that road they were driving on.

Most of the pilots I flew with on the mail run used to try the same thing.:ok:

It's still the same strip Peter. About four years ago it had a lot of work done on it making it longer, a bit wider and a larger parking area.

[rioncentu]

Anu updates to Mungerannie for a trip there in a couple of weeks.

I heard from the locals it is a bit "rough".

I wonder what their definition of rough is and how it compares to mine?

Anyone been there in the last couple of weeks?

[flypy]

I can back up the story about 1c fuel at YCBP. Paid $0.06c/L there in July 2006 at the Shell bowser. The bloke in the Cirrus Sr22 after us was pretty pleased.

[Old Akro]

FTDK. I haven't been to Tennant Creek, but I know Coober Pedy well. If you think CP is unattractive, you clearly haven't been to Andamooka or worse still Pimba.

Before this is sidetracked to a worst towns thread, Arkaroola is great and so is William Creek. Depending on where the guy starts, I wouldn't bother going as far North as Tennant Creek. There are heaps of really good, intersting places to go with less sitting in a PA28 in between. Its really easy for guys overseas to grossly underestimate the distances. And the task of flying over desert is a big adjustment for someone used to flying over populated areas. Wirraminna & Mt Ive stations have accomodation & station airstrips. Tibboburra is interesting (staying at the Family Hotel). If he ends up at Coober Pedy, I thinks its redeeming feature is Tom & Mary's Greek Tavern.

In between all of this is the Grand Hotel at Mildura if you want a break somewhere nice.

I agree that Curtin Springs is a great place to stop if your going to the rock, but I personally would go on an easier, shorter more relaxed flight to places where light aircraft offer a real advantage & take a kero burner to Alice.

[beaver_rotate]

1) There are places in the north of SA that look interesting - others in here will know more.

Arkaroola I would thoroughly recommend!!! Doug Sprigg is a true gentleman!! What an amazing place it is... Took the dashing8 in there last year (to Balcanoona anyway) - did he and his crew look after us or what!!!!

[Xcel]

then fly over the Gorge to land at Tindal,

could try maud creek if you want a boat tour... just make sure your not heavy...

[Peter Fanelli]

It's still the same strip Peter. About four years ago it had a lot of work done on it making it longer, a bit wider and a larger parking area.


Sounds like they gave it some viagra.

[Ovation]

Some of the Outback places I've flown into AND visit a second time...........

Coober Pedy, Kings Creek Station, Rawnsley Park, Emma Gorge, El Questro, Jabiru, Drysdale River, Mt Hart Station, Broome, and best of all - Adeles Grove in FNQ .

The Kimberlies is my favorite destination. :ok:

Uluru is interesting but accommodation is a Rip-off IMHO

[Jabawocky]

Second that about Adels Grove! :ok:

Little Jab driver owns the joint! A must do if you are up that way! And a walk/paddle up the creek "Lawn Hill Gorge" is an absolute must.

Jabaless:ok:

[drpixie]

DF - I wish you a great trip ... plenty of advice in the thread.

But I think it would be a better trip in a slightly bigger aircraft. You'll cover more ground (there's lots of that out there) and have more choice of destinations if you're making (say) 150k or better instead of 105, and carrying 360l of fuel instead of 180.

(Pity Lances are so few and hard to come by.)

[Desert Flower]

DF - I wish you a great trip ... plenty of advice in the thread.

Thanks, but it was a friend of mine that was going to do the trip, not me. However now that fuel is no longer available at YLEC I doubt if he'll be going. I see that the latest ERSA still says that it's available though - god they're hopeless! :ugh:

DF.

[Pinky the pilot]

So, what's happening at YLEC now DF? Besides being in involuntary retirement.:mad: Anything on the horizon or is it really all over?

[Desert Flower]

So, what's happening at YLEC now DF? Besides being in involuntary retirement. Anything on the horizon or is it really all over?

All over as far as I can see. R***air has some drums of JetA1 stored in a shed but aerodrome owners won't let anyone else store drums. A lot of very p****d off people at the moment as you can well imagine, myself included. Still getting calls (2-3 per day) & one guy rocked up yesterday in a Seneca & was not happy to be told there was no fuel! Seriously thinking about setting myself up as a flight planning consultant. ;)

DF.

[Old Akro]

Lack of fuel at YLEC shouldn't stop you. There's fuel at Olympic Dam, Port Augusta, Broken Hill, Mildura and other places. If you can get into the 650m strip at Arkaroola, I think they'll sell fuel too. I think there's fuel at Oodndatta and you could always call Trevor Wright to see if you can get fuel from him at William Creek.

[SCE to Aux]

Follow the link for an American pilot's impressions of flying in Australia's outback. First week we flew to Birdsville in a Navajo, then did two weeks in Central Australia in my C172.

Flying Magazine - Frontier Flying: Exploring the Australian Outback by Air (http://www.flyingmag.com/piston/521/frontier-flying-exploring-the-australian-outback-by-air.html)

[Wildduke]

I'm glad you mentioned about the lack of fuel at Leigh Creek!! I was supposed to go there on tuesday!!

[Desert Flower]

Lack of fuel at YLEC shouldn't stop you. There's fuel at Olympic Dam, Port Augusta, Broken Hill, Mildura and other places. If you can get into the 650m strip at Arkaroola, I think they'll sell fuel too. I think there's fuel at Oodndatta and you could always call Trevor Wright to see if you can get fuel from him at William Creek.

Yeah that's fine if you want to take the long way around, but not everyone does!

DF.

[Desert Flower]

I'm glad you mentioned about the lack of fuel at Leigh Creek!! I was supposed to go there on tuesday!!

And you hadn't planned on ringing first to check the availability?

DF.

[busconductor]

If Tennant Creek is on the desired route, then Barkly Roadhouse is a much better bet.

Has an AVGAS tank and OK motel accommodation, plus a good restaurant and bar.

Further north Mataranka is worth a visit, and Karumba is divine, assuming the floods have gone down and they've found some town water.