Burke and Wills Dig Tree ALA

[Bounceferret]

I'm planning on flying around the Simpson, Arkaroola, William Creek, Mt Dare, Birdsville etc in the next few weeks.

I would really love to visit the Dig Tree while I'm up there. I've seen there is an ALA at Nappa Merrie (right at the dig tree) but am unsure if it's suitable to land.
Does anyone know any info whatsoever about this ALA? conditions, length etc

There is what appears to be another ALA just up to the NE about 5-10 miles away, though also have no info and would probably be too far to walk.
Has to accommodate a B55

Thanks in advance

[FRQ Charlie Bravo]

B55 no worries, just call the folks at YINN before going (make sure it's within normal working hours).

FRQ CB

[Grogmonster]

It is in the champagne flight planner as 'Nappa Merrie Dig Tree". Been there heaps of times and it is suitable for any light aircraft providing you ring Bomber Johnson, Nappa Merrie Station, before you go to check conditions. he is a lovely old gentleman and knows more of the local history than any man I know. Make sure you take some small denomination notes to drop in the honesty box.

Groggy

[apache]

FWIW ... I used to take a Chieftain in there many moons ago. Back then, it was a HUGE strip, plenty wide and plenty long.
Normally in good condition too, just beware of the road sign on short final!
A lot of those places have UHF radios as well, so a handheld UHF is not a bad idea to take along...I used to call them when I was ten mins away. that way they, and I didn't waste each others time waiting for each other in our busy days.
IF you are planning on refuelling at Moomba... check first!!! same as Jackson. they are private strips which may NOT sell you fuel.
The folks out there are really nice, and it would be a nice gesture, at all the places you are going to, if you could take them some fresh reading material, ie newspapers, magazines.

[Jabawocky]

Dig Tree

If you need fuel close by, best option is Innaminka Township. Phone well ahead and book a drum.

The strip at the Dig Tree was good, its a great surface when its dry but after the last flood it was several feet under water for weeks. I was out there in early May and I believe the first a/c to land there in moths were some Savannahs that I was talking to....(may have featured here before) and they could operate but the strip needed attention.

At that point Bomber Johnstone had not even been able to get to the strip.

Here is a video of the Dig Tree site strip. This is about 1-2 mile west of Nappa Marrie Strip along the Cooper Ck. Do not land at the homestead....they do not need the extra traffic. Leave your donation in the box as right now they will need the rebuild funds for sure.

Lat Long S27 37.326 E141 04.289

Here is a video.....watch out for the football size rock going under the left wing :eek:

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/iMt89E7s2wA&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iMt89E7s2wA&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Worth a stop!

J:ok:

[Plow King]

So, I'm guessing (without a WAC in front of me, and going on Google Earth) that the actual Dig Tree strip is the one about 500m Nth of the Tree, and the Nappie Merrie homestead one is about 2nm to the NE, so what is the strip(s) about 6nm to the NE of the Dig Tree?

[Jabawocky]

Yep! Thats it!:ok:

And the other one I think is the original (now old) Nappa Marrie Strip.

Some of the old....errrrrr more experienced folk here might confirm this. :E

When I first went there I tracked for the original one......and I should point out the one in your Jepp data base on all your GPS's is the old strip about 6 NM away from the homestead, and I flew from Coober almost over the Dig Tree, saw the homestead and having been warned then went back to find the Dig Tree.

WAC's and even the current Jepps are so far out of date with some things like this it pays to ask someone who has been, or you would be a bit disapointed :\ Actually the latest Google Eart shows the old strip with a white cross at the intersection........must mean gliders or parachutes or sumfink! :E

[185skywagon]

The Strip marked north of Nappa, is the official RFDS strip.
C208's and others have been going in to the Dig Tree strip of late, however, there has been some rain around the area in the last few days.
Always ring ahead. I don't know whether Bomber is back on deck yet, as he as been unwell from what i have heard.

[tail wheel]

Jabba

Not sure if it is my browser or your post but your Youtube video does not appear. I checked your post and the URL is gobblty gook.

PM the Youtube URL and I'll repair your post.

[benharris10]

Flew over this strip on Saturday on the way to Innamincka, and from 500 feet it looked in good condition and plenty long and wide enough for a 182. We were going to land but we had another plane waiting for us at Innamincka, and regrettably continued on. The strip is nice and close to the dig tree, and would be a great spot to check out.

Innamincka is a good spot to stop for fuel and food, The fuel was organised through the trading post, and something which is apparently different this year is you don't have to buy the whole drum, only the fuel you use. I've been looking through the photo's and video's of the trip to see if I can find anything on the strip at the dig tree, but I can't seem to :( I've got video of the area and the Innamincka strip. Ill see if any of the other boys got any of it. Like 185 says, it has apparently been raining out there since Friday, not sure what that's done to the strip.

Its a fantastic trip, and the channel country is absolutely brilliant to see. William creek is a nice spot, just remember the CTAF there has changed and it's by notam, not in ersa(128.7 I think? Don't quote me on it) Accomodation is scarce at Birdsville at the moment unless you book in advance (found that out the hard way) but a good spot to overnight is Windora, a couple of hours on ( depending which way your heading). Something else which would be good to visit is Burke's original grave site, which is on the bank of the Cooper, according to Google earth about 3 miles north east.

All in all a great trip, Enjoy!

[Desert Flower]

William creek is a nice spot, just remember the CTAF there has changed and it's by notam, not in ersa(128.7 I think? Don't quote me on it)

It's 127.8 & not just for William Creek it's in use for Marree & up over the lake.

DF.

[Peter Fanelli]

IF you are planning on refuelling at Moomba... check first!!! same as Jackson. they are private strips which may NOT sell you fuel.


Isn't Jackson closed these days?

[apache]

it has been a

LOOONNNGGGG time, peter!

and the strip I mentioned before, was the NAPPA MERRIE strip.... not the Dig Tree one.

[Sunfish]

The Dig tree strip is long enough and wide enough for a DC3. Two years ago the landing fee/reserve entry was $11.00 per aircraft or car. Don't mix it up with the Nappa Merrie strip.

Bomber and the dogs are wonderful.

Be careful on final because there are some idiots in 4wd's who don't know the difference between the approach road and the airstrip. There are often a few aircraft there in the middle of the day, so remember your calls.

You can also camp there if you have the gear for overnight bush camping and you are prepared to haul your stuff about 200m. Not sure about what its like after rain though..


Looking eastish note c182 in distance on takeoff.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a16/sunfish1/P1010573.jpg?t=1278545125

looking westish:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a16/sunfish1/P1010579.jpg?t=1278545153

[Sunfish]

Famous Dog:


http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a16/sunfish1/P1010578.jpg?t=1278545207

Bomber, giving a lift to Girlfriend as well as propositioning her "It gets lonely out here! You married?" I hope he is OK.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a16/sunfish1/P1010515.jpg?t=1278545263

[Bounceferret]

haha
VH-SGE certainly gets around,
had her up to william creek and yark last september... during that dust storm.... not fun

Thanks for the info guys, it's going to be a great trip,
the dig tree is definately worth the stop by the sounds of it.

So call innaminka before going in, and keep to the southern dig tree strip.. away from the homestead,
will report on conditions when I get back

Cheers,

[tinpis]

Be sure to take yer fly tablets and get innoculated for boredomitis. :bored:

[NOtimTAMs]

Just been inspired to take some time off in the next month and go on out to the Dig Tree and Lake Eyre in a 4 seater single that needs about 600-700 meters

Am planning at this stage to stop at Innamincka overnight and for some fuel. I know recent rain may have affected the strips and will be contacting the folks out there.

However, I've heard that the Innamincka Township strip is not as good as the Station strip (which is further out of town and less convenient for early morning starts!!) - but is the difference that great that the Township strip should be avoided?

[asw28-866]

All,
Got back from latest tour of the big puddle yesterday. As of Sunday 18th July Bomber was hoping to have Digtree strip open again today, Tuesday. They had 40MM of rain last week and when I overflew it on Sunday afternoon was waterlogged. The township strip at innaminka is no issues for anything upto twins/caravans, though it can be shut with rain as well. Not sure Warren (who runs the servo at innaminka)will deliver fuel to the station strip across the creek anyway.

Anyone interested in latest state of lake Eyre and surrounding locations happy to answer with what I know!

BTW the Lake has a lot of water in it from the Cooper now and is looking magnificent.

Cheers

'866'

[GABLUES]

The township strip will not be a problem for any single, PA31's use the strip all the time, as with all bush strips do your homework. ;)

[sdielectrical]

A few weeks ago I planned to stop at Innamincka, Noccundra Hotel and The dig tree. There had been lots of rain and wasn't able to stop at any of those places. I rang Bomber Johnson a few times to ask about the strip and he said it had a big puddle of water in the middle of it. He said to call again on the day.

At 10 miles I called inbound and was only intending to make an approach and inspect the strip. I wasn't expecting to land. Bomber called back and said the strip at the station 1nm away was in good condition and had gotten permission for me to land there.

Bomber picked us up frmo there and took us to the dig tree and dropped us back. He was a really great guy. I only wish I could have stayed longer. We were pushed for time.

Here is a video

YouTube - The Dig Tree (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l_6BeaG_8w)

[Jerr]

Just back from a Flyway.

The highlight was landing at the Dig Tree.

Bomber was a real character. Interestingly Burke & Wills' lat & long were not far off todays GPS co-ordinates.

My stepson who is currently doing his CPL was flying this leg. I turned off the GPS, and he navigated successfully by the WAC.

I highly recommend this trip to all who can do it.

We then flew 20 NM to Innamincka for lunch. We had a great lunch, highly recommended. However lots of stones on the Innamincka town airstrip.

JERR

j7YppCe4fGo

[Jerr]

As we as landing you can hear the terrain warning. The Garmin Data Base did not recognise the ALA - Dig Tree.

JERR

[morno]

Is there not a terrain inhibit function?

[bentleg]

Yes Dig Tree is an excellent dirt strip, and I agree it's well worth a visit.

A couple of pics of the strip from June

Strip looking South West
http://img.acianetmedia.com/i/ufrjM.jpg


Apron and Strip looking North East
http://img.acianetmedia.com/i/mXnwl.jpg


And yes Bomber is most helpful.

Be sure you get the right strip, the station strip is only about two miles north east, is also next to the river and has the same orientation. Neither strip is on the Cooper Creek WAC. Both are visible on Google Earth.