Central Australia trip questions
Thread Starter
Central Australia trip questions
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.
DF.
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
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
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
Dr
Sprucegoose
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Why not try some of the many stations that are out there, perhaps Old Andado, or Mt Dare! These are both a long way South of Alice, but there must be some up around Tennant.
Cheers, HH.
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!
Cheers, HH.
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!
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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.
Yep. The place can be violent but mostly only between non-whites but avoid the pubs. They are feral.
Positives, the airport is sealed, the navaids work, the lights work and you can talk to centre on VHF and if you are flying north or south there are two great navaids to use - the Stuart Highway and the Ghan railway.
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.
Yep. The place can be violent but mostly only between non-whites but avoid the pubs. They are feral.
Positives, the airport is sealed, the navaids work, the lights work and you can talk to centre on VHF
and if you are flying north or south there are two great navaids to use - the Stuart Highway and the Ghan railway.
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?
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?
Silly Old Git
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."
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."
What the hell is ACDT? If it's Aus Central Daylight Time, I don't remember the Territory having Daylight Savings, 
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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 ?
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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.
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middle of...nowhere
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.
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.
Thread Starter
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,
DF.
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!
Suggest next time you look outside instead of concentrating on the GPS.
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There is no life as we know it between Alice and Darwhine.
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.
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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.
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.
Last edited by flog; 12th Jan 2008 at 21:51. Reason: Ask about Rose
Thread Starter
Suggest next time you look outside instead of concentrating on the GPS.
DF.
Pilotolatino, geez, hope you never venture west of the Great Divide again, 
. The less idiots like you out here the better .
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
. The less idiots like you out here the better .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