Tapp's Travels

The other main attraction in Longreach is the Qantas Founders Museum, established in 1996.  The Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service was started here by two WW1 veteran pilots and an aero-engineer who saw a business opportunity in an air transport service.  The early planes were a little unreliable, rather prone to breaking down … crashing even … and, at the outset, had space for just one passenger!  In fact the service started in Winton, but moved to Longreach in 1922 when the hangar which now houses a lot of the exhibits was completed.

Another superb museum.  We actually visited three times.  It’s just across the road from our accommodation – an easy five minute stroll!  The first time was just for breakfast (and to book our visit times.)  The package we selected included a guided tour (without a walk on the wings of the Jumbo jet) and a nocturnal sound and light show.  We had to schedule the night visit carefully.  They need a minimum audience of six people!  And there are so few tourists about!

Outside, there are several planes which have been collected variously around the world, lovingly restored to air-worthiness and flown to Longreach.  The collection of aircraft assembled under the airpark roof structure includes a Douglas DC-3 …

…  a PBY Catalina Flying Boat …

… a Boeing 707-138 – the City of Canberra …

… as owned and flown by John Travolta!

This is the flight deck of the City of Canberra …

Lurking in a “corner” of the airpark is The City of Bunbury, a Boeing 747-200.  Having flown over 82 million kms for Qantas, in November 2002, it became the largest aircraft ever to land at Longreach.

The Jumbo is a long way up without an air-bridge!  In the cockpit more than 40 feet off the ground there is a dazzling display of controls.

I estimate there are over 500 indicator lights and switches overhead.  There are 40 or more dials and at least another 100 assorted switches and indicators on the dashboard.  Then there about 150 more buttons and warning lights plus about 20 levers between the pilots seats (where the ashtray would be in the family car).  Oh, and two steering wheels (yokes) and at least four foot pedals to steer the plane when on the ground.

And … not only that.  When this plane came into service,  the crew included a flight engineer who had their own collection of 534 dials, indicators, switches and knobs!

I make that a total of 1,350 “bits and pieces” to keep this plane in the air.  In modern day jets, virtually all of these controls and indicators have been replaced by a couple of TV screens, four i-pads and a built-in sat nav!  The flight engineers are now all redundant!

This particular 747 has three engines on the port wing!  The inboard one demonstrates how these massive units are transported across the world.

And talking of engines … here we are in the typical tourist pose!

“Luminescent Longreach”, is a light show projected onto the aircraft bodies in the Airpark.  It happens at night after sunset and tells the story of the origin and development of the company.  There were six of us booked for the show, but the other two punters didn’t show.  So, after a respectable hesitation, the show proceeded as a private event for the four of us!

Fabulous.  Not to be missed.

Jeff had booked an evening cruise on the Thomson River with “Smithy’s”, ages before we came to Australia.  We had now been told that it was VERY likely to be cancelled.  It was.  Alan Smith made alternative arrangements.  But first, a trip to see the boat and river which would have been involved.

The boat was securely moored to its floating pontoon, but the river was already full to the top of the banks and beginning to spread.  The team had removed the toilet block, lock, stock and barrel into storage in town.  All that remained was the concrete plinth on which they had stood!

The shed where Smithy’s puts on evening shows was going under …

But Alan Smith had an alternative plan for us.  Instead of an aquatic adventure up the river …

… we were to be entertained at Rosebank Station, where Alan lives with his wife Sue.

About 10 km south of town, this 17,000 acre sheep and cattle property has had some famous guests.  Including Princess Alexandra in 1959.  Her portrait hangs proudly in what was her bedroom!  We all used her bathroom …

Sue put on a fine selection of nibbles, and the champagne flowed freely.  Alan told stories of life on the property and how it had changed over the years.  We sat around what might have been the campfire (had there been a fire) as the sunset came and went.

A very interesting alternative to battling up a flooding river!  Well done Smithy!

For the first time ever in Australia (and that includes 27 previous visits) we hadn’t seen a single kangaroo or wallaby on this trip.  Robin had given one a glancing blow with his car one evening.  But we weren’t with him.  Our total blank on the kangaroo front was broken at Longreach.  One morning we spotted a family behind our cabin.  Then we saw them every day lurking in the bushes on the property.  Common as muck!

We also clocked a bunch of emus (known as a mob) and a few camels (known, surprisingly, as a flock!) on our expedition to Winton.

Now it’s time to check out the medical facilities of Longreach.  Glenda has been suffering with chronic tummy pains for a while.  We need some strong pain killers.  Our host, Ron suggests we try the local hospital.  Of course, everything in Longreach is “local”.  He rings up to find out how busy they are.  Not too bad.  Five minutes down the road and over the railway track  and we are in a huge carpark with at least 50 spaces.  Free of course.  At reception we filled in two forms and showed our Medicare numbers.  Ten minutes later Glenda was ensconced on a bed being interrogated by a nurse and a doctor.  She had their full attention … for an hour!  Uninterrupted!  They put a heat pad on her stomach, checked her blood pressure, took blood and urine samples, had detailed discussions about the problem, dosed her with cocaine (or some pain-killing substitutes) and wrote a prescription for more of the same.  Then we waited.  “What are we waiting for?”  “Test results!”  Obviously!  The hospital has its own dedicated analytical lab.  I had a quick visit.  VERY impressive!  All results came back within 30 minutes.  Treatment decided.  Prescription issued.  The hospital has it’s own pharmacy.  Very useful.  Total cost of the entire experience – $25, about £13 (for the tablets).  How have we got it so so wrong in the UK?

With medications sorted, it’s now time for another “road trip”.  This time we are heading east.  To Ilfracombe.   Really close, just 20 minutes drive on another basically straight road with just two noticeable bends.  Ifracombe is noted for two things – the Wellshot Tavern and the “Great Machinery Mile”.  The latter can’t be missed.  It’s an open-air display of a range of antique agricultural machinery (much of it painted in all sorts of weird colours) from the local area spread alongside the Landsborough Highway within the town.

The tavern takes its name from the Wellshot Station which in 1876 measured well over a million acres – almost the same size as the county of Devon.  (Incidentally, Devon boasts two cities, about 80 notable towns and hundreds of villages!)  The townships of both Longreach and Ilfracombe were established within the bounds of the original property when about a third of Wellshot land was “resumed” by the authorities in the 1890s under a Land Act.

We hit the pub conveniently just before lunchtime.  Time for a drink at the bar …

Followed by fish and chips all round!

The road eastward was closed by flooding at Barcaldine over 100 km away.  The truckers were marooned for at least 36 hours.  They chose, very sensibly, to stop in Ilfracombe.  Next to the pub.  Where they had access to a washing machine – oh, and food and beer.  This was a better place to wait for flood abatement than next to the actual flooded road in the middle of nowhere with no washing machine!  Or beer!

The road opposite the tavern was basically a lorry park, although what you see in the photo below was just two of the road trains.  Several others were parked in a side street.

What we didn’t know in advance was that there was a third attraction in town.  In Memorial Park, a short walk from the tavern, there is a thermal spa.  This is fed by warm artesian water from a 1000 metre deep bore.  Had we known we would have brought our togs.

But then again we would have been disappointed because the spa was securely fenced in.  And securely padlocked.  We never did find out how to access the pool.  But of course, there were only four tourists and six truckers in town.  Barely worth anyone opening up!  Anyway, we have our own hot water baths behind our cabin – but we didn’t even try them out!

Jeff and Laurel hosted our last evening meal in their cabin – and very nice it was too!

At the end of our time in Longreach, the flooding really got a good grip.  The road to Winton was closed to traffic as a precaution, but the water never actually covered the road.  The land is so flat here that the water just spreads out over the paddocks.  The Thomson River is normally about 50 m wide.  But as we flew out, the water was lapping at the doors of the lowest lying houses in town and was reputed to be up to nine kilometres wide.

An aerial view as we left on our little Dash 8 turbo-prop.

Of course all this water is on its way to Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre to you and me).  The lake stands a really good chance of being full to the brim later this year.  It’ll take up to eight weeks for this flood-water to travel the last 800 km or so to it’s final destination.  Lake Eyre is an endorheic lake – defined as a terminal water body within a closed drainage basin that has no outlet to rivers or oceans, losing water solely through evaporation or seepage.

Our flight back to the east coast “civilisation” (and guaranteed availability of fresh bananas) was made really enjoyable by the large bottle of red wine expertly handled by two delightful attendants.

Victoria from Boccarina (Sunshine Coast) and Torika from Nandi (Fiji).  Well done ladies!  They made sure we had enough to eat and drink AND they gave us a very useful tip.  When we have to serve Tim Tams on a flight, we should ALWAYS start from the back of the plane.  They NEVER put enough biscuits on board for everyone.  Commencing service from the rear means that when they run out, the passengers at the front of the plane have no idea of what they are missing!

Good advice!  But we were already in the back rows of the plane!