Purnululu (Bungles) – Hooker Creek – Tennant Creek – Barkly Wayside Inn – Mount Isa – Winton – Emerald – Agnes Water – Hervey Bay – Redcliffe

29th May 2023 dawned like all the other days in the Kimberley. Blue sky and not a cloud in sight. The only difference was the temperature. Being so far inland and with clear skies it had dropped to about 8 degrees overnight. So it had been a cold night at the Bungle Bungle Savannah Lodge and the cabins weren’t exactly warm. If you’re heading that way in May – September take some thermals with you for the early morning. A beanie and gloves will also be worthwhile. It’s a desert climate.

Anyway, the hot breakfast warmed us all up and at 8am we were transferred back to the Bellburn airstrip. MSF was a bit reluctant to start due to the cold but Luc’s tip of rotating the propellor to get the oil flowing and positioning the prop to ensure minimum effort required by the starter motor did certainly help.

From Purnululu it was a “long haul” flight to Barkly Wayside Inn via Hooker Creek and Tennant Creek. We did a quick pass over the Bungles and then tracked direct for YHOO, losing 90 minutes as we crossed into the NT.

The first leg was 60 minutes with some smoky parts to fly over. At Hooker we had to queue for Avgas as possibly the only other customer for the day had landed ten minutes before us and then discovered his company credit card had no money on it. I presume he resorted to his personal card as he eventually filled up and pulled his Cessna out of the way.

Meanwhile Sigi and Rita had bought sandwiches and salad at the community store so we were all set for a picnic at Tennant Creek. Taking off we spent the next 90 minutes flying over the northern end of the Tanami Desert that was uncharacteristicly green. They have had a lot of rain this past wet season. An Airnorth King Air was also planning to land at Tennant Creek so we let him land first while we did an orbit over the town.

After refuelling we had intended on walking down town as it was only 1 km but decided we’d rather just get to Barkly as soon as possible as we were keen to see whether the new roadhouse had really been completed and was open for business. We were soon flying the last 30 minute leg. We landed and taxied towards the apron while an elderly couple watched in amazement. They didn’t realise they were standing in the middle of the taxiway! After a bit of furtive sign language they suddenly realised they were about to be sliced and diced if they didn’t move out of the way so our way was clear to the bowser once more. No cement mixer this time and no wayward trucks and the apron looked a little bit less like a scrap yard.

After filling up again we pushed MSF back into a gap between the building materials that covered the lay down area. And were we impressed by the new buildings? You bet we were. A great new roadhouse complete with live music and all completed in 4 months according to the manager. Quite an achievement.

It was another big day from Barkly Wayside Inn to Winton. It is a big country isn’t it? At only 10 degrees it meant we needed to rug up again until the sun got up a bit. MSF required a bit of coaxing again to get going but after a few attempts the engine fired up and we taxied out of the lay down area to the strip, avoiding pedestrians on the taxiway as we went.

It was over an hour VFR to Mt Isa where I did a practice RNP instrument approach. The terminal was open and the cafe was selling coffee so we struck the jackpot.

There was VHF coverage from there on so we were IFR to Winton, passing over the Diamantina River on the way.

After another RNP approach we tied down for the night. Adam from the Outback Motel was waiting for us and before long we were taking in the wonders of Winton. There was a poetry recital by Gregory North at the North Gregory Hotel followed by dinner at the Tatts Hotel as the sun set. We finished the day with a nostalgic movie night at the open air Royal Theatre. It’s one of only two open air cinemas in Australia. Where’s the other one? You guessed it – Broome. As the temperature dropped to 10 degrees we watched newsreels from the 50s, old adverts, cartoons and silent movie skits. Very funny. And we could remember many of them from our childhoods.

ur Kimberley Krusade was drawing to an end and it really was time to head for home. Another cold morning start at Winton meant we had time to observe the feeding of the Brolgas at the Outback Motel and do a quick walk around town before breakfast. We checked out the Winton Club, site of the first QANTAS board meeting.

After breakfast Adam dropped us back at the airport. Our track to Emerald had us passing directly over Shandonvale so we couldn’t resist a couple of orbits at 5000ft to say G’day to Deon and Lane.

Another opportunity to practise an RNP instrument approach led to a straight in approach at Emerald.

We where we did a quick refuel and ate a sandwich before we were off further east, passing over a cotton gin, some irrigated fields and a Blackwater coal mine.

We descended into Agnes Water, still our favourite beach resort, where we’d decided to spend the last two nights of the trip. A few stratocumulus clouds met us as we approached the coast. The first real clouds we’d seen for nearly three weeks. As recommended by resident “ARO” Woody, we did a 300ft overfly to chase away any lingering kangaroos and then returned for a full stop. It was time to relax and enjoy an east coast sunset and sunrise for a change.

One last day at the beach before returning to normality. We made the most of it, enjoying the sunrise, then coffee and breakfast at the Holidays Cafe.

A few walks and a couple of swims and a bit of lazing around filled in the day. Then we caught a taxi to 1770 to enjoy a picnic while watching the sun set.

Following a relaxing day at the beaches of Agnes Water and The Town of 1770 we had to refuel once more for our flight back to Redcliffe to finish our Kimberley trip. The decision was to refuel at Hervey Bay so we could have lunch there. We took off and headed south along the coast.

It was another perfect day as we flew along the coast past Bundaberg and Bargara.

A short taxi ride brought us to Enzo’s on the beach, a great little lunch spot where we could enjoy fish and chips while gazing across the water to K’Gari Fraser Island.

Taking to the air again we tracked for K’gari Fraser Island and flew down the coast at 2000ft past Cathedral Beach, Ely Creek, Eurong and on to Double Island Point before reaching Noosa. A Virgin 737 was taking off from Sunny Coast so we had to fly over the top of the airport to avoid his wake turbulence then on past Caloundra and over Bribie Island to Redcliffe.

We were home. Just in time for our monthly aero club barbecue.

It had been an amazing trip of over 4700 nautical miles and 33 tacho hours over 22 days. The Kimberley is definitely one of the most scenic parts of the country, even if you have to fly a long way to get there. I must give a plug for Birgit Bradke’s excellent downloadable pdf travel guide “Destination Kimberley”. At $32.70 it is a bargain. I bought it online in 2019 when I was first planning this trip and it was extremely helpful in identifying the best places to go. Once you buy it Birgit updates it annually for free so you have up to date information whenever you finally get to go (in my case almost 4 years later). And I’d also like to give thanks to Alec Munro from AviAir who was so willing to share his knowledge of the Kimberley with me both before and during the trip. The guys at the Tower in Broome were also very kind. I recommend a trip to Kimberley to anyone who can spare the time and the resources to get there.