Charleville – Longreach – Noonbah Station – Winton – Barcaldine – Shandonvale Station

In April 2021 Sigi and I had a trip into the Queensland outback with our friends Anne and Harpur. The idea was to visit a few classic outback towns along with a couple of outback farms (or stations as they are called in Australia) while exploring some of the history of the region, including dinosaur fossils up to 100 million years old and ruins from World War 2.

The first day we headed to Charleville. It was a sea of green most of the way following recent rain. Quite a rare sight out this way.

We were met at the Charleville bowser by Warwick from South West Air Services, who brought back memories of “service stations” from the 1960s with a friendly full refuelling service. Their “Flight Deck Cafe” is a great set up and, if you are an aviator and you call ahead, you can borrow (yes borrow – no charge!) their Holden Barina to get around town. Now that really is service. Driving into town a quick lunch of the best pizza in Queensland at the iconic Corones Hotel was followed by a two hour tour of said establishment by Rachel, a local font of historical knowledge. https://www.hotelcorones.com.au

Harry Corones, a Greek immigrant who arrived in Sydney in 1904 with a few coins in his pocket, built up a business empire centred on Charleville and was one of Qantas’ first shareholders and awarded an MBE for his services to regional Queensland. The hotel is his legacy and hosted numerous VIPs over the decades. Amy Johnson, the pioneer aviatrix stayed overnight and bathed in champagne to celebrate achieving her goal of flying from Britain to Australia. Harry supplied the bottles of champagne and after Amy finished her bath Rachel assured us that Harry arranged for the champagne to be returned to the original bottles and sold every last one as “the champagne that Amy bathed in”. This shows the sort of entrepreneur Harry was.

Day 2 of our trip started with the WW2 Secret Base Tour in Charleville.

This turned out to be really interesting. During our visit to the Corones Hotel the day before Rachel had told us about a top secret visit by Sir Robert Menzies (Australian Prime Minister) to Charleville in 1940 and during the tour we discovered he’d been checking the place out so that the US military could set up a secret base there. By 1942 there were 3500 US military personnel in town and the whole area was officially “off limits”. Military police checked everyone going in and out. It was a fall back location to defend the populated areas of Australia if the Japanese were to capture the north coast. The local council has started the “tag along” tours (you need a car to follow the guide) that cover a few key locations close to the airport. Our guide Luke had plenty of stories to tell about the war years and what they have been discovering about them in recent times.

Find out more about the things you can do at Charleville at: https://www.experiencecharleville.com.au

Following the tour we dropped off the Barina at the South West Air Services Flight Deck Cafe. Taking off, we headed north west to Longreach, taking around one hour. This time I was smarter than the last couple of visits and touched down half way along the 2km long runway so we didn’t have to taxi for ages to reach the apron. After refuelling we parked next to the Qantas museum and headed to Saltbush Retreat where we’d stay the night.

Later we were picked up and taken for a sunset cruise on the Thomson River (surprisingly wide and not unlike the Murray around Mildura). We saw some of local wildlife including black kites and Emmett Turtles (more on them later) who feasted on Salada biscuits supplied by the boat’s captain.

Dinner was at a great setting on the banks of river with entertainment from local singer Corinne who, after banging out a couple of country and western numbers, noticed that the public were not really C&W fans and diversified into more interesting songs, some of which she’d written herself.

Day 3 was a Qantas day. Not in the sense of flying with Qantas but just learning about the company and its aircraft. Unfortunately the Qantas cafe didn’t open until 9am so it was off to the Stockmans Hall of Fame for a quick breakfast instead. Then Harpur and I headed for the Qantas airpark tour and spent almost 2 hours being shown through the B747-200 City of Bunbury, a Lockheed Super Constellation and the B707 City of Canberra as well as a quick look into a DH DC3.

Meeting up with Sigi and Anne at the Qantas McGuinness Cafe for coffee we were soon segueing into the Wing Walk Tour that took us in more detail into the depths of the 747, including a look at the outside of the “pressure tank”, that keeps the interior of the aircraft at atmospheric pressure equivalent to that at 8000ft, and the electronics bay and cargo hold, accessed via a hatch located under a square of carpet in the forward business class section. This access was only used in extreme cases as it strangely enough tended to cause concern for some of the passengers when they saw the flight engineer descending through the floor of the cabin into the bowels of the aeroplane.

Next it was onto the flight deck where we were able to take up our positions as captain and first officer for 5 minutes while we worked out what the instrumentation was for. Finally we went out on the wing (with a lanyard) and Grant our guide showed us how to jump up and down in unison and make the tip of the wing flex! After that little adventure we headed for the museum and spent a couple of hours reading about how QANTAS was formed and grew to what it is today. We walked back to the Saltbush Motel and grabbed a shuttle into town for dinner and were soon back out at the Qantas museum for the Luminescent Longreach show – audio visual projections onto the exterior of the aircraft in the park. Did I mention? It was a Qantas day.

http://www.qfom.com.au

On day 4 it was time to head out to the real outback. We took off from Longreach and headed about 80 miles south west, following the Thomson River downstream to Noonbah Station.

Noonbah has been in the Emmett family since Angus’ grandmother won the right to buy it in a raffle in the early 20th century. Angus grew up here and did all his schooling on the property. He had a variety of governesses until he started to take too much interest in them and his mother took over his schooling! Angus is needless to say a character, and a somewhat famous ornithologist as well. He has identified numerous species of birds in the area over the decades and had some birds named after him and even a turtle. He’s also a keen wildlife photographer with an amazing collection of photos to his credit. Meeting us with Banjo the dog at the airstrip, Angus dropped us off at the cottage that we’d stay in overnight. After a short break he took us for a two hour natural history tour around the property – 130,000 acres of it. Afterwards we had his wife Karen’s home baked scones and tea while meeting some of the menagerie they have around their home. This included a variety of kangaroos and wallabies and a few pythons.

A short trip took us for a view of the sunset before settling in for a home baked dinner and some good red wine. This was true outback hospitality. You can find out more at: https://www.noonbahstation.com.au

We had an early morning start for our flight to Lark Quarry to visit the Dinosaur Stampede. Angus picked us up from the cottage at 6:45 for the short trip to the airstrip and shortly after 7:30 we were rolling down the strip waving goodbye to Karen and him. Climbing out to north west it was just over 30 minutes to Lark Quarry where we buzzed the museum and then did a 500ft overfly to check out the strip. Soon after securing the plane Peter arrived in the 4WD to take us for a 5 minute drive to the museum.

Lark Quarry is the site of a stampede of dinosaurs where the footprints have been conserved in mud and fossilised and are still visible today as a result. Bec gave us a very interesting summary of how the dinosaur tracks were discovered and gradually uncovered over the past 50 years. Proof that uniquely Australian dinosaurs lived here in a temperate climate 95 million years ago. After the tour we did a short walk around the hills (or “jump up” in local lingo) and Bec drove us back out to the airstrip. After another 25 minute flight we landed in Winton and were picked up by George from the North Gregory Hotel.

The afternoon was spent in the Waltzing Matilda Centre, reading about the history of Winton and Banjo Patterson’s poem, first recited publicly in the North Gregory Hotel many years ago. Dinner was at the other grand old hotel, The Tattersalls, across the road, watching as a blood red sun sank in the west.

Day 6 was spent in Winton, home of the Outback Film Festival. George drove us out to the Age of Dinosaurs that is located on a “jump up” about 25 km outside of town. They’ve done a great job of bringing Australia’s pre-history to life.

First a visit to the lab where dedicated volunteers expose the prehistoric remains from the surrounding rock. Second a presentation on the many skeletal remains discovered near Winton. Third a walkway where lifesize replicas of the dinosaurs appear in the natural surroundings.

George dropped us back to town and just after 4 Vicki from Red Dirt Tours drove us out of town again. This time it was to the north, to another jump up to explore weathered crevasses and then the sunset with drinks and nibbles.

Day 7 it was time to head back towards Brisbane, but not before staying a couple of nights at an outback Queensland farm stay – Shandonvale Station, near Barcaldine. George drove us back out to the airport and we prepared for departure. I had originally planned to fly first to Muttaburra, a tiny settlement at the source of the Thomson River (and location of the discovery of the Muttaburrasaurus fossils) but discovered that the pub didn’t open for lunch so changed plans to fly to Barcaldine for lunch instead. As it turned out, this was a fortunate decision as there were dark clouds gathering to the east and the radar indicated heavy showers over Muttaburra. We took off and flew over the Age of Dinosaurs Museum on the jump up and then followed the Landsborough Highway towards Longreach, skirting down the western edge of the weather at 5500ft. Twenty miles from Longreach we turned and headed direct to Barcy, as the locals call it. There was low cloud in that direction so we descended early and were soon following the main highway at 2000ft. East of Longreach the brown paddocks gradually changed to green and by the time we landed we were surrounded by a sea of emerald paddocks. I’d called ahead to arrange fuel from the Barcy refuellers and Brian, the manager, arranged for his offsider Noel to meet us on arrival. After topping up the fuel he kindly drove us into town (there’s no taxi in Barcy) and gave us a bit of a whirlwind tour of the main sites before dropping us at the Tree of Knowledge. As we disembarked he gave us his mobile number so we could call him to arrange a lift back to the airport. That’s service! We inspected the Tree of Knowledge and read about the great shearers’ strike of 1891 then headed for the Ridgeedidge Café for a sandwich.

Noel had told us about the Workers’ Museum so we spent an hour learning about the history of workers’ rights in Queensland in the well laid out centre that’s located in a parklands area. After an hour or so Noel picked us up and we were soon back out at the airport. The clouds were still hanging around and were quite low, so we took off and flew at 2500ft the 36 miles north to Aramac, dodging one shower of rain as we went. Once again, the pastures below were emerald green and a sign that they’ve had plenty of rain in recent times.

I had originally planned to land at Shandonvale Station, but the owner Deon had called a few days before and told us the airstrip was too wet to land on – we’d get bogged – and that we should fly into Aramac instead. The runway at Aramac is a long sealed one and we were soon tied down and Deon’s neighbour Bryson was there to drive us the 30km to Shandonvale.

Meeting Deon and Lane (Allaine) on arrival, we transferred to our four wheel transporter and drove ourselves to the renovated shearers’ quarters that would be our home for the next two nights.

Deon apparently has a gift for interior design, as well as cooking that complement his abilities at breeding cattle, sheep, goats and a variety of other animals. He gave us 30 minutes to settle in and then took Harpur and me out to the nearby dam to set up some traps for red claw (a type of yabbie).

Back at the ranch Sigi and Ann were preparing the champagne for our trip to the elevated spa next to the creek. It’s a copper lined spa tub installed on top of an old tank stand about 5 metres up in the air that looks out over the Aramac Creek. After a few wrong turns (It appears Deon’s not as good at explaining directions as he is at interior design, cooking and breeding etc, or was it just that we weren’t listening properly – none of us?) we ended up where we were meant to be next to the creek. We climbed the stairs to the top and dangled our legs in the 41 degree bore water that was being fed continuously into the spa while sipping the champagne and watching the birdlife on the creek. Bliss.

After the sun had well and truly set, and as the remaining light faded, Harpur and I dropped Sigi and Ann at the shearer’s hut and went to collect the red claw from the traps. Each one had about 20 in it of various sizes. We threw the bigger ones in a bucket and tossed the smaller ones back into the dam. A quick shower at the shearer’s quarters and we were off to dinner at Deon and Lane’s homestead a few hundred metres away. Deon took charge of the red claw and put them in the cold room (for later) and tended a leg of lamb that had been slow roasting for a few hours while we chatted. He and Lane explained that their main reason for starting the tourist business was to combat the loneliness of living in such a remote area. They love to have the world come through their door and mixing with people from all over Australia and the world and to share with them their experiences of living in the outback. Deon also loves to share his knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices. A very interesting young couple. Needless to say, a couple of bottles of Pepperjack were enjoyed along with the lamb before we climbed aboard our transporter and headed back through the night to our lodgings.

Day 8 was spent on Shandonvale Station. Sigi and I started with a walk around the dam as the sun rose and the birds woke up (there are a lot of birds!).

We cooked up some home made camel sausages and free range eggs for breakfast. Deon arrived just after 9 on his quad bike and took us on a guided tour of the property, explaining some of their key practices including containment fencing that aims to keep feral dogs and kangaroos out.

The fences cost about $10,000 per kilometre so with about 38km of perimeter fencing it was very costly but Deon reckons they’ve already broken even on it as the kangaroos would otherwise have eaten a large portion of the grass that they need for their own stock. He showed us the comparision between one paddock that was within the containment fence and another outside it. The amount of grass in the outer one was a fraction of that in the inner one. He also explained their tree clearing philosophy. Only new growth is cleared, allowing the mature trees to grow and for grasses and shrubs to grow underneath resulting in a more diverse vegetation. In properties where there is no clearing the trees grow densely and form a canopy that stops all undergrowth and results in a monoculture. He also showed us how they are bringing clay pans back to life using a method of checkerboard undulations that capture the moisture and allow it to seep into the soil rather than just evaporating. Back at the homestead Lane took us over to feed the geese, goats, solitary pig and a few dorper sheep that she has separated for breeding purposes.

By this time it was time for lunch and Deon appeared with the red claw from the previous evening that had been cut in half and cleaned ready for barbecuing. He put them on the barby in the newly completed outdoor kitchen, trickled on some marinade, and cooked them for just a few minutes.

He also made a salad appear magically and with a bottle of riesling the lunch went down a treat.

In the afternoon we witnessed the shooting and preparation of a goat for consumption. They do everything on site and Deon is not only a crack marksman (single shot to the head) but also an expert at butchering the animals. On the way to find the goat Harpur distracted Deon with questions resulting in the ute getting bogged in a muddy hole on the airstrip (one of the reasons we hadn’t landed on it) and he had to fetch the road grader to extract it.

The goat was duly dispatched and taken back to the homestead. Harpur assisted ably with the skin removal process.

Predinner drinks were at the spa on the old tank stand next to the river again. The sun set over the river again as we pondered how green the country was and how fortunate we were to see it in such a condition. We barbecued camel steaks in the outdoor kitchen and had them with salad and a splash or two of red wine. By this stage we were ready for an early night as the next day it would be time for the big trip home.

Day 9 arrived and it was time to head for home. Not before we had a last look at the starry starry sky of the outback though. The moon was waxing from first quarter to full so tended to flood the sky with light in the evening while it was up there. So, waking at about 4am, Sigi and I headed out for a look at the sky after the moon had dropped below the horizon and it was magnificent! Within 5 minutes I saw three shooting stars and the milky way just spread across the sky from one horizon to the other. It really makes you feel small out there. Anyway, it was back to bed for another couple of hours sleep before rising to walk around the dam again and watch the birds leave their roosts and head off for the day. Back at the lodge we cooked up some home grown bacon and more of those free range eggs for brekkie, packed and loaded up the four wheeler with our bags and headed over to the homestead to meet up with Bryson who was driving us back to the airport at Aramac. Deon appeared from the house with a big grin and a large polystyrene box for us – it was a significant portion of the goat that he’d butchered the day before! Vacuum packed and cooled with sealed ice packs.

I had to do a quick recalculation of the weight and balance to make sure we could carry it all. The process of fitting everything into the back of the Cirrus would take on an extra degree of difficulty. After saying our goodbyes to Deon and Lane we were soon back at Aramac and juggling the bags to make it all fit. And fit it did, with no spillage over into the passenger compartment.

You can find out all about Shandonvale from their website:

http://www.shandonvalestation.com.au

Lifting off we headed in the direction of Roma and our track took us directly over the top of Shandonvale Station so we did an orbit overhead at about 2500ft so Harpur could take a few snaps. From there it was a climb to 7500ft down the western edge of the Carnarvon part of the dividing range. Once again we couldn’t get over how green everything was.

Just over 2 hours and we were landing at Roma where we could refuel and get a taxi into town for some lunch. From Roma it was 90 minutes to Redcliffe. I chose to fly IFR this leg even though it was clear blue sky, just to see how ATC would descend us into the Brisbane area.

A few bumps as we descended under the steps over the Brisbane River Valley and the hills west of Dayboro and we were home again. It was the end of another great trip.

St George – Vineyard – Cotton Farm

Well, it was a beautiful spring day in October 2020 when we had the first Redcliffe Aeroclub flyaway to St. George. St. George is on the Balonne River, about 500 kilometres to the west of Brisbane in cotton farming country, just north of the NSW border. Originally Mike was going to join us but he pulled out so we put out feelers for another passenger. One mention to our friend Beth and she was in. A lover of travel with a difference, Beth has been all over the world and was having cold turkey from being unable to travel outside Australia due to Covid. It was time for a trip within Queensland.

Five planes with 11 passengers ventured off one Saturday morning. It was perfect flying weather, very smooth and no significant winds to affect the flight. Despite different planes and departure times and some different routes, four of the planes arrived at St. George airport within a few minutes of each other.

Of course, we didn’t know there was a safari of six other planes arriving at the same time! It was busier than Brisbane airport had been for months. In addition, we had a crop duster spraying in a field just below final approach who sounded a bit panicky as the skies above St. George suddenly became so crowded. Anyway, we all got down and fuelled before boarding our tour bus.

Driving the bus, our tour guide “Sno” Harm, a cotton farmer in real life, provided us with a wealth of information about the district. You will see him in the photos dressed in a blue shirt, shorts and work boots. Our first stop was the Riversands Wines Estate which was a few kilometres out of town.

It actually produces mainly table grapes for Coles and Woolies, with only a relatively small amount of wine grapes being grown. We toured much of the estate in the bus going up and down between the vines while David, the owner, showed us the different varieties of grapes and explained various aspects of the operation. This was followed by a discussion between the vines, wine tasting and a light lunch.

The wine tasting allowed us to choose some of the wines that we thought were worth taking home so we bought a few bottles before we returned to the bus. We ended up spending about two hours at the estate. The tour is highly recommended if you ever get out that way. (By the way, the wines were surprisingly good too!)

After leaving Riversands Estate, Sno took us to his cotton farm where he gave us an exhaustive tour and explained his operation and the intricacies of the cotton industry in general. He even started up a big cotton harvester to show how the cotton is picked. We spent about two and a half hours receiving our education. He would have kept showing us other parts of the district however thirst drove us back to our motel for checkin.

Our accommodation was clean and comfortable and we headed off to one of the pubs, a short walk into town, for some drinks and a big country dinner. Everyone behaved, probably because we were all pretty tired from the day and it was a relatively early night for all. Sunday morning was a leisurely affair with some people sleeping in and some exploring the town. It was particularly pretty along the river.

We met up for breakfast at another pub, the Australian, opposite the river.

Sno picked us up from the motel just after 10 and we headed about 50 kilometres out of town to the Nindigully Pub.

This pub is a bit of a bush landmark and looks exactly like what a bush pub should look like. From the photos you will see how dry it is out the front of the pub but the beer garden inside was green, shady and cool; a great spot for a bit of lunch.

The pub interior is quirky, with plenty of “outback souvenirs” on show and a mini museum that tells the history of the area.

After lunch, we headed back to the airport to load and leave. We got away around 2 pm and first headed overhead Nindigully before setting course for Redcliffe over the Darling Downs.

It was a great weekend and everyone enjoyed themselves. Definitely St George is a place to visit!

Town of 1770 – Lady Musgrave Island – Agnes Water

Beth had been wanting to go on another trip with us since the trip to St George in 2020 so we arranged that she and another friend Sandra join us for a few days at Agnes Water/1770, one of our favourite destinations. This time there’d be the special attraction of a day trip out to Lady Musgrave Island in the southern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef. It would give us the opportunity to snorkel amongst the coral and the turtles and other fish. Originally we had planned to depart at a reasonable hour on the morning of Saturday March 27 and had booked a boat trip to lady Musgrave on Sunday but two days before they cancelled the Sunday boat trip to Lady Musgrave so we had to get the boat on Saturday instead. This meant being up at 4 in the morning, taking off from Redcliffe at 6:30 and making it into Agnes at 8am to catch the trip.

Despite the early start we made the rendezvous and Beth delivered us to Redcliffe nice and early. After a quick preflight and passenger briefing it was all aboard for Agnes Water.

Taking off we were treated to an amazing view of the Sunshine Coast and its hinterland as the sun rose in the east.

I never get tired of flying over this part of Queensland. It is really quite beautiful, especially first thing in the morning.

We tracked on up over Maryborough, Hervey Bay and Bundaberg, flying over some sugar cane fields on the way.

After about 80 minutes’ flying we rounded the head at 1770…

and were soon touching down on the Agnes Water airstrip.

Our taxi arrived shortly afterwards and took us the 5 minute trip to the 1770 marina where we boarded the boat.

Ninety minutes later we were at the island, ideal for snorkelling.

Lady Musgrave Island is the southern-most island in the Capricorn Cay, formed entirely of coral and covered by pisonia trees.  Its only inhabitants are a variety of breeding bird species, including Black Noddy Terns, known for their voluminous pooping behaviour.  Perilous to the unsuspecting walkers! This island sanctuary is surrounded by an 8 km turquoise lagoon with an abundance of sea life. 

First up, struggling with our flippers (fins for the experts), was snorkelling, delighting in the coral, beautiful fish and turtles!  Magic!  Beth’s go pro came into its own capturing the extensive marine life and certain ungainly fellow snokellers!

Next, the glass bottomed boat ride to the Island afforded us great images, including some very curious turtles.

Our guide’s enthusiasm and knowledge of the marine world below was just amazing.  Upon arrival, we had a guided walk to learn about the Island formation and bird life.  Interestingly, there are no predators for the birds such as snakes or lizards.

All of us left Lady Musgrave Island with a new appreciation for the pristine beauty of this stunning area.  We finished with a cooling lager at the newly opened wine bar at 1770 marina to watch the brilliant orange hues of the sunset over Bustard Bay. 

A perfect end to a perfect day.

On day 2 of our reef trip Sandra, Sigi and I were eager for a swim (where was Beth?) first up and met Beth for breakfast at Holidays Café with its fabulous beach views. Beth and Sandra left Sigi and me and took a taxi to the Paper Bark Forest. 

That was another highlight for them.  Only 400m long but a beautiful walk along planks and stepping stumps enjoying the paper bark tea trees, dappled sunshine, somewhat elusive butterflies and birds.  Some of the path was underwater due to recent heavy rains but was easily traversed in bare feet! Faced with a long walk back, their feet were saved, by yet another wonderful local who offered them a lift to our morning tea destination at the Getaway Garden Café to meet up with Sigi and me.

Now for the much awaited vanilla slice, which, we have been told, is one of the best in QLD.  Of course, we had to sample. Having tasted with great gusto it could well be true!

Our walk back to the motel took us via Discovery Trail Lookout with fabulous views. 

Sandra enjoyed another swim (where was Beth?) then they were off to the LARC (Lighter Amphibian Replenish Cargo) tour. 

The LARC tour, 1 hour across sand and water with a couple of exciting splashdowns, was great fun with a humorous and knowledgeable guide.  They then walked along the beach to the Captain Cook Monument – a cairn commemorating the first landing of the Endeavour 24/5/1770.  It stands near Bustard Bay, which was named after the crew shot a bird for dinner claiming it was the best meal since leaving England in 1768!

Meanwhile, Sigi and I, having done the LARC tour on our last trip to 1770, relaxed at Agnes Water and enjoyed the beach.

That evening, we enjoyed bubbles and nibbles at the beach, watching the sunset and the moonrise. We were joined by fellow Cirrus pilot Brett and his wife Sharon who happened to be staying at Sharon’s sister’s new beach house just up the road!

I began day 3 of our reef and beach trip with breakfast at the beach cafe then a short drive out to the airstrip with Stefan, Brett and Jodie. They’d asked whether they could have an early morning flight out to Lady Musgrave so who was I to quibble? I did the aircraft preflighting while Brett and Jodie chased a couple of kangaroos off the airstrip then we were all aboard for departure over the water to Lady Musgrave, about 20 miles out to sea. We had a great view of the 1770 cape as we departed.

Ten minutes later we were over Lady Musgrave and its turquoise lagoon.

Flying north, we followed a chain of reefs and islets until we reached Heron Island about 20 miles away.

From there it was a quick trip back to Agnes via Round Hill Head at 1770.

Meanwhile, Sigi, Beth and Sandra had begun their final day in paradise with a beach visit, breakfast at Codie’s Place, then a quick taxi ride to the airstrip to meet us for our return. We swapped crews and took off at 0930.  Following the coast we tracked to Bundaberg to top up the fuel tanks.

From Bundaberg we headed for home. Knowing that there would be some cloud along the way I planned IFR and sure enough we encountered some friendly cumulus that caused a few minor bumps and some instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) at times. 

Despite this, we had some great views as we flew past Woodgate, Fraser Island, Maryborough and the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

Shortly after we were passing over Redcliffe airport.

And then final for RWY07.

Landing smoothly we taxied to the hangar to put MSF to bed. Beth summed things up well – it was a “truly magical trip”. 

Moreton Bay – Stradbroke Island – Sunshine Coast

March 14, 2021 was a perfect day to fly so Vonnie, Ros and John accompanied me in MSF on a “grand orbit” of Moreton Bay, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.

Taking off from Redcliffe we flew up to Bribie where the radio was just full of chatter. Everyone must have agreed it was the day to fly with a week of wet weather forecast from the day after. We headed over to Tangalooma on Moreton Island and on to Point Lookout on Straddie.

Tracking over North Stradbroke Island we headed for Archerfield and obtained a clearance to traverse their controlled airspace.

We passed to the west of the CBD and over the top of Indooroopilly Golf Course on our way to a scenic orbit over The Gap.

From there it was a gentle climb via Dayboro and the Glasshouse Mountains to Maleny and the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

We then descended towards Cooroy and on to Noosa Heads.

We passed Noosa and turned over the heads with a great view of Hells Gates.

Following the standard scenic coastal route now we headed down the coast past Mooroochydore and Mooloolaba.

Soon we were over Caloundra and heading for Bribie Island.

Soon we were approaching Redcliffe.

After a standard mid field cross wind entry we joined the circuit and finished with a soft touchdown on runway 07.

About 1h 40min all up. Thanks to John and Vonnie for the photos.

So this was what all the training was for. March 9, 2021 was the big day. It was finally time for my Commercial Pilot Licence practical test. After 12 months of theory study and 7 exams followed by 12 months of practical training that was interrupted by COVID-19, the day had arrived. My plans of reducing the stress in the morning by having the C182 VH-ROC fuelled up and ready to go the evening before were foiled by another member returning it from Roma after closing time. So I was out there at 7am to preflight and top up the fuel. Luckily the test examiner was running one hour late so it gave me some extra time to prepare.

I submitted my flight notification YBAF-YBOA-YKRY-YBSU-YRED and did some theory revision with the examiner before heading out to the aircraft. I asked for a transponder code and clearance direct to Boonah as we taxied out but once we were in the air it was clear from the amount of chatter on the radio that I wasn’t going to be cleared through Brisbane airspace. It was too busy. The cloud was down at 2500ft so there wasn’t much point anyway. This was VFR after all, so we had to stay clear of the clouds. So I switched on the autopilot and climbed to 1500 on heading 220 then near Petrie turned towards the TV Towers and climbed to 2000 as we approached Keperra and The Gap. As we passed Archerfield Brisbane Centre asked whether I’d like a clearance through Amberley airspace so I responded “yes if possible” and they handed me over to Amberley Clearance Delivery who rapidly gave me my clearance direct to Boonah at 2000ft. Dodging around Flinders Peak we started descending into Boonah and did a circuit and approached for a short field landing but the examiner said “there are kangaroos on the runway – go around” so we did, and set off in the direction of Kingaroy. Of course there weren’t really any kangaroos, he just didn’t want to stop at Boonah and wanted to see how I handled an emergency go around.

On the way to Gatton we did a practice forced landing without power and then after reaching Lake Wivenhoe the examiner instructed me to do a diversion towards Gympie. I climbed to just under the clouds and we did some steep turns and stalls over Lake Somerset, then some limited panel work wearing “the hood” as we made our way north. A lost procedure was conducted over Kenilworth and then we headed back to Redcliffe for a couple of circuits with one normal landing and one short field.

It was 2.6 hours of flying all up in less than ideal conditions. And the result? A pass. Time to celebrate!

I’d have to say thanks to the whole RAC team for the training over the past 12 months but especially Mal for constructing a tailor-made syllabus for me, Stephen White for helping me to lose my fear of the wing drop stall and Mark for his professionalism and patience while showing me how to polish up the gamut of aviator skills to CPL level. And also thanks to examiner Tim Holland who put me at ease during the test so I could concentrate on the job at hand.

Some take homes were: 8 hours bottle to throttle doesn’t really mean that. It’s 8 hours before commencing any safety sensitive aviation activities (which includes anything airside and flight planning), use rudder more in general and remember to balance those steep turns, use the VTC whenever possible rather than the VNC (more detail when you’re trying to work out where you are) and always notify ATC after making a diversion from your planned route (no search and rescue pilots should have to risk their lives looking for someone who’s gone missing in the wrong location). I highly recommend CPL training to any PPL holder who would like to rid themselves of any bad habits they may have acquired over the years and lift their skills back up to PPL test level and beyond, to achieve a much higher level of competency.

Boonah – Kingaroy – Sunshine Coast – precautionary search – lost procedure – FLWOP

On March 5, 2021 I had an opportunity to do a pretest exercise. It was another cross country practice in ROC, once again accompanied by Brett. This time was different however. The testing examiner had given me the route we’d use for the test the following week so I decided to make as much use as possible of this critical piece of intel by flying the route beforehand. I planned direct from Redcliffe to Boonah at 4500 via Brisbane and Amberley controlled airspace and before starting up I called the Air Services shift manager to give him a heads up and ask whether we’d get a clearance. He said it may be possible, so I asked for a transponder code from Brisbane Centre while we taxied and then took off and lo and behold, pretty well immediately obtained our clearance and climbed to 4500. We could track direct for Boonah as we had our clearance, first passing over Keperra with a great view of the CBD.

Next we were over The Gap with a great view of the dam.

This was all going pretty well so we settled into a smooth flight past Archerfield and into Amberley airspace.

Brisbane Centre handed us over to Amberley who guided us past Flinders Peak and on towards Boonah.

From top of descent we descended to circuit height and carried out a precautionary search and landing on RWY04 at Boonah. First pass at 500ft AGL, second at 200ft, third at 100ft then a short field landing. After a short break I did a short field takeoff and headed for Kingaroy, obtaining a clearance from Amberley Clearance Delivery to climb to 6500ft through their airspace.

We passed over Laidley and the Ripcord airstrip, and passed the Cressbrook Reservoir where we had to descend to 4500ft to avoid clouds and on past Tarong power station and into Kingaroy for a glide approach on RWY16. I did a full stop and we climbed out and stretched our legs.

Starting up again we did another circuit and another glide approach then took off again and set a heading of 080 towards the Sunshine Coast. After 10 minutes Brett had me turn onto a heading of 028 for 8 minutes then did a lost procedure. Turns out we were over Gallangowan. I then replanned direct to Sunshine Coast passing overhead Manumbar, Brooloo and Kenilworth Bluff. Amazing lush green country around there.

Approaching the Sunshine Coast we had to do two orbits over Bli Bli while we waited for various aircraft to land and take off, then we joined final as a Jetstar took off in front of us and a short field landing with full stop.

ATC instructed us to do a Stop and Go landing to avoid the wake turbulence of the jet. So after touching down, ever so gently, we stopped and sat on the runway for about 4 minutes, waiting for the wake turbulence to settle and were then cleared to take off and head to Redcliffe. Over Bribie we did some steep turns and stalls then a practice forced landing without power at Hazelton, finishing with a flapless landing at Redcliffe. Lovely day for it.

Wondai – Bribie Island – FLWOP – steep turns – stalls – dead reckoning

The CPL training continued on February 27, 2021. As they say, practice makes perfect, so I was off on another cross country flight in ROC, accompanied by Brett, fellow Cirrus pilot, who for once agreed to fly in an aircraft that doesn’t have its own air frame parachute. The first leg was a dead reckoning one from Redcliffe to Linville, originally planned for 4500ft but limited to 3000ft by scattered friendly cumulus cloud. There was a 6 knot cross wind from the right (don’t you love a G1000?) so I changed our heading by 3 degrees to the right and it brought us right over the top. After an orbit over the town we were off on another dead reckoning leg to a place called “Boomtown” near the Bunya mountains where OzRunways allege there’s an airstrip, so we tried to find it. There had been no strip showing on Google Earth so I was interested to see whether we could find anything in real life. Passing over Blackbutt we were on track and on schedule and we arrived over the airstrip location on time but there was no airstrip to be seen. Deciding it was all a ploy by OzRunways to check whether other app creators were copying their database we headed north on a further dead reckoning leg to Wondai, flying to the west of Kingaroy, listening out for traffic on the approach as someone did circuits there.

At Wondai we did a couple of short field landings and takeoffs then did a full stop landing for a short break to chat with one of the locals and sign the visitors’ book.

After about 20 minutes we took off again and I did three practice glide approaches with touch and go landings, while contending with an RAAus pilot who was doing circuits and refused to respond to my radio calls. The first two approaches were a bit high and steep but we landed smoothly nevertheless. The third approach was pretty much textbook. Next was a final dead reckoning leg to Jimna, initially at 3000ft to remain under the clouds but as the ground rose to meet us we climbed to 3500ft to remain 1000ft above ground level while remaining clear of cloud. Once again there was a slight heading correction for cross wind and we arrived over Jimna right on time. Originally I’d planned some steep turns overhead but the clouds limited our height above ground so we headed for Bribie Island via the Kilcoy Gap to avoid the tiger country and hills, practising a FLWOP near Woodford. There was quite a bit of traffic around Bribie but I managed a few good steep turns before heading back to Redcliffe and a flapless landing. A good bit of practice on a lovely morning.

On February 22, 2021 I continued my CPL training with more air work as I progressed towards the CPL test. An instructor and I flew up to Bribie Island for a series of steep turns (60deg bank) then stalls (clean, approach configuration and wing drop) at 3500ft. Definitely improving but still not quite up to CPL standard 100% of the time.

Then it was off to the Sunshine Coast that was sooooo busy. We had to orbit over Caloundra for almost 15 minutes waiting for a clearance and then extend downwind on the new RWY 13 nearly all the way to Mt Cooroy while a 737 landed and another took off. Eventually we were cleared to land and could taxi to the western apron.

After a short break we taxied back out to RWY13 for departure at 1500 ft for Redcliffe via Hazelton for a few practice forced landings without power. These involved pulling the throttle to idle at 2500ft then gliding at best glide speed, going through emergency checks and shutdown procedure, and establishing ourselves on short final on the grass strip, then putting power back on at 500ft and climbing away. They went fairly well but I did pick up a few more hints for fine tuning the approach from Mark, my instructor.

There was so much traffic out. Must have been the good weather. Even at Redcliffe we had four in the circuit when we arrived back.

Watts Bridge – Brisbane River – Mary River

Sunday February 21, 2021 was another perfect flying day. It was time for the monthly breakfast at Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield and I wanted some more practice for my CPL test so I gathered up a crew and we headed out to Redcliffe and were soon taking off in the ROC, heading west over Dayboro and Lake Samsonvale, then over the hills to Lake Somerset. In 15 minutes we were on the ground and having breakfast with fellow aviators.

After a feed of bacon and eggs, and a cup of tea we wandered up and down the line inspecting the various aircraft.

There was a large variety of planes as usual, including some biplanes. We watched as one was hand cranked by someone who was skilled in the art.

Then it was time to depart again, this time to the north, following the Brisbane River (which meanders its way around Watts Bridge) to its source. The upper reaches are not easy to pick so it was a useful navigation exercise with my crew assisting with spotting duties. Eventually we exhausted the Brisbane River and flew over the hills to the Mary Valley and its lush green pastures.

From there it wasn’t far to Maleny and the rolling hills of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, with the coast in the distance.

We carried on over the Glasshouse Mountains and were soon back at Redcliffe. This really is a great area to fly around.

On February 16, 2021 I continued the preparation for my CPL test with a cross country (nav) exercise in VH ROC. We started with a dead reckoning leg (using compass, watch and map) from Redcliffe out to Eskdale homestead where we did some steep turns. Next there was more dead reckoning to Nanango with a precautionary search and 500ft and 200ft overfly. Then I donned the hood and flew on instruments for 12 minutes and carried out a lost procedure over Blackbutt. That was followed by a diversion to Kilcoy and on to the Glasshouse Mountains and Bribie Island for more steep turns and some stalls just below the clouds. Finally I did a couple of glide approaches into Redcliffe. Just under 3 hours in the air. Quite a challenge but it all went well.

February 12, 2021 was a mild summer day. More like autumn really. A good excuse for a flight to Boonah. I’d never landed there before but knew it was likely to be on the route for my CPL (Commercial Pilot Licence) test in the coming weeks. Nestled in amongst the hills of the Scenic Rim, Boonah is a beautiful spot. It’s home to a few light aircraft and gliders. I took off from Redcliffe and flew to the west of Brisbane, “threading the needle” between the Brisbane airspace, Archerfield airspace and Amberley airspace. I knew that one of the other club students had recently failed her CPL test because she almost inadvertently flew into Amberley airspace without a clearance so I wanted to make sure I knew all the visual cues to help me avoid making the same mistake. Flinders Peak is one such landmark, so I identified that and stayed well clear of it.

I could then head straight for Boonah and enjoyed the rolling hills as I approached.

Boonah appeared, I joined downwind, did a 500ft overfly to check the condition of the strip and then did a second circuit and landed. Pulling off to one side I shut down and prepared for the next leg.

Taking off to the north west it was on to the Lockyer Valley and over the top of Gatton. Lake Wivenhoe appeared to be fairly dry for the time of year. February is nearing the end of the wet season in Brisbane so normally the lake, which is Brisbane’s largest water storage facility, should have more water in it.

Soon we passed over Esk and I was pleased to see the water level in Lake Somerset was reasonably high. We needed more summer rains but the country was still looking pretty amazing.

From there it was short hop back to Redcliffe. Good practice for the upcoming test.

IFR – RNAV – Maryborough – Bundaberg – Hervey Bay – QADCAPS

It was December 2020. I’d decided it was time to brush up on my instrument approaches. Private instrument rated pilots have to practise them at least once every 6 months to stay current but it’s best to do them more often. I had a chat to Mike, the owner of MSF, and we decided Friday 4th December looked like a good day to fly. Mostly clear, not too hot, and only the chance of a thunderstorm in the evening, well after we’d be back home. It was a good excuse to go flying and practice makes perfect as they say, so off we went.

I am instrument rated on RNAVs only. These are aRea NAVigation approaches that use the GPS system to direct you through a series of waypoint and then specify at what altitude you should be to stay well above any “obstacles”. They allow you to fly into airports even when there is low cloud. The cloud base can be as low as 500ft above ground level. This gives you much great freedom to land and fly even when the weather is not good. Not that I really want to fly in bad weather as you can’t see much anyway, but sometimes on longer trip you have to deal with bad weather so it’s a very useful skill to have and to retain. There are plenty of other ratings you can obtain such as ILS (for large airports with jets), NDBs (almost all removed) and VORs (slowly being removed) but the GPS (or more correctly GNSS) RNAVs are by far the most common now and most useful. They are relatively easy to set up and maintain, having no ground based hardware. It’s all based on satellite technology. All good as long as the satellites remain functional.

I submitted my IFR flight plan and we flew out of Redcliffe, climbing to the northwest and obtaining a clearance from Brisbane Departures to climb into controlled airspace. As we settled into the flight to Maryborough (chosen as our first destination as I expected the airport to be quiet) I donned the “hood” while Mike acted as safety pilot, so I could simulate flying in IMC (cloud) and record some instrument time in my log book.

There was no traffic around so all was good. We were on our own. At 25 miles from Maryborough I obtained traffic from Brisbane Centre and tracked for waypoint SB, briefing the RNAV on RWY35 using the QADCAPS acronym as we went.

Q: QNH was obtained from the AWIS

A: Aids – The GPS showed that RAIM was available

D: DG and Compass were aligned

C: A review of the RNAV chart showed entry level as 3100ft, top of descent after SI and 4.2 miles from SF, minimum descent altitude 600ft. missed approach straight ahead to SH with climb to 3100ft and turn left onto track 163M

A: Audio – the correct CTAF and area frequencies were selected

P: PAX and PAL – Mike was OK to continue acting as safety pilot and no runway lights were required

S: Speed was slowed to 120KIAS for entry into the approach

I switched to OBS, did a sector 3 entry, turning left onto heading of 163M for 60 seconds then left again onto 343M, flicked off the OBS, passed through SB, on to SI, made a 10 mile call on the CTAF, slowed to 30% power, extended 50% flap and at 4.2 miles to SF started the descent. Mike assured me all was good as we passed SF and at 3 miles from SM I made the 3 mile call on the CTAF. Still no sign of any other traffic in the circuit. We could continue with the straight in approach. If there had been other traffic around we’d have had to break off and join the circuit as normal. Descending to 600ft I held that altitude until we passed over SM and then put on full power, climbed and carried out a missed approach.

We climbed out to SH and turned west. Levelling out at 2000ft AMSL I turned right turn and headed for waypoint ND on the RNAV on RWY17.

By this time it was starting to get a bit busy on the radio. My plan of doing a straight in approach and full stop was foiled partly by a bit of a tailwind blowing from the north and water bombers arriving from Fraser Island to be refilled with water. So, after turning at waypoint NI and descending to NF I removed the hood and joined downwind for RWY35. On the ground water bombers were coming and going and the local fire brigade was coordinating the refilling of them with water. They were obviously very busy dousing the flames of a bushfire on Fraser.

After a short break Mike climbed into the left hand seat and flew us to Bundaberg.

We passed overhead the airport and he tracked for waypoint NC, doing a sector 2 entry (teardrop) for the RNAV on RWY14.

As we started to descend the radio became active and the traffic situation was busy again, with a large Canadian water bomber arriving from the south. Mike broke off the straight in approach and joined downwind for RWY 32.

On landing we topped up with some fuel and tried to buy a coffee but the terminal was deserted. COVID is still a latent threat so there’s not many flights in or out of Bundaberg.

So it was off to Hervey Bay at 3000ft where Mike could practise another RNAV and we could buy a coffee. This time it was via waypoint WE and once again there was traffic arriving from the south. He broke off the straight in approach again and we joined downwind and landed from the south. And of course there were more water bombers. The terminal was deserted there too so we walked 500m up the road to the IGA for some lunch. Back in the plane Mike climbed to 9000ft for the return trip to Redcliffe, arriving in time for the monthly club barbecue.

The Old Station – Agnes Water – Town of 1770

In October 2020 we flew back to a couple of our favourite spots – The Old Station, west of Gladstone and Agnes Water/Town of 1770, on the coast north of Bundaberg. This time we took Ann and Harpur with us to share the delights of these two wonderful spots with them. Day 1 took us up to central Queensland, starting with a flight along the coast past Noosa and Double Island Point then across to Maryborough for lunch.

The Portside Cafe came recommended and was great. Bit of Mexican influence.

We had a walk along the river after lunch admiring the old buildings and noting how high the Mary River has flooded over the years.

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Then it was back to the airport and we took off for the Old Station.

The cattle station has a 2km long grass airstrip but there’s always the possibility of livestock so we had a good look as we overflew it to see if we could spot any. It looked clear so we turned downwind and then base and then final. Suddenly a herd of cattle appeared from nowhere and started sauntering across the runway, about 500m from the threshold. So it was time to practise a go around. I applied full power, and we climbed back out to 1000ft for a second circuit. By the time we were on final for the second attempt the herd had cleared off into the trees so it was all clear and we landed smoothly. Ron and Helen Creed met us and we moved into our accommodation directly next to the aircraft, meeting Ron and Helen for a cuppa and some home made muffins shortly after.

While we were sitting there a helicopter with a second group of four visitors arrived from Archerfield.

Dinner was in the big hangar space they use for weddings, conferences, tour groups and other functions. Lots of aviation stories were shared as we enjoyed Helen’s cooking and a selection of wines.

Suitably nourished we walked back to our lodgings under the starry starry night sky. It really is a great spot.

The next day it was time to explore property. The Creed family have lived there for 5 generations. Ron and Helen, along with Ron’s brother Andrew and his wife Nancy now own about 42,000 acres stretching out west to the Great Dividing Range. They currently have about 3,000 cattle and are aiming to grow the stock numbers to 5,500 over the next few years.

Nancy drove us to their house, at Langmorn Station about 5 km west of Old Station, for a look around their historical homestead and to meet some of the pups, guinea fowl and kangaroos. Langmorn homestead is like an antique shop. The wooden rocking horses were made by one of the family members.

After a cup of tea and some home made cake Nancy took us for a long drive around the property so she could check on the cattle and the water levels in the dams. Most of the cattle are Brahman, favoured as they’re resistant to ticks, but some of the land is agisted to Ron’s Uncle John who has Brahman crossed with Hereford.

Arriving back at the Old Station it was time for a late lunch prepared by Helen who is best described as a human dynamo.

There was time to relax on the porch in the afternoon and then go for a walk to enjoy the views of the Great Dividing Range.

At dinner we were joined by Kiwi, who also lives on the property but works as a aviation mechanic in Gladstone. He owns a Cessna 185 and a Cessna 150 and does aerial photography as a sideline. Helen cooked up another great meal. Two days later she had to cook for 280 guests as a car rally was passing through and the participants would camp there overnight. The day after that she had a wedding for about 70 people starting at 3pm and her son’s school graduation in the morning. It was a busy week. Their hospitality business was closed for weddings and other events during the height of Covid so people were starting to book extra slots, including during the week, to catch up.

One of Helen’s breakfast feasts started the next day and was followed by us boarding our 9am flight to Agnes Water.

First though was a recce over the Creed estates. Taking off on RWY 06 we turned and climbed out to the west over Old Station then flew at 3000 ft over Langmorn, Uncle John’s and Priory Park, their latest addition, then turned east and passed a marble quarry and Old Station at 3500ft.

From there it was south of Gladstone to Boyne Island with its red mud dams and aluminium smelter. The red mud is the tailings from the alumina refinery at Gladstone.

Following the coast we passed Turkey Creek and soon descended into Agnes Water/Town of 1770.

After a 500ft overfly to check for kangaroos we descended past the Town of 1770 to the grass runway and pulled into the parking area. With the plane tied down, a quick ride in the Agnes Water shuttle bus brought us to Agnes Central where the Mango Tree Motel’s apartment was ready and waiting.

Visit Mango Tree Motel

It was high time for a coffee at the Holidays Cafe with a marvellous view over the main beach area. The cafe is part of the caravan park but, unlike many such establishments attached to caravan parks, is really excellent.

Holidays Cafe

A swim followed and then a long walk along the beach.

The day pretty much just disappeared after that…until we had predinner drinks (BYO from the local bottle-o) with a view over the water.

The evening meal was enjoyed at Codies Place, directly downstairs from our apartment. Casual and a great view to the beachside park.

https://www.codiesplace.com

The next day was a chance to explore Agnes Water and 1770 including a visit to the museum and a ride on the LARC (Lighter Amphibian Replenish Cargo). We splashed into the water of the bay and travelled up the coast a bit, then emerged onto a sandbank where the Dutch lady driver explained some of the natural wonders to us. It was then time for a “splashdown” where she drove at full speed off the edge of the sandbank creating a wave that sort of splashed us all and cooled us all down for the return trip to the harbour. The LARC is a bit of a lark and worth a trip out on if you’re in town.

http://www.1770larctours.com.au

That was followed by a walk along the beach past downtown 1770 and on through the Sir Joseph Banks Conservation Park up to Round Hill Head. By the time we returned is was well and truly beer o’clock and a drink was enjoyed on the deck of the 1770 Hotel as the sun sank in the west over Bustard Bay. There’s not that many west facing beaches in Queensland and 1770 has one of them so you can enjoy the sunset over the water.

Captain Cook and Joseph Banks came ashore at 1770 on May 24 1770, hence the name of the settlement. They shot a bustard and had it for dinner that night. Cook wrote in his journal that “it was the finest bird we had eaten since leaving England”. So the obvious question is why isn’t there a bustard business promoting native poultry here these days?

The following day was a chance to relax at Agnes Water, including morning swims. Harpur and I tried out a couple of Piaggio scooters around town. One was a 50cc with top speed of 60km/h and the other an MP3 250 three wheeler that went faster. I’d wanted to try one of those for a while and it was good. Stef, the owner of Kanga Scooter Hire was very efficient and friendly.

http://kangascooterhire.com.au

We also identified some cabins next to the cafe where we’ll try to stay on our next visit. They are directly on the beach with views to the beach and operated by the caravan park.

https://www.agneswaterbeach.com.au/accommodation/apartments/

The next morning it was time to head home. The shuttle bus dropped us off at the airstrip where we met Les “Woody” Woodall, the airstrip manager. After a bit of a chat about plane crashes and the wonders of bureaucracy we headed off, rolling down RWY32 and practising a soft field takeoff then climbing out past 1770. Turning around the end of Round Hill Head we followed the coast to Bundy for refuelling.

Lack of operating cafe facilities at the terminal meant we were soon up in the air once more heading for the coast.

It was a spectacular panorama under clear blue skies as we passed Woodgate, Burrum Heads, and on to Hervey Bay then crossed to Fraser Island.

Lake McKenzie glistened clear blue and at Eurong we started tracking along the beach, passing Inskip Point, Rainbow Beach and Double Island Point, a giant car park full of four wheel drives. Soon we were being waved through Sunshine Coast controlled airspace where we had to descend from 2500ft to 1500 ft to avoid skydivers at Currimundi (not sure how being 1000ft lower avoided a conflict) and on around Bribie to Redcliffe. Another smooth landing capped off a great trip.