11 June 2007 - YPDN, YHOO, YKKG, YAAL, YBCR, YPDN

That is to say:

• Darwin
• Hooker creek
• Kalkurung
• Yarralin
• Batchelor
• Darwin

Some of our more regular flying is for the 'Batchelor Institute'. I don't think I've mentioned this before, probably because I don't know much about it, but they do have a web site for anyone interested in knowing more - http://www.batchelor.edu.au/

Today, similar to last Sunday, I was off to Hooker Creek for a pickup of a student, and then collecting a couple more on the way back. Supposedly, one to be picked up at Kalkurung, and one at Yarralin..... supposedly, they don't allways turn up....

So to get to Hooker Creek for my first pickup, at 8:30, I again had an early departure. Out of bed at 4:00, at the airport by 5:00, wheels up by 6:00. All made easier by the fact that I'd done the bulk of the planning and had the plane refueled the night before, so it was simply a case of getting things together. 1.4 hrs 'night', done in the morning. I think I've done more morning flying than night flying, since I've been here.

The plane I was flying, I've flown only once before, but it's a beauty. Truth be told, I'm 'over' single engine planes, but for a single, it's quite good, and very quiet.

The trip to Hooker Creek was 2.5 hours, and when I arrived at 8:30, the place was dead. About 14 degrees (I'd learnt from the previous Sunday, morning trip to rug up, so I've worn long sleeves...) and nobody about. Except for one car, that passed by... then returned... then went away... driving up and down the adjacent road, progressivly getting smaller. Eventually it stoped, than the guy wound down it's window:

Driver "You off to Batchelor"

Me "Yep, just getting fuel, waiting on my passenger"

Driver "That's me"

So that doesn't explain all the driving up and down. The only plane. The only strip. Probably the only one awake within 200 miles. Maybe he was shy. I didn't ask...

We have a quick chat.

Me "We have to stop at a couple of other places, along the way, Kalkurung, Yaralin, possibly Pulumpa"

Him "Sure, I've got relatives at those places. And at Port Keats, Peperminarti, Garden Point, Darwin, Alice....."

He kept going. I refueled the plane. I'm sure he was still going when I finished.

Anyway, it wasn't that bumpy down low today, unlike last weekend, so I took the scenic route to the next destination, staying low so I could take a good look. Plenty of cattleabout, and some wild horses. Out 'this far' it's mostly scrub and grasses, but occassionally you get huge grass 'plains' that are the size of your average lake, nothing but grass. It's kind of wierd, how there's scrub all over, then nothing but grass, thick, tussicy stuff.

It got bumpier into the next airfield - Kalkurung, but it was last week as well. I think when the wind comes up a little, with the smaller hills and gullys, that's what happens down low. Quite sharp bumps, unlike Melbourne bumps, quite jarring.

Landing at Kalkurung was a challenge, with a nice crosswind. I could have chosen the 'appropriate' runway, to make things easier, but as I explained to someone in this exact same situation, this time last week - sometimes you need the practice. And I hadn't really had to land a C210 in a crosswind before. Interesting stuff. I had to fight, but won. No 'flat spots' on the tire, this time.

I was greated on landing by a 'nice old man' - with a Scottish accent - who was employed by CASA to do regular runway inspections... Yea, right. 2 small planes a day, no more, hundreds of miles from anywhere and this place requires daily runway inspections, security clearance for anyone landing, and has a perimter cyclone fence... Ha Ha Ha...

Usually, I'd expect someone more 'local'. ie, beer gut, middle age, bearded, shabby, so the Scotish accent caught me of guard a little. Strange how people end up living in these places. It was just as well he was here, because my passenger wasn't, and I had no mobile coverage on my 'three' connection. So he drove me into town where I could make a few calls.

There is actually two towns, Kalkarindji and Kalkurung, and the airstrip lies between the two. I don't know which town I was driven two - we went South - it looked pretty much like any other community. Dust, kids in the street, dogs, a few houses, dogs, dogs, etc...

Long story short(er), my passenger was a 'no show'. Never mind. Off to Yarralin.

Not a bad strip at Yarralin. Gravel as usual. Actually, it's more accuratly described as dustandrocks. It sits in a small valley, similar to Timber creek, but not quite as pretty. We were greeted by a 'family' - a few adults, a few kids and (you guessed it) some dogs. All very friendly

"hey, pilot, whazyourname???"

I let my first passenger, Robert, out to stretch his legs. I signed in passenger number two, turned arround to find Rob taking a leak. Well, it was a 30 minute flight.

I loaded them up, got a farewell from the kids, shoowed off the dogs, and set off. The plan was to go to Pulumpa, for reasons I'll explain.

When the job was quoted, it was done in conjunction with a few others. There was another pilot scheduled to go via other communities, to collect other students, with a stopover at Pulumpa. If everybody showed up, he'd actually have one person to many, and I'd have to stop at Pulumpa en-route to Batchelor, because I had spare seats. If the other pilot had a 'no show', I wouldn't need to stop. I was hoping to get their early, and make the landing anyway - I've never been to Pulumpa - but no thanks to the delay at Kalkurung, that didn't work out. I was late getting there, and the other pilot gave me a call on the radio to say I wasn't needed. Not that I was too fussed, I'd done 4.5 hours to this point, and just wanted to finish up.

The flight Kalkurung to Pulumpa was one of those odd ones, where I probably won't get to go too often. Usually, I'm Darwin to 'somewhere', and return, so the chance to go 'between' other places is nice to have. This time, the route takes me through Timber Creek, but over the Southern stretches, where I've never gone before, and I get to see some new things. Strange how after the first few trips, everything seems remote and isolated. By now, things are seeming more familar and although the distances are the same, the place seems a little less forboading. My first trip down here, the word 'ancient' best summed up the landscape. It's only aged a few of weeks since then, but doesn't seem quite as old.

(I've not downloaded the flight, so here's my quick attempt to show the route.)

Anyway, I get to Batchelor ok. Very smokey. Dump my passengers. Flee to Darwin. Have a drink. I hear the other day pilots are succeptable to Gallstones, due to the dry environment, and the fact that they don't drink much in flight. Today, I drink heaps when I land.

I wash the plane when I'm done with the paperwork. Very clean. Then a scrub fire breaks out somewhere upwind and I end up with more black snow, sticking to my wet plane. Not happy.

Another 5.9 for the logbook. I'm kida liking this, flying just twice a week and still stacking up the hours.... maybe I'll get to do the return trip...

POSTSCRIPT

Wikipedia makes no mention of the connection between low water consumption and Gallstones. I'm still drinking, though...