After purchasing my Savannah with two mates and spending time familiarising ourselves with her during weekend flying and the odd overnighter to Kakadu, it was time to explore further afield. We had our sights set on the beautiful Kimberley for the start of the dry season.
The initial focus for trip planning required nailing down a proposed route – there’s a lot of interesting places to explore in the Kimberley! But there’s also long distances between ALAs, and even fewer with fuel. Fortunately, our Savannah carries 150L with four tanks which helped a lot.
We set off from Emkaytee (outskirts of Darwin) for Kununurra early in the morning, enjoying one of the early highlights – a picturesque fly over Lake Argyle, Australia’s second largest freshwater lake.
Heading into Kununurra, we filled up with AvGas (no MoGas available) and got ready to depart for the first camping spot at Ellenbrae Station. Lucky we made that call – the station manager advised they were only opening for the dry season the following day! So an alternate plan for the night was hastily arranged with a camp on another airstrip. With no urban lights to compete with, the sky was jam-packed full of stars.
The next day was the best flying day of the trip. We departed early and headed west across the middle of the Kimberley following parts of the famous Gibb River Road and various gorges. We landed at Mt Hart Station for a quick refuel. They normally only hold fuel for their own helicopters but were generous enough to allow us to top up.
Then we headed northwest for the Horizontal Waterfall. Being aware of this location’s special flight procedure, we updated ourselves on the ERSA before take off and refreshed as we approached. With only one other aircraft in the vicinity to sequence with, we headed in for a few orbits. Amazing!
Whilst the Horizontal Waterfall is the famous landmark here, I reckon the whole of Talbot Bay and the Buccaneer Archipelago are just as worthy. Beautiful aqua clear waters and hundreds of islands!
After those highlights, a flyover of Windjana Gorge (a Kimberley must do if you’re driving in) and back to Mt Hart Station for the night. What a treat! The station typically caters for luxury campers flying in via helicopter from Broome and drive in campers staying at a campsite some distance away. Without a car, the manager encouraged us to camp on the grass beside the strip and join the staff for a few drinks beside a roaring campfire under the stars. For entertainment, one of the staff pulled out his guitar. That’s Kimberley hospitality for you!
The following day had a lot more smoke to contend with, but still allowed us to see some treats. IFR (I follow roads and railways) gave way to IFG (I follow gorges). One spectacular remote gorge after another including Silent Grove, Adcock, Galvans, Manning and Barnett River Gorges just to list the named ones.
On the third night we got to stay at Ellenbrae Station. A quick flyover of the homestead before landing triggered the welcoming party before we had a chance to tie down. A cooldown was in order. Once the manager realised we were from Darwin, she quickly assured us that her daughter swims there most days – so no crocs to worry about. So, in we went for a cooldown.
Late in the afternoon, a large fire was approaching on the property. Noting the next airfield was quite a distance (million-acre properties in the Kimberley have that effect) and it was late in the day, we decided to camp next to the plane on the airstrip and keep a watch on the fire. At least we could move the plane around the strip if necessary! With the managers checking on us intermittently, it ended up being a good night with the best campfire seats in the house.
Once again, great Kimberley hospitality!
Again, took off early the next morning for the long flight home to Emkaytee.
As with any flight, there were a few lessons:
- Whilst there was extensive flight planning at home, we still needed to remain flexible, alter route, and reconsider fuel/time of day requirements. Aerodromes with fuel are a long way apart up here so a 20 knot headwind has a major impact on your fuel considerations. Good planning and flexibility were key!
- The Savannah’s timber dipstick made reading the AvGas level challenging since it was evaporating quickly. A new metal dipstick seems to make this easier.
- Density altitude. Not really something I spend much time considering when undertaking 1–2-hour flights in a STOL aircraft near home. But on a trip with the mercury climbing near 40 on strips at 1500-2000 feet, with maximum weight, aircraft performance was certainly degraded.
To wrap up, it was an awesome trip and I’m very keen for the next cross-country flight. Even if that’s crossing the Kimberley again, I could see a whole different set of highlights. Maybe follow parts of the north coast, including the impressively large rivers near Wyndham, King George River, Mitchell Falls and King Cascades on the Prince Regent River. Or on to Derby, Dampier Peninsula and Broome.
So many places to explore!
