NRMA Member Trent Haag yearned to visit the Aussie outback. But rather than pack the 4WD and hit the dirt tracks, he took to the skies for a bird’s-eye view.
Not having grown up in Australia, I didn’t aspire to the great Aussie dream of driving through the outback. The idea, however, grew on me rather like the taste for Vegemite. But when I realised the trip involved long, dangerous drives with large marsupials darting at headlights, endless vibration from corrugated roads that would take a chiropractor years to correct, and dodging road trains and road kill, the dream sounded more like a nightmare.
I admit it, I wanted to see the highlights without the hassle of getting there. So I opted to take to the skies with Aircruising Australia and Bill Peach Journeys Great Australian Aircruise, which covers the highlights of the northern-half of Australia in a private plane. Now I can not only say I’ve been to the Top End, I can also say I’ve slept in a croc’s belly, seen a waterfall that ‘falls’ sideways and taken a trip back in time to 30,000 years ago. This is how I did it.
Mt Isa is as far west from Brisbane as you can go and still be in Queensland! I’m here to join an outback adventure tour which has already been to Sydney and Longreach and will continue for another 10 days.
The pilots, Martyn Garrett and Stephen Weatherstone, give me a welcome as warm as the Mt Isa sun and a tour of the aircraft, which is a F27 Fokker Friendship, a sturdy vessel designed for harsh conditions.
Learning about the plane and listening to Stephen talk about her with such pride and reverence, I feel more than comfortable climbing aboard for my first leg of the tour, which will take me to Katherine.
Leaving Mt Isa, we fly for about three hours over remote, desolate land and I feel like Neil Armstrong flying over the moon. We see some cattle watering holes and I realise that much of this area is made up of vast cattle stations. I marvel at the ability of humankind and ‘cowkind’ to adapt to such an extreme environment.
In the evening, we land in Katherine, my first landing in the Fokker. I always feel a tinge of nervousness landing in a plane, especially when it’s an unknown plane with a strange name setting down in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully, my anxiety is misguided and we glided in, smooth as a pearl, at Katherine air base.
We are met by an airconditioned coach for a quick tour around Katherine, the third-largest town in the Northern Territory, before heading to Knotts Crossing Resort for my first Aussie bush barbecue. But this isn’t your normal bush barbie. We’re treated to white tablecloths, excellent food and an open beer and wine service. A great way to end my first day of hardcore outback travel!
A little too early in the morning for me, we set off for the Katherine School of the Air. A great concept, the school delivers lessons via radio broadcast, satellite and Internet, to more than 250 school children up to Year Seven living in remote locations in the Northern Territory.
Our next stop is Nitmiluk National Park, better known as Katherine Gorge. We walk from the bus down the boat ramp and I do a double take. Waiting before us is a riverboat kitted out with a buffet lunch and all the extras – not quite the billy tea and damper I’ve heard about. We nibble on prawns and drink a glass of West Australian white wine surrounded by the jaw-dropping 100-metre sandstone walls of Katherine Gorge.
When our Aboriginal guide explains the age of the area, including the 30,000-year-old rock art, I feel like I’m taking a trip back in time. We enjoy lunch while passing through the first gorge viewing Aboriginal rock paintings that depict stories from the Dreamtime. Our guide interprets them for us and I’m captivated by the tales that have been passed to every generation since. We reach another riverboat for a run up the second gorge and on the way back, we stop for a swim in perfect 20˚ Celcius water that’s cool and refreshing. I could stay here all day, but with more to see, we press on.
We enjoy some aerial sightseeing over the Arnhem Land escarpment. The view from the air over the gorge provides a unique, rarely seen angleon the awesome beauty of thewaterfalls and untouched bushland.
Slowly the aircraft positions for landing. But I don’t see a runway. I look for a strip of bitumen, anything black really, but all I see is red dirt. Then, with a little bounce, we touch down and land right on the red dirt. What an experience. This dirt airstrip is in an area called Cooinda, known as the heart of the wetlands wilderness. I take my heart back out of my mouth and head for the bus that’s waiting for us just steps away from the aircraft, bound for Yellow Waters.
At Yellow Waters, we board a riverboat for a cruise into the wetlands, known for its native wildlife, variety of birds and saltwater crocs — which quickly ends any more swimming on the trip for now. The saltwater crocs are the ‘everything’ eaters, including humans. The guide starts to mention life jackets and then says: “Why bother. If you fall in, the last thing to worry about is drowning.”
The boat trip is a pleasant journey through some rarely seen wetlands with a guide who has a Steve Irwin-like enthusiasm for birds. Before long, everyone on the boat is interested in birds, even if they never cared about a bird in their life before.
That evening we settle in at the Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn in Jabiru, a unique hotel that’s shaped like a crocodile. It’s hard to believe someone would build a hotel in the shape of a croc, but they have. My room is in the belly, just above the right leg. Now I can say I’ve slept in the belly of a croc, and very well too after another full day.
This morning we head straight to the East Alligator River, named by an explorer who didn’t know the difference between an alligator and a crocodile. The river runs through Kakadu and into Arnhem Land, both areas rich in Aboriginal heritage. Arnhem Land is only accessible to the local Aboriginal owners and others who have a permit or are accompanied by a guide. We are given a show of the traditional way in which some of the indigenous people still live today.
The Guluyambi Cruise of the East Alligator River is run by the local Aborigines and our guide explains their history and culture, telling Dreamtime stories, making fire with sticks and demonstrating traditional spear throwing. I get a great insight into this fascinating culture, and it gives me a new respect for indigenous Australians. After docking, we enjoy freshly cut watermelon to temper the heat, before heading to our next destination, Ubirr Rock.
Ubirr Rock has the largest concentration of Aboriginal rock paintings ever discovered. The caves are ancient galleries of artwork with some paintings dating back many thousands of years. We’re guided through the caves and up the hill to breathtaking views over the wetlands.
In the afternoon, we leave magical, mystical Kakadu and fly to Darwin to join a tour of the city. Our driver has the laconic wit and easygoing nature I’ve come to expect from Top End locals. He provides interesting insights into the history of Darwin, including tragedies that shaped the city such as the bombings by the Japanese during World War II and the devastation caused by Cyclone Tracy which struck on Christmas Day 1974.
Later, we check in at the Holiday Inn Esplanade, which has views over Darwin Harbour, and are given free run of any of Darwin’s finest restaurants for dinner.
Today is a free day to spend as we choose. It’s a good idea after having taken in so much, and an opportunity to take a breath and reflect. For dinner we take a sunset cruise around Darwin Harbour and watch the sun go down over the sea. Not a bad life really.
In the morning, we leave Darwin for the Kimberley region and low-flying sightseeing over Lake Argyle, a massive body of water over 700 square kilometres in area. We also fly over the Bungle Bungle Ranges in the Purnululu National Park, recently given a World Heritage listing.
We land in Kununurra, a small agriculture and mining town originally built to support the Argyle diamond mine, which produces 25 per cent of the world’s diamonds before we’re off for a very fast run up the Ord River on a riverboat with three large outboard motors, which make the boat hum and skip across the top of the water.
We head straight to another fantastic bush lunch on the riverbank. The river is swarming with freshwater crocodiles, which are harmless unless you jump on their back for a ride. No one is up for a swim. We end the boat ride at the Ord River Dam and learn about the magnificent irrigation system created by the Ord River system.
Finally, we stop at the Durack family home, the original house of the famous pioneering family, before heading to the Kununurra Country Club Resort for the night.
Another early start for a flight over the most remote part of Australia, the north-western coast and the Mitchell Plateau. Few people get a chance to see this part of the world, because it is remote and hard to access.
We fly along the Bonaparte Archipelago and dance 150 metres above some of the 800 uninhabited islands. When not spotting natural wonders like the horizontal waterfall, we circle back for some whale watching and then move onto the historic pearling town of Broome.
Flightseeing over this area is the highlight of the trip and I don’t want it to end, but I’m looking forward to Broome, our next destination. We’re given a tour of the town and the historical sites to get our bearings, then it’s on to the famous Cable Beach Resort.
The resort is worthy of its reputation as an oasis by the Indian Ocean and I take the opportunity for a swim in the first croc-free water since Katherine.
A tour of the Pearluggers Museum is next, and we’re told extraordinary tales of pearl divers — everyone is laughing and cringing at the way of life here in Broome, a life lived not so long ago.
Broome is an idyllic place, like a remote country town on the coast of the beautiful Indian Ocean. I feel like I could spend a long time here, grow a beard and take long walks on the beach. We end the day with sunset drinks overlooking the ocean — truly the best way to see the sunset.
It’s now time for me to depart while the rest of the tour continues to Uluru, Alice Springs and then Sydney with a stopover at the famous Birdsville pub for a farewell drink. I can’t believe it’s over. Six days of flightseeing, river trips, ancient Aboriginal paintings... and all in five-star luxury. I feel like I’ve satisfied my desire to see Australia for now and, in just seven days, I’ve hit many of the highlights across this massive country — with my back intact.
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