This was going to be one of our long and very tiring days. I got up early to get a head start on everyone. As it was the winds that had followed us in from the north-west had swung around and were now tail-winds as we headed east. Who says there isn't a God?
First stop for Garrick and I were the drums at Jervois which were duly emptied, although with the roaring tailwind we probably could have made our next stop of Boulia.
Jervois Station Refuelling Garrick high over the Red Centre The thriving metropolis of Boulia
Boulia proved an welcome relief after the long flight - even with the unexpected help from 30 knot tailwinds. Unfortunately the bowser had broken down and we had to refuel from drums which meant a bit of extra calculating so that we didn't crack open a drum only to find we couldn't take it all. We had organized sandwiches, fruit and drinks to be delivered from the local roadhouse and they were roundly appreciated by everyone.
Boulia Airport Refuelling the fleet, Boulia The Obligatory Group Photo
From Boulia we headed east to Longreach. The wind continued to help and despite fairly thick haze which made photography less dramatic the flying was pretty easy. The Diamantina River emerged out of the haze as a tangle of dry river beds woven into a rope. Only a few of the beds had puddles of water in them, a result of the drought.
We landed at Longreach and parked all the aircraft. At first they were all facing tails into the wind but later we had to turn them into the wind as the front came through. Later that same day Acko spoke with his mate in Alice Springs who said we were lucky we got out when we did. It was now blowing 50 knots as a front had come through and "by the way, it's coming your way!"
