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Australian Adventure

haydnc

Active Member
Hello fellow RV enthusiasts,

Instead of trying to explain our RV travels in words and pictures, we have decided to share flying Australia with you in the form of a video blog.

We are flying across, around and over Australia to see what our country has to offer. Come along and join in, on our Australian Adventure!


Find us on the web: http://Australianadventure.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AustAdventure


Our rv is a tip up, tail wheel 7, with all Garmin gadgets. It has a IO-360 Lycoming turning the Hartzel constant speed prop.

It does take as a while to put together the videos (we are still learning), so check back from time to time.

Episode 1 is up, hope you enjoy!




Haydn
 
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Excellent Video!

Alicia and Haydn, congratulations on the excellent video on the first leg of your Australian Adventure. Can't wait to see the next installment of your flight.

Spent most of last summer flying off Phase 1 in my RV-9A. Summer of 2016, I hope to experience some long cross country flights - sort of a Canadian Adventure.

Thanks for the motivation to start planning my flights!
 
Hi Alicia and Haydn. You have already passed overhead on your way to Cobar. I'm doing the engine baffles on an RV 9 at Mudgee. Just a heads up, if you are near gliders the gliding frequency is 122.7, always good to give a shout and let them know you are about. Great video and are looking forward to the next one.
 
Wish tailwinds upon you :)

Epic adventure!

Thanks for posting the video

I posted on your facebook page, If you ever make it as far as WA make sure to give me a call if you need any help or a place to park :)

You will thank yourself over and over again for the autopilot:)

Safe travels, and hope you are blessed with tailwinds:p
 
Hadyn, you know it is true?.the whole country is one big Emu/Roo/Feral Pig-Cat-Dog farm. :D

Enjoy the trip, its worth it.
 
Hi Guys

Why not post an expected itinerary so that fellow aviators can meet up with you ?

Cheers

Hi Eddie, great idea. I'll have to work on that. At this stage our adventures are not physically going around the outside of the country as there would be too much missed on the inside. So really we are flying over, across and around Australia. The trip being presented, includes Cobar, Whitecliffs, Broken Hill and Silverton, Wilpena Pound, Clare Valley, Adelaide, a week on the Murray river, Kangaroo Island, Meningie and a brief stop at Mildura.

We have spoken about down the track, inviting others to come along.

Thanks for the idea.

Haydn
 
I'm hoping to get a group togeather in about 1 year or so to do an trip around the crinkly bits of Australia

Cheers
 
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Great video. You guys are living the dream.

The folding bicycles are great.


Hi Chkaharyer,

The bikes are Bromptons. They were the lightest and only ones we could find to _just_ fit in the -7. Brompton have a great website http://www.brompton.com/

The model that we operate is the 6 speed edition with the luggage rack on the back. We carry a Brompton bag on the front mount and a Kathmandu litehaul bag on the rear rack.
 
Keep up the adventure

Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed Ep1. We are heading your way in a few weeks to visit our daughter. She has already made plans for a hot air balloon ride in the Outback along with a week in New Zealand. I plan to look into glider flights around the Alice Springs area. I got a glider rating in Tucson and would love to soar in your country as well.
 
This trip is on my list as well. So far I did some T-6 time near Mareeba and gyro time at Home Hill. Even considering a move to an airpark and hopefully avoid those landing and movement fees.

Mark
San Diego, CA
 
Absolutely LOVED your first episode! I had a smile on my face the entire time. What an enjoyable story, and your editing is great. This makes me want to run out and buy a ticket to Australia. Well done you two!
 
Episode 2 is now on youtube find it here:

Australian Adventure Ep2. Cobar and White Cliffs

We explore Cobar, NSW on our Brompton fold up bicycles, check out what happens in a weather station and head to White Cliffs, NSW where everyone lives underground!


Setting up camp the first night. All equipment carried on our Brompton fold out bicycles.


White Cliffs, NSW where everyone lives underground in "dugouts"


Yep, we're in the outback!
 
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The discovery of this discussion thread has resulted in my productivity taking a serious hit today!

Great videos, well shot and well edited. Whilst the intent may have been to show how to get around Australia by airplane, I have to admit that I'm really enjoying seeing the smaller towns further from civilization, learning about them, their history, and the way people live in an environment which can only be described as harsh.

You two make a great pair of travelers. Your focus on getting the right gear to make possible this kind of airplane adventure is great to see in action. Our airplane will carry more, but that doesn't mean it should, particularly if we are going to be ferrying any of the gear by bicycle. These videos are an excellent "how to" lesson!
 
Awesome!

Thanks for the video's of your trip. My wife and I flew that area in 2001 with Goana Air Safaris. Spent 10 days flying the whole SE Corner of Australia. We had an absolute blast. Stayed in the underground hotel in White Cliffs, Visited Broken Hill and Silverton. Seeing your videos it's like I was there all again. Yes it is hot in White Cliffs, lol. If you have time check out Echuca. Lovely little town. Keep the video's coming.

goana.jpg


goana2.jpg

Camels on the road near Broken Hill
 
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Great videos - very enjoyable.
I am really impressed how you managed to fit in all the gear you need and two bikes! My only suggestion is you really need a Kroger sunshade on that tip up canopy to help survive an outback summer:)

Fin
9A
Guyra
Australia
 
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Great videos - very enjoyable.
I am really impressed how you managed to fit in all the gear you need and two bikes! My only suggestion is you really need a Kroger sunshade on that tip up canopy to help survive an outback summer:)

Hi Finley, thank-you for your comments.

My biggest hassle with the sunshade is my head already sits just under the canopy. I'm 6'3" and sitting under one of those i'd think it be like having someone hang a sheet over my head!

I'm mostly red in those images from the day riding around Cobar. We do carry a set of fold up suction style shades that fold away just beside my seat.

Thanks again,

Haydn
 
Scenes from Newcastle

If you are wondering what its like where we are from, here is a short project we have been working on involving our Brompton Bicycles. The Instagram clip shows our home Newcastle Australia!





Our 2 Brompton Bicycles fit nicely in the back of our RV 7.
 
Thanks

Haydn & Alicia,

What a wonderful adventure enabled by your RV . . . what we all dream about! Australia is certainly beautiful and interesting, and in the opinion of this particular “Yank,” Australians as represented by the two of you, Eddie and Anne-Marie Seve, and your fellow Australian RV aviators make Australia a truly great country! Thanks for the videos and pictures!

Also, my wife and I have visited Newcastle . . . what a great place to live . . . your beaches are awesome!

Cheers from an ex-P.O.M.E. ;),
 
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Alicia and Haydn,

Love the videos and I can't wait for additional episodes! Excellent editing and production quality, too.
 
Thanks for the kind words Bill I'll pass them on to Anne-Marie

Haydn & Alicia,

What a wonderful adventure enabled by your RV . . . what we all dream about! Australia is certainly beautiful and interesting, and in the opinion of this particular ?Yank,? Australians as represented by the two of you, Eddie and Anne-Marie Seve, and your fellow Australian RV aviators make Australia a truly great country! Thanks for the videos and pictures!

Also, my wife and I have visited Newcastle . . . what a great place to live . . . your beaches are awesome!

Cheers from an ex-P.O.M.E. ;),

Cheers:)
 
We've finally got Episode 3 completed.

You can see it here


We leave Cobar and head for Broken Hill where we spend a few days in the sweltering heat.


Broken Hill is home to the Royal Flying Doctors base for South Australia. They have a museum for visitors to walk through and run a quick tour of their base.


We meet John, Broken Hill's best tour guide, who takes us around most of the significant sights in Broken Hill.





Alicia eating Quandong ice cream at Silverton.


You can't visit Broken Hill and not see Silverton so we hired a car and spent a day in the outback town of Silverton and visit the Mad Max 2 museum. If you are unfamiliar with the Mad Max movies (an Australian Icon) and you want to see Mel Gibson in the early days, here is the IMDB link.


In Broken Hill, you can sit back and soak up the 42 degree heat (107 F). No grass to be seen!


Our departure is delayed due to bad weather. We finally get underway and head west. The Garmin G3X autopilot heads us for Wilpena Pound (Rawnsley Park station), a mountain range which forms part of Flinders Ranges in South Australia.
 
Episode 4 - " Fly Wilpena Pound"

You can catch it here on youtube

On this episode of our Australian Adventure we fly around the Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Rangers, and experience some more of Australia's Outback.

We spend a night at Rawnsley Park Station, and explore some of the bush walking tracks around Wilpena Pound, before flying to our next destination in Clare Valley.



Wilpena Pound from the air.




Landing at Rawnsley Park Station. The G3X thinks we have a terrain problem.


Bush walking around Rawnsley Park Station


Cooking light (weight and balance limitations) and cheap.


Alicia does not like my landing at the Clare Valley Aerodrome. I blame the cross wind.
 
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Wilpena Pond

Hi Haydn & Alicia,

Pam and I enjoyed your flight to the amazing ?Wilpena Pond!?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilpena_Pound

Alicia,

We were impressed by your ?packet food? skills . . . You might consider writing a ?light-flying cookbook? for all of us!

Haydn,

We were impressed by the way you stayed with your aircraft; maintaining control; despite the crosswind!

Cheers! :)
 
Haydn,

We were impressed by the way you stayed with your aircraft; maintaining control; despite the crosswind!

Well you've got to blame something when it gets a bit out of shape!

We were not far from Adelaide, South Australia at the Clare Valley Aerodrome where the "alleged" landing occurred. You'll see in the next video how rough the thermals get in this area during summer!

Haydn
 
We're really enjoying your video presentations. They are allowing us to see a part of the world into which most people would choose not to adventure. Thanks for taking the time to share your travels with us!
 
Its been a while since we've uploaded a video as it takes us a long time to put them together. We are getting better and faster at editing. Anyhow, here is the next one.

Ep5. Potholes in the sky! Youtube Link

Vaf-5-2.jpg

We've left Wilpena pound and arrive at the Claire Valley aerodrome which is a brand new aerodrome built by the local community to encourage aviation.

Vaf-5-1.jpg

We do a heap of riding on our Brompton's and find the Riesling Trail. An old train line, nearly 30kms long, which has been converted in to a cycling track.

Vaf-5-5.jpg

We find the thermals rather turbulent. Alicia's expression is not a grin!

Vaf-5-4.jpg

And arrive into Adelaide's Parrafield aerodrome.
 
Grade "A"

Thanks for posting, Haydn

Pam and I enjoyed watching your bicycle ride down the Riesling Trail through Clare Valley. The countryside looks very similar to some parts of central and southern California. There are lots of vineyards here, too!

Those Bromptons look like really nice folding bikes . . . relatively easy to ride? Approximately how much do they weigh unloaded? Are they individually fitted?

We?re looking forward to seeing you and Alicia tour Adelaide.

Cheers,

Bill

P.S. We?re glad to see that Alicia is apparently more approving of your landings! At least she is not holding a grade card up in front of the GoPros! Give yourself an ?A? for Adelaide! ;)
 
Hey Haydn

I was really hoping you were going to do the Adelaide bit of your video series this episode. My wife and I arrived today in Sydney from Canada. I'm doing a week of work in Sydney, then a week in Melbourne, then we're driving the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide on vacation. Would have liked some hints on good stuff to do :)

We are really enjoying these. Keep them coming !
 
Thanks for posting, Haydn
Those Bromptons look like really nice folding bikes . . . relatively easy to ride? Approximately how much do they weigh unloaded? Are they individually fitted?

Hi Bill, our Brompton's are 11 & 12 kgs, so it does take up about half the floor loading limit in the baggage compartment. They are very easy to pedal I would buy a Brompton now over a normal bike (if cost wasnt so much an issue). There are many options and combinations that you can order with your Brompton 1,2,3 or 6 gears, front and or rear luggage racks and bags. You can get bigger rollers on the back so it can be used as a shopping trolley (trundler for the kiwis!).

Our Brompton's are fitted with the 6 gears and the front luggage mount and bag, no trundling! We strap a Kathmandu bag onto the rear luggage rack.
 
Hey Haydn

I was really hoping you were going to do the Adelaide bit of your video series this episode. My wife and I arrived today in Sydney from Canada. I'm doing a week of work in Sydney, then a week in Melbourne, then we're driving the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide on vacation. Would have liked some hints on good stuff to do :)

We are really enjoying these. Keep them coming !

Hi,

I'll dig out Alicia's list of things to see. Hmmm, nothing written on it, i'll pull somethings from my head.

- South Australian Aviation Museum (Port Adelaide) - the main draw card is that Jon Johanson's RV4 lives there. You know the one that flew around the world twice? There also a maritime and rail museum close by.

- You can't go wrong for food at Glenelg. Catch the tram from the city out to the beach. There are many options for food all appeared to be top notch. A word on the trains: I thought it was a bit odd by design, all the trains start from the city. If you want to get from Port Adelaide to Glenelg (North to sort or south of the city) you have to come back to the city first. We found it was quicker to ride our Brompton's then catch train on a few occasions.

- We also spent half a day lazying about at the Botanic Gardens which is not far from Rundle Mall. The mall seemed to have a buzz about it and seemed to have something going on, street performers etc.

- Adelaide Hills - You can catch a bus all the way up to Mt Lofty. Head out to the lookout and it will give you the best view of Adelaide and the hills. There are a number of walks you can do which start at the lookout.

-There are a number of little towns worth visiting: Hahndorf apparently have nice markets on Sunday mornings - we didnt get there, my legs wouldnt have taken me there on the brompton. Murray Bridge on the murray river.

- You can put your car on the ferry and go across to Kangaroo island. Kangaroo island is almost like stepping into another world. The vegetation and country side is unlike the mainland. See if you can find the electric cars! Try not to drive at night, there is a lot of wildlife. Check you hire car agreement it may not cover you on the island as there is a lot of gravel roads.

It had been a while since I was last in Adelaide. The last time i was there (for work) the city almost was a ghost town, but this time I was quiet surprised with number of people around and the atmosphere.

- There is an airpark at Goolwa on the coast that would be the home to a number of homebuilt aircraft (we didn't visit).

Hope this gives you a start on Adelaide!

Haydn
 
Ep6. Touring Adelaide & Homemade Flying World Records

Here the Adventure Continues - Episode 6:

http://australianadventure.net/

Or watch on youtube

We head out into Adelaide and find the South Australian Aircraft Museum. Inside we found this famous RV-4, that belonged to Jon Johanson. The aircraft has made multiple trips around the world and to the south pole!



This is board walk at Glenelg. Its where you head to if you want a good feed.

The [URL="http://australianadventure.net/ubrompton"]Bromton's[/URL] (fold up bicycles) turn heads where ever we go. Maybe its because I look like an oversized monkey on a kids bike!



The stop you make before blasting off...


Parafield Tower are really impressed with the amount of gear that you can fit in an RV-7!


We blasts of and once again find every bump on the short flight to Murray Bridge where we'll be spending a bit of time on the Murray River.


We hope you enjoy continuing the adventure with us, enjoy the video!

Haydn
 
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Hi,

I'll dig out Alicia's list of things to see. Hmmm, nothing written on it, i'll pull somethings from my head.

- South Australian Aviation Museum (Port Adelaide) - the main draw card is that Jon Johanson's RV4 lives there. You know the one that flew around the world twice? There also a maritime and rail museum close by.

- You can't go wrong for food at Glenelg. Catch the tram from the city out to the beach. There are many options for food all appeared to be top notch. A word on the trains: I thought it was a bit odd by design, all the trains start from the city. If you want to get from Port Adelaide to Glenelg (North to sort or south of the city) you have to come back to the city first. We found it was quicker to ride our Brompton's then catch train on a few occasions.

- We also spent half a day lazying about at the Botanic Gardens which is not far from Rundle Mall. The mall seemed to have a buzz about it and seemed to have something going on, street performers etc.

- Adelaide Hills - You can catch a bus all the way up to Mt Lofty. Head out to the lookout and it will give you the best view of Adelaide and the hills. There are a number of walks you can do which start at the lookout.

-There are a number of little towns worth visiting: Hahndorf apparently have nice markets on Sunday mornings - we didnt get there, my legs wouldnt have taken me there on the brompton. Murray Bridge on the murray river.

- You can put your car on the ferry and go across to Kangaroo island. Kangaroo island is almost like stepping into another world. The vegetation and country side is unlike the mainland. See if you can find the electric cars! Try not to drive at night, there is a lot of wildlife. Check you hire car agreement it may not cover you on the island as there is a lot of gravel roads.

It had been a while since I was last in Adelaide. The last time i was there (for work) the city almost was a ghost town, but this time I was quiet surprised with number of people around and the atmosphere.

- There is an airpark at Goolwa on the coast that would be the home to a number of homebuilt aircraft (we didn't visit).

Hope this gives you a start on Adelaide!

Haydn

Hi Haydn

Thanks for the list! We did a few of those things and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We had a hire car, so we drove to Hahndorf, Mt. Lofty, and other Adelaide Hills places, but had to be careful with so many of the back roads covered in water from the floods.

We took bicycles out to the ocean and cycled about 40 kms around the city (ouch...it had been a long time since I rode a bike that far...)

We are really enjoying your series of videos. Keep them coming !

Cheers
 
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