Gallery13

Gary, Kel, Reg and Steve took off on a cross country intending to fly from Flowerdale to Torrumbarry following the Goulburn and Murray rivers and returning the following day. Our plans changed when a heavy fog delayed departure until 2pm. We flew a direct path to Nagambie and after a quick refuel straight on to Torrumbarry.

Our arrival at Torrumbarry was interesting as our planned landing area looked very tight and not very smooth. 3 of us got down ok but Kel decided to land on the other side of the fence and then needed to taxi about 500 metres until an opening could be found. The locals were very welcoming and we enjoyed a few tomato juices in the pub that night. After breakfast we did our preflight in front of the pub so the locals could take pictures and Reg gave the publican a quick flight.

Leaving Torrumbarry we flew along the Murray but only got as far as Echuca where we ran into more fog. We diverted south and followed the Northern Highway eventually landing in a sheep paddock somewhere back of Rochester. A quick call revealed that Nagambie was clear of fog and so with confidence we took off. From Nagambie to Seymour was also clear but then 8 miles out from Flowerdale a heavy fog looked to spoil our party. We lost radio contact with Kel at this stage who was last heard to be heading towards a hole in the fog.

The three of us with Gary leading the way dropped down to about 500 feet and flew along the Goulburn valley to land at Yaeburn, this part of the trip was in light fog with visibility around 1000 metres, spectacular and thrilling. We decided to push on from Yaeburn and luckily the fog remained light, arriving at Flowerdale around 5pm. Just after we landed we saw Kel walking in his suit and helmet in hand reminiscent of Maverick from Top Gun. Kel reported that he had landed in a paddock some 4km away and hitched a ride back. Overal an exciting and totally awesome adventure!

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Nagambie___________________Torrumbarry intern'l airport______Taxying up to the pub__________Parked here overnight

Gary gets his trike settled for the night___________________________In the morning we brought the trikes accross the road for pre flight and photos

Landed in this sheep paddock to phone ahead to Nagambie for a weather report