I deliberately held off taking the flight until the weather moved out of the stormy, unpredictable summer and well into the calmer period of autumn.....late autumn, in fact.
So yesterday (Wednesday 25th. May) I headed up the highway from Yamba to beautiful Ballina, a 75 minute drive and it was a simply superb autumn day; 23 degrees, light breeze and a blue sky. Just a perfect day for my first flight in a helicopter and a perfect day for top-down motoring in the MX-5.
On the way to Ballina I stopped at New Italy - a roadside rest-stop with picnic facilities, cafe, art displays etcetera. This location commemorates the settlement in the area of approximately 130 Italian immigrants back in the 1800s.
Note that all photos enlarge when clicked.
My flight was booked with Air T&G, a helicopter-flight business operating from Ballina Byron airport.
They have three Robinson R22s, two R44s, a Bell something-or-other which is a "Huey" look-alike, and a Bell 47, which anyone who has watched M.A.S.H. would immediately identify.
After being weighed and leaving behind anything of a loose nature (keys, mobile phone, pen) I was taken out to the little two-seat R22 by my pilot, Ryan.
With the aircraft and Ryan both dressed in black it looked like something out of an action movie!
After a pre-flight briefing we climbed in, donned a headset each and Ryan went through the checklist then fired her up.
We had to let the engine warm up for about five minutes and, once ready, Ryan did a radio check, advising other aircraft in the area of our intentions (it is uncontrolled airspace at Ballina) and we "taxied" out to the edge of the runway. Yep...taxied. About a metre above the ground!
On the way to our launching pad we passed this Bombadier CL-600 operated by Execujet, out of Sydney.
Past the general aviation hangars and services.
The hangar on the right contains what appears to be an ex-RAAF (or maybe RNZAF) Victa Airtourer.
We held short (hovering a metre above the ground) for a Jetstar service to make its landing.
Once he had touched down and commenced taxiing we were clear to lift off and, in the words of The Fifth Dimension, we were "Up, Up and Away"!
We tracked inland initially...west towards Alstonville, flying at 1000 feet, over many macadamia plantations, one of which (or part of one) is pictured below.
The country is so green that it's almost unbelieveable - like being in Ireland!
We turned northwards, heading to the coast near Byron Bay, and passed near Bangalow.
There are quite a few palatial residences in this area; this one was once owned by Paul Hogan.
This is a new section of the Pacific Highway which was only opened within the past twelve months.
It includes twin tunnels which pass through a hill that, although providing spectacular views, was very twisty, slow and dangerous.
This new section of dual carriageway is part of the major restructuring of the Pacific Highway currently in progress between Woolgoolga and Ballina.
Below is a shot of the northern end of the tunnels, with the old highway alignment on the left and the new dual-carriageway road on the right.
Beautiful country around here; lush green and soft, rolling hills extending inland to the Great Dividing Range.
You can make out Mount Warning, that sharp peak in the centre of the ranges, which was spotted and named when James Cook sailed the Endeavour up the east coast in 1770.
The photo below that of the countryside is the view along the pristine beach extending north to Brunswick Heads and beyond to Hastings Point.
Ryan had us cruising along at 1000 feet and a little under 80 knots.
We met the coastline just north Byron Bay and then started tracking south, dropping down to 500 feet.
I have not edited the colours in the photo...that is exactly what we saw. I think the ochre tint is from the sand being stirred up.
The next series of shots are of the lighthouse at Cape Byron, the most easterly point on the Australian continent.
We saw plenty of dolphins on the way south to Ballina, and even a manta ray. But no sharks....which was good because there were dozens of surfers.
Sadly, no whales. It appears that the warm current is still making its presence felt further south but they should be on the move pretty soon.
We arrived at the mouth of the Richmond River, where it meets the Pacific Ocean at Ballina, and turned inland to approach the airport, with a final view south along the beach towards Evans Head.
Ryan held the helicopter short of the approach as we waited for a light aircraft to do a "missed approach" practice and then we were on finals and ready to touch down.
Of course, I had to have the obligatory photo taken as I sat in the R22, so here you go....
It's lens flare, from the sun.
What a fabulous experience this was. Totally absorbing, and thoroughly enjoyable.
I will do it again, one day.....maybe get a chance to do a whale-watching or a "hands on" flight.
Thanks, family.
This is up there with the hot-air balloon flight for my 50th.
