Lake Eyre – passenger review

2 May 2016

Chinta Air offers a tour from Rawnsley Park Station – next door to Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges – to Lake Eyre, with lunch at the William Creek Hotel. Here, a recent passenger describes the experience:

“Over many years, being now in my 60s, I or we have flown many miles on short and long haul civilian and military flights. Also Air Ambulance retrievals in Tasmania on contract to RFDS. This boils down to quite a variety and all Ok, to some degree or other.

Last year we took several flights over and around the Kimberley with fixed wing and helos. All great.
The unique and not particularly important event, which is the main subject here, was coming down on water, in an amphibian from Broome to Horizontal falls, east of Cape Levecque. The water had catspaws only and I could not discern the moment of “touchdown”. I did not feel one iota of it. Absolutely perfect.

In many many landings this had never occurred before. I had wondered if it was even possible
Ergo, I now wondered if that was possible on land.

April 2016. Wilpena Pound, flying out of Rawnsley Park and I found the answer.
The flight with Alex as our Pilot and his coolness, calmness and professionalism were exemplary.
His sincere passion for his work is infectious. His broad knowledge also.
At the end of this superlative flight I could hear the moment of touchdown.

I could not feel it at all.

That, made an excellent day even more so.
My best wishes to Alex for now and for his future.”

David.