Planes break! Sometimes its horrible, other times, not so bad! This one was pretty good. In fact i wasn't on the broken plane, but rather there were 2 planes inbound to Lord Howe Island and the other first officer was on a 6th day working and had to get back to Sydney due to flight and duty limitations. So one might say, i took one for the team.
The reason was due to a faulty air cycle machine which meant we were grounded. So off to the surf store to change clothes and get into island spirit. Boardshorts, tshirt and thongs. We went to the beach and enjoyed a bit of relaxation and beers with the captain and flight attendant.
Lord Howe which i have already spoken about is around 800km from Sydney, and takes us about 100 minutes to fly there in the Dash 8 -200. The strip is notoriously challenging and its a captains only landing, flap 35 degrees. The wind is usually all over the shop, strong turbulence and only 1008 meters of tarmac to use.
Lord Howe has around 350 permanent residents and only a total of 400 tourists allowed at one time. Its the only place in Australia where it's legal to not wear a seatbelt while driving. Speed limit is 25km/h. There were no locks on any doors, no mobile phone reception and not a whole lot of internet either.
Sunset from "Ned's Beach." They do fish feeding at low tide, and it was common to see big kingfish around 50cm in length in the waves. As well as the odd reef shark who really swam close to me while i was in the water. Pretty amazing really.
A view of the of the eastern side of the island.
View of Mount Gower. I think that is the highest point on the island. It was usually in cloud!
Overview of the airport, from a sand dune.
Well it was a good few days, and a new experience! Really enjoyed my few days there. And it got me out of another overnight tonight, so it was win win!
The reason was due to a faulty air cycle machine which meant we were grounded. So off to the surf store to change clothes and get into island spirit. Boardshorts, tshirt and thongs. We went to the beach and enjoyed a bit of relaxation and beers with the captain and flight attendant.
Lord Howe which i have already spoken about is around 800km from Sydney, and takes us about 100 minutes to fly there in the Dash 8 -200. The strip is notoriously challenging and its a captains only landing, flap 35 degrees. The wind is usually all over the shop, strong turbulence and only 1008 meters of tarmac to use.
Lord Howe has around 350 permanent residents and only a total of 400 tourists allowed at one time. Its the only place in Australia where it's legal to not wear a seatbelt while driving. Speed limit is 25km/h. There were no locks on any doors, no mobile phone reception and not a whole lot of internet either.
Sunset from "Ned's Beach." They do fish feeding at low tide, and it was common to see big kingfish around 50cm in length in the waves. As well as the odd reef shark who really swam close to me while i was in the water. Pretty amazing really.
A view of the of the eastern side of the island.
View of Mount Gower. I think that is the highest point on the island. It was usually in cloud!
Overview of the airport, from a sand dune.
Well it was a good few days, and a new experience! Really enjoyed my few days there. And it got me out of another overnight tonight, so it was win win!
You have to hate that kind of break down...when your paid to be stranded on a beautiful island! You may remember from GA days the opposite that planes barely ever break down in remote indiginous communities they always seem to be serviceable enough to get you home.
ReplyDeleteEpic photos, esp the shark. Should've patted it
ReplyDelete