14 Oct 2024 LONGREACH
Having stayed with Kathy overnight on the 9th, I flew to Longreach on the 10th. After more than half an hour of smooth travelling the captain announced that we were returning to Brisbane at the behest of the Qantas engineers, because of a bird strike on take-off. The unknowns were whether we would have to leave the aircraft, whether it would be cleared for onward travel, and if not, when a replacement aircraft was available. On landing, we were told to remain in the cabin. An engineer came onboard immediately. I could see that one of the port engine propeller blades was slightly grazed, which was presumably the site of the strike. The blades were made by Doughty, based in the UK. One of their two global support facilities was located in Brisbane. Long story short, we were cleared for take-off and departed some three hours late. Our arrival in Longreach meant that Simon and Nicole could meet me after work. Pepper barked when we got to the house. She barks at other dogs and people walking by. Once inside I was smothered by licks. Nicole is enjoying her new job with Queensland Health and Simon was on the verge of securing funding for a major infrastructure upgrade to improve and secure Longreach’s water supply.
On this trip I wanted to re-visit the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum near Winton and see the changes in the many intervening years. I also wanted to invite Simon and Nicole’s best friend Anna Marie to dinner, because our paths hadn’t crossed on my recent visits. I wanted to thank her for flying to Brisbane in early January, specifically to accompany Nicole on her delayed return to Longreach with Pepper, due to Kathy’s heart attack. Nicole booked a table on the 11th at Longreach’s best restaurant. The meal was excellent and enjoyed by all of us. I even ate a morsel of grilled crocodile, which I found tasty.
The next day we drove to the Museum which is on one of the jump-ups (mesas) that characterise the landscape around Winton. The weather was hot. Nicole had booked a tour which included two features that weren’t there on my previous visit. One was the Dinosaur Canyon, a seven hundred and fifty metre long rocky depression on the plateau, to which we drove as it is located two kilometres from the reception centre. There we saw a number of skinks and several kites. The canyon was being progressively planted to replicate the vegetation which covered the area some ninety five million years ago, notably with cycads, hoop and bunya pines and tree ferns. None of the plants occur in this part of the world, so the experiment may be doomed to failure. The other, was the adjacent fifty metre long building containing a variety of sauropod tracks on a low-land creek bed, which had been relocated here to prevent it from being washed away. Some of the foot prints were huge. I noticed more roadkill than on my visit last year.
The morning after, I was glad we went to the Qantas Founders Museum and not on the local sculpture tour, given my experience in Germany and having seen images of some of the sculptures. The curating at the Museum had at last been brought up to speed. Well designed and printed texts had replaced the rather ad hoc and asymmetrical notices describing the exhibits, which let down what is essentially an excellent display. The highlight was one of Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms in the Museum’s temporary exhibition area. How ironical that I was so unexpectedly regaled by a masterpiece by one the world’s foremost sculptors and artists and a great favourite of mine. She is in her nineties. The installation belongs to the National Gallery of Australia and was on tour.
I always enjoy watching the birds in Simon and Nicole’s garden. One morning I noticed some emus feeding under a tree next door. Fortunately, they drew closer to the boundary fence and I had a good look at them foraging in the grass. One of the emus was a juvenile. The following day it was the turn of the brolgas, again, one was a juvenile. I had previously seen brolgas and emus walking on the road, but not feeding in the garden. I took a fond farewell of Simon, Nicole and Pepper after yet another excellent visit, knowing that they would be in Brisbane for Christmas and New Year. The return flight was uneventful, as was the drive home.