Feature editorial appeared in the February 2012 edition of The Australian Oil & Gas Review

FOUNDED in  1974, Kirkhope Aviation specialises in business and travel tours throughout outback Australia. For many years the company’s focus has been on specialised  touring which has been very successful, including approximately  100 Lake Eyre tours over the past three years. Other tours the company offers include the  Kimberley, Arnhem Land and  the Gulf, as well as closer destinations such as Kangaroo Island and Flinders Island.

Over more recent years the business has expanded to  include corporate and government work. To support this growth, the aircraft fleet has grown to three twin engine aircraft: a  Piper Chieftain, a Piper Navajo and a  recently purchased twin-turbine pressurised super KingAir.

The new KingAir, is a truly corporate aircraft in both comfort and speed, it was flown out from Florida in the US to Melbourne in  April 2011. The  journey took the aircraft and crew through Greenland, Iceland, Europe, India and Australia.

Kirkhope Aviation’s pilots are fully qualified  and have many years of flying experience,  including emergency  medical transport with the RFDS. Kirkhope Aviation’s main focus is reliable, safe and comfortable travel. With the  ability to accommodate up to 10 passengers in the company’s new KingAir aircraft, corporate business charter and remote mine site flying throughout Australia has never been easier.

Reproduced with thanks from The Australian Oil & Gas Review – February 2012

www.miningoilgas.com.au

It is starting to get too hot. The Lake is still well covered from recent influx from the Cooper Creek and so assuming the wet season is significant again Lake Eyre 2012 will be another stunning event.

Keep an eye on the news page or the “Lake Eyre “page of the website as the tour dates will be posted soon. We will probably stick to the same 3 day itinerary as 2011. We have put some 2 day trips this time in the faster KingAir aircraft.  Our clients were extremely satisfied this year…have a look at some of the testimonials.

Go to our Lake Eyre tour page for details

See the issues detailed below re the Sept trips and October itinerary change to Lake Eyre.

Extra trip September 7th:

We have scheduled another trip departing 7th Sept…see the website. This trip is still at the current price of $2995pp twin share

October trips 8th,15,21st and 29th…itinerary change:

We will modify the trip slightly as indicated below:

1. We will still go to Innamincka, overnight Birdsville and 2nd night Arkaroola as per all our current trips this year.

2. The Birdsville Museum will be closed after 20th Sept so we will depart Birdsville at around 8am rather than 9:45 am to get the better “low level” flight down along the spectacular Goyder Lagoon and Diamantina area. This should reduce the chance of bumpy flying at low level.

3. We will land for a boat cruise on the Cooper Creek near the Birdsville Track crossing rather than going to Muloorina Station and driving to the edge of the Lake for lunch (very hot). We would land at Ettadunna Station and drive 50 minutes to the Cooper Creek for the cruise. Should be considerable birdlife on the Cooper. Then after lunch we suggest a helicopter flight back to Ettadunna Station airstrip….this would be more comfortable than a second drive in the vehicle.

4. Then after the cruise we flydown the Cooper Creek, over the Lake and onto Marree for fuel before landing at Balcanoona (our 2nd night at Arkaroola as per the other trips). This may be a little bumpy depending on the day. The third day will be as usual…a 4 hr 4wd tour of the famous Flinders Ranges ridgetops.

So the main change is missing the Birdsville museum and Muloorina Station and including a boat cruise on the Cooper Creek instead.
We are recommending the helicopter transfer one way at Ettadunna and will have to charge $100 pp for this. We strongly believe it is worth it ( 15 mins in the chopper rather than more driving in the heat)

If you are still keen for an October tour, and happy with the price of $3095 pp twin share, please fill out the booking confirmation form from the contacts page of the website.

We will then send an invoice for 10% deposit to confirm your position. A detailed itinerary will follow once we have the aircraft and passengers finalised.

Regards
Tony and Keith

Just an update re our Lake Eyre trips, the beauty of which you have shared with us over the past couple of years. With the early 2011 rains the region has developed even more maturity in terms of the vegetation and as well as the Lake itself, Goyder Lagoon and the Coongie Lakes are continuing to look stunning. This year has also seen a return of bird life, with a rookery of approx. 500 pelicans north west of Innamincka. Have added to the gallery a few of Pam’s photos from our last trip, as an example of what the country currently looks like.

Have got some Lake Eyre trips booked throughout 2011 that are only partially full, so if you know of anybody who hasn’t yet seen this part of the country maybe now is the time, as we are expecting the weather cycle to progressively move back to a more “normal” rainfall.

Would be prepared to offer a discount to fill the available seats to friends and relatives of past clients, so please pass this offer on. More information can be found at www.kirkhopeaviation.com.au

Please give us a ring if you would like more information.

If you would like to be removed from any future email correspondence, please let us know.

Regards – Tony & Keith

Thought that we would send an update as you had expressed interest in these tours.

Basically there is a huge expanse of water. At Innamincka the Cooper Creek is flowing at 5 meters above the causeway, with more water on the way following 16 ins of rain at Windorah. The Coongie Lakes are stunning with reasonable birdlife, Birdsville is surrounded by water with the Diamantina in flood and water is flowing south in the Eyre Creek, also following 16 ins of rain at Bedourie. Goyder Lagoon is in flood, Lake Eyre has 75% coverage and that is without the water further north that will take some months to arrive. The vegetation is lush green and have attached an aerial photo of the Diamantina River at Birdsville taken 2 days ago, to give a perspective of the amount of water.

At present a big issue is supplies, particularly fuel and also availability of some airstrips, however we will handle this on an individual trip by trip basis as required (the same as last year). Birdsville is expecting the roads to open shortly and so this is positive.

The issue of fuel pricing is also of concern with rises over the past two months. As a consequence we have reluctantly had to make the three day tour $2,995 / head, covering all flying, accommodation, meals and tours. Our aim is to fix this price for the season, unless there is a dramatic change in fuel costs.

Some of you have already booked and others who are interested in proceeding should check the dates on the website and send a booking confirmation form.

Please let us know if you are interested.

Regards

Keith and Tony

We have listed some potential dates on the website for future tours this year. We are still not sure about the water level for Lake Eyre trips but have reserved accommodation for the below dates just in case. These three day trips will be as per last year and overnight at Birdsville and Arkaroola. This tour was considered as one of the best people have done and so we thought we should continue it. The price is not in concrete yet as we are waiting to see what happens re fuel prices but it should be around $2900 pp incl GST.

For those that have been on the Lake Eyre trip , maybe you might consider the Gawler Ranges option. This is a stunning location and the Gairdner salt Lake is superb.

Obviously we will do the other “larger” centre, Kimberley and Gulf  trips based on demand so please let us know preferred dates if interested.

Please use the inquiry form on the contacts page of the website to express your interest on any tour.

LAKE EYRE TOURS

2011….see the Lake Eyre page for dates and details….

Fri 1st April……….3 day

Sat 16th April……..3 day

Fri  22nd April…….4 day…this is Easter and will include 2 nights in the Gawler Ranges to see the magnificent Lake Gairdner

Sun 1st May……….3 day

Sun  8th May ……..3 day

Sun 15th May……..3 day

Sat  21st May …….3 day

Sat 4th June………..3 day

Sat 11th June………3 day

Sat 18th June………3 day

Sat 25th June………3 day

Fri   1st July………..3 day

Thurs 6th July………3 day

Mon 11th July……..3 day

Sat 16th July……….3 day

Sat 23rd July……….3 day

Sat 30th July………..3 day

Wed 10th Aug……..3 day

Wed 17th Aug……..3 day

Thurs 25th Aug…….3 day

More trips in Sept and October to be advised.

GAWLER RANGES AND KANGAROO ISLAND

…….4 day tours including the magnificent salt lake of Lake Gairdner and a superbly comfortable bush safari camp.

The 4 day trips are very special. Lake Gairdner is stunning , particularly for those who have witnessed Lake Eyre.The tour would include a drive through the Gawler Ranges, walk on Lake Gairdner, swim with sea lions at Streaky Bay, overnight at Kangaluna bush camp for 2 nights and an afternoon/night at Kangaroo Island.

Dates for these tours are not determined but the best time is March – April and then later in September/October.

Please advise if interested and we will arrange departure dates….price would be around $3600 pp with a minimum of 5 passengers

AIR TOURS

…..available on demand

1  day Flinders Island

2  day Mungo National Park & Mildura

3  day Innamincka ,Dig Tree , Birdsville, Flinders Ranges

4  day Kangaroo Island & Gawler Ranges

4  day Gawler Ranges & Flinders Ranges

7  day Kangaroo Island, Gawler Ranges & Flinders Ranges

7  day Gulf fishing with 4 days at Sweers Island

12 day Kimberley , Arnhem Land & Gulf tour

12 day Cape York, Gulf and Torres Strait

Check our Holiday Tours pages for further details.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Please pass this on to any one who may be of interest.

We had a successful year again due to the “big wet” in the centre. Many of you experienced a “trip of a lifetime” flying on the three day trip over the wet centre and Lake Eyre.

We did 37 trips and all were successful albeit some last minute changes due to abnormal weather. Only 2 tours were cancelled due to extreme weather and we hope those that missed out might try again next year.

While most of the flying was to the Lake Eyre region, we also toured to Mallacoota, Mungo National Park, Lake Gairdner, Gawler Ranges, Flinders Island, northern Tasmania and King Island.

Quite a few corporate charters were completed including local businesses and government.

Activities for 2011

We are in the process of upgrading our fleet to include a twin engine turbine KingAir aircraft. This will appeal more to the corporate sector for business charters but will also be capable of doing outback tours, albeit at a slightly higher cost. Once this aircraft arrives you will see it on either of the websites www.kirkhopeaviation.com.au and www.moorabbinaircharters.com.au. It will fly faster than the Chieftain and Navajo and as it is pressurised will also go much higher above the weather. For that reason it is more suited to corporate work rather than outback sightseeing. If you know any companies that may be interested in corporate charters please let us know.

We expect Lake Eyre trips to continue again next year although the actual format will depend on the amount of rain again. The medium term weather forecasts indicate a probably of a wetter than normal northern summer and so depending on what eventuates, we will probably decide these in March and most likely will be 3 day trips.

We have listed below some ideas for you to think about as yet we have not scheduled any tours. Apart from Lake Eyre we are encouraging anyone who would like to see the salt lake “Lake Gaidner” and the Gawler Ranges to consider the 3 or 4 day trip which would include Kangaroo Island, sea lions and or Arkaroola. The bush safari camp at Kangaluna in the Gawler Ranges west of Adelaide is stunning and very comfortable.

We’re looking at scheduling the following activities:

Jan…..March The hot months……..suggest tours to King Island, Flinders Island and or the northern parts of Tasmania…suggest 2 to 4 days.

March….May……Suggest tours to Kangaroo Island, Gawler Ranges and Lake Gairdner…..swim with the sea lions. These would be 3 or 4 days.

April ……Sept….Suggest these will be the Lake Eyre months….earlier or later gets a little hot and bumpy for the low level flights.

Jun …… Sept…..These would be the best months to do the larger trips as per the website…places such as Pilbara, Kimberley and the Gulf.

Expressions of interest from anyone would be appreciated and as soon as we determine a schedule we will email and post it on the website.

Have a great Christmas and Happy New Year and hope to see you in the aircraft again next year.

Cheers… Tony and Keith