Topics
Related Posts
This tour was planned around the Gold Coast Airshow weekend in August, but when Topical Cyclone Alfred made landfall in March it devastated the beaches and rendered them unsafe for any sort of events. The council remained optomistic for the August airshow, bringing sand in from further up the coast, but with king tides and more bad weather through May it became clear that it would be a much longer project to fix the beaches. Sadly, the airshow was cancelled.
However our guests already booked were still keen to go on tour with the interesting and varied itinerary we had planned, so we filled the airshow weekend with activities and carried on.
Day 1
We arrived in Brisbane and stopped at the Kingsford Smith Memorial before heading to our overnight hotel. In the afternoon we had a bit of fun with a game of crazy golf before our welcme dinner.
Day 2
The following day, we took a drive North to the Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. Set on two hectares, it is home to over 80 military and civilian aircraft making it the largest and most diverse in Australia. Since the 70s they have salvaged, purchased & restored over 100 aircraft. This museum has a very comprehensive website detailing their aircraft and show some restorations with before/after imagery. See link below.
A couple of our guests took a helicopter ride over the coast which was a highlight for them. We finished the day checking in to the Royal on the Park hotel for our three night stay, right opposite the City Botanic Gardens. In the evening we took the river ferry across to the casino for an after-dark view of the city, very beautiful.
Day 3
Today our travels took us East to RAAF Amberley Heritage Centre. RAAF Base Amberley's history spans from its establishment in 1940 as a training and recruiting centre to its current role as a major operational air base and the Air Force's largest. Initially, the base provided training and was used to assemble and repair aircraft during World War II. Over the years, it has evolved into a centre for joint operations, including hosting the headquarters of the Combat Support Group and Airfield Defence Wing. The Heritage Centre at RAAF Amberley occupies 4 WWII Bellman hangars and is home to a number of historical RAAF aircraft including: Canberra Bomber A84-242, Caribou A4-236, F-111 A8-126, Sabre A94-962, Aircraft engines, F-111 Crew Module and World War II vehicles. There are also aircraft refuelling vehicles, a wide variety of armaments, uniforms, ground equipment, vehicles, photographic displays & personal records, all immacualtely presented.
Before leaving the area we popped out to see the Willowbrook Canberras. Privately owned and in desperate need of some TLC, these show the contrast between the restored aircraft of the museums and those left to the elements. The pole-mounted Canberra A84-238, saw 37 years of service including Vietnam. The other one is hiding in a paddock just up the road.
Following our guided tour of the Heritage Centre we stopped for lunch at the Rail Workshops, part of the Queensland Museum network. Highlights include the oldest working locomotive in Australia and the largest model railway in Queensland. In its history, The Workshops constructed more than 200 steam locomotives and 13,000 carriages and is the only Australian railway workshop that has been in continuous operation since the 1800s. Despite its heritage status, The Workshops is still a functioning maintenance facility for Queensland Railways and contains 16 Heritage-listed buildings spread out across its 60 acres. The museum uses - The Bogie Shop which was for casting bogies (removable chassis & wheels), The Boiler Shop (now the main museum building), The Power House, Timekeeper's Office (now the main entrance), & The Workers' Dining Hall or Trackside Cafe as it was known.
Day 4
Situated on the perimeter of the airfield, the Caboolture Warplane and Flight Heritage Museum is Queensland's only flying warbird museum. There are a few lovingly restored resident aircraft and the bonus of Warplanes Pty Ltd who operate the Wirraway and Trojan hangared nearby for pleasure flights over the beautiful Sunshine Coast. It’s packed with interesting stories, memorabillia and a lovely Women in Aviation gallery. We spent our morning here being well looked after by the team of enthusiastic volunteers and Ross Parker took one of iur guests for a pleasure flight in the Wirraway, sharing the briefing with the whole group. Ross also kindly showed us through his private hangar, a real bonus.
After lunch at The Sundowner restaurant, we returned to the airfield and spent the aftenoon at the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre (QLD) Inc, just a couple of hangars down. Formerly known as the Beaufort Restoration Group for over 30 years, it was renamed and reregistered to reflect the growing collection of aircraft and the expansion into a museum style organisation. AAHC Qld is focused on the restoration, preservation and display of historic aircraft and aviation items related to Australian Aviation. The centre piece of the collection is the restoration of Australian built DAP/Bristol Beaufort Bomber A9-141 to airworthy status. This will be an incredible feat, the project is about 40 years in and when completed, it will be the only airworthy Australian DAP Beaufort anywhere in the world. We were shown around by some of the very dedicated and passionate team.
Day 5
After three nights in Brisbane we relocated South to the Gold Coast, stopping enroute at the Gold Coast Motor Museum. Set in the fabulous Gold Coast Hinterland on 12-acres with views of the Coomera Valley and surrounded by native trees and lush grassland, the museum is beautifully laid out and has been designed to evoke memories and inspire great stories. Brothers Carl and Grant Amor devoted themselves to building the museum as a tribute to their parents who loved cars and inspired that same passion in their sons. The museum opened in 2020 with their personal collection, and has a diverse range of over 80 cars and bikes spanning from 1911 to 1988, and a treasure trove of memorabilia on display with lots not commonly seen in other museums. Around the back of the museum, the boneyard sits in contrast with its rusty vehicles. Lunch was at Stanley's Barn, such a lovely setting adjacent to the Museum. Then it was on to the Novotel in the heart of Surfers Paradise.
Day 6
Our day at leisure included a look at the beach area that was once a gentle golden slope into the sea and the perfect venue for a beach airshow. It was slightly improved after the recent restoration efforts but still not fit for a major event and the plan is now a three year one with erosion management including the Surfers Paradise Sand Backpass system which pumps sand from The Spit to the northern beaches, a dredger pumping sand, dune restoration, dune shields, using geobags and rock bags, and an artificial reef at Narrowneck.
Some guests had a tour in the Aquaduck, some went to the Outback Spectacular and we all made the most of some downtime.
Day 7
After breakfast we set off for a full day of activities, heading South from Surfers towards Eans Head. We stopped for a while at Ballina Naval and Maritime Museum. The idea for the Museum began in 1973, with the arrival of the unique Las Balsas rafts from Ecuador. The rafts were used in an epic voyage to prove ancient westward migration across the Pacific was not only possible but took place. Many years later it was officially opened and preserves the rich naval and maritime history of Ballina and the Richmond River. This was planned as a leg stretch stop but to be honest we could have had much longer there. It's full of models, interesting stories and some very historic craft including MV Florrie, the oldest surviving timber craft in Australia. It was nice to catch up with one of our local friends here too.
Then it was on to Evans Head Heritage (F111) Aviation Museum, a dedicated tribute to the legacy of Australia’s largest WWII RAAF base. The centrepiece is of course the F111, with its innovative variable geometry wings allowing high-altitude flight at speeds of up to Mach 2.5 (over 2600 km/h), coupled with advanced weapons delivery systems and terrain-following radar. This aircraft served the RAAF for an impressive 37 years, from 1973 to 2010. Although a fairly small museum, there is a lot here supported by a passionate team. Hopefully in the not too distant future, they will also be able to display the Orion that got caught up in floodwater in 2022. It had landed at nearby Lismore as it was too big for Evans Head and before they could transport it, the worst floods in Richmond's history washed in and literally carried the fuselage away. There was so much damage to the fuselage and wings that it will be a very challenging repair job and until permanent undercover space can be found, the aircraft sits dismantled, awaiting attention.
Our farewell lunch was at another lovely spot, the Evans Club RSL overlooking the Richmond River. We then headed back up to Surfers, this time breaking the journey with a stop at Byron Bay's thirty-one tank Stone & Wood Brewery for a tour & tasting. Learning about the hops and processes that make a beer what it is, was fascinating and the tasting paddles gave us the chance to experience five very different beers. Very fun and informative. Our plan to ply our group with happy juice before thinking about filling in the feedback form appears to have worked.
Day 8
This morning we had a leisurely breakfast and headed to the airport for the flight home or onward arrangements for some staying a bit longer.
Links
For the full photo albums, take a look on our Facebook page - Aviation Tours NZ Albums
Australian Aviation Heritage Centre
Evans Head Aviation (F111) Museum