Day 10

Day 10 –Monday

Coolah to Goolma

After finding the airstrip the evening before, we were on the right track. Johnny Gill the local Aero man was cued up for 7.30am. Johnny used local guys to sheer his sheep and the word in the pub was that he was a cool fellow. After a quick feed in the Black Stump we made our way to Johns place. John Flies a Robinson R44 however has a strip on his property. His land was well kept and we decided to set up on the paddock near the road.

John's wife Gill and farmer James Thompson came out to meet us. We spoke about Relay for life and had Chris Mc master the Coolah coordinator come out for a chat. The town of 900 raised a whopping $66,500 in the last relay. By far the best achievement of any small town we have been to. David Cam a new property owner at Coolah is mates with John and knew there were some interesting aircraft around. He is also an owner of an R44. Davis landed and joined in the gathering.

I set off a helium balloon to get a local report. It went vertical for 500ft and then went south relatively slowly. I knew we had a window. Eddie has experienced a little hesitation and anxiety on the last few launches so I decided to get him off first before I set up. Wise move. Nil wind and smooth ground we set Ed up between two trees with a relatively clear path. The first few attempts didn’t quiet make the cut. The video playback shows the story. In short Ed almost got off a few times however conservatively pulled the pin on each of them as the glider kept moving around. On the last attempt we noticed the wind from 90 degrees to the left so we moved launch. As we set up the wind came in and blew the trees around... Ed was ready to go... Every one was watching... but I was concerned about the strength. I pulled rank and called the exercise off. I’ve grown accustomed to disappointing people that want a show, as our aircrafts have a small window for flying.


On the road again to Gulgong this time the back way. I left town reminiscing about the people we had connected with. From first meeting Brendon at the service station to massive turn out at the pub where we put on a show displaying some footage of the day. The town is friendly and full of real people with big hearts. Another hard place to leave.

The trip to Gulgong was splendid. We rode through areas that inspired me to take up painting. Luscious green hills , sweeping plains and beautiful skies. Memories that will live with me forever....
Closer to Gulgong we passed though an open cut coal mine. A harsh reality of using electricity in our day and age. I wanted to fly over it especially as there was an airstrip nearby however the wind sock was on Viagra and I was not going to give it another thought.
25km to Gulgong we hit the road and made it in no time. Peddlng up the main drag my chain failed and I was forced to make a repair. Thomas and I ducked into the Grocery store and met Samantha whose smile made the harshness of the trip seem irrelevant... Ed met by chance Gulgong’s Cancer council coordinator for Daffodil day out the front of Coles. Ed was feeding the public with info and made a great job of it. One chap after hearing the story about the trip and Flykes stayed around while we had lunch giving the public info on demand. Brilliantly.

My phone had gone flat and I had lost my charger and back up charger... Disappointed I pulled the bus apart and had no result. 3 shops in town later and still no luck. Ed put the screws down and we agreed to do some km and aim at Wellington. The sky was full of dark clouds and there was some precipitation around. However the sky ahead looked ok.

On the road again and after a few wrong turns we were on track. Communication working well we made some km until Ed pulled over with a motor noise issue. After assessment it was decided to push on into the dark clouds that lay ahead. The area was in drought and has been for 6 years so we decided to be happy if our mission was to end early due to rain. I was a little disappointed at the prospect of not making Wellington however the weather takes precedence

We pulled over another few times to reassess and by now we were looking for a camp. Over the hill a little pub appeared......... Goolma

We pulled into a small and only pub in Goolma and put the Flykes under cover. The publican seemed concerned initially but soon eased up on his policy. Ed started drinking and I decided to hold back as my last night in Coolah was a little rough. Ed and Thomas worked on the blog and pictures and I drank soft drinks and spoke to the locals. Gopher Terry and Harold, Eddie Thomas, Martian AKA Marty the publican. The atmoshpere warmed up very quickly and soon my soft drinks turned into Amber drinks.

We spoke about the shearing situation, what it takes to be a local, relationships, our trip and generally most things under the sun. We worked out my Sydney high school football team had come to Coolah and played League against the local team back in 88.

I was moved to hear about Goolma’s involvment in Cancer fundraising projects in the past and saw some pictures on the wall of a charity horse ride that raised heaps of money.

Marty had been threatening to bring out his button accordion if I brought out my camera. At around 10pm it happened. Click goes the shears along with a few old and gold songs gave the crew some entertainment for the evening. The rest of the night is a little blurry.
I crawled into bed eventually....