matthandy

Thanks stu1985! I thoroughly enjoyed your first report and I'm hoping for more! My next report will be coming up shortly, Emirates First Class to Auckland.


Erm, do I lie, or not....? I have to say that I haven't tried them yet, sorry! I'm sure that they are nice though


Thanks for the info Must...Fly. I've never experienced that config before, it did seem a little weird. Having said that, the J seats looked more comfortable than the normal ones.


Seems like a rather strange configuration! I assume that the service was different too?


Thank you very much LarkSFO. Yes, these things take many, many hours. It starts with selecting and processing the photos (usually around 4-6 hours). These are then uploaded to the internet and then I can start on the text which can take anything up to 4 hours for each part, depending on whether or not I have to copy out some details from other sources (flight times, timetables etc). So yes, quite a while, but it's worth it.


Haha, thanks for that! I'll bear it in mind


It's just not the same for someone bought up in the Northern hemisphere, as you say. It really feels like Christmas isn't happening at all. To be honest, the two that I've spent here, feel 'wasted'.


My visa is for four years, and I've been here since Sept 2010, so I have just over 2.5 years to go... Not sure what my plans for the future are to be honest. It's difficult to make new friends here, people seem more wrapped up in their own lives and already have their own friends and circles. I made loads of friends at work in the UK, but not so much here.


Thanks for that. Yes, some of the 'hotels' can be pretty large!


Thank you for the very interesting info jazza1971! The seat map is indeed correct for VH-OGT. I can't imagine flying it all the way to HNL though!
That PDF is very interesting indeed. I didn't realise that QF had some 747SP and Combi aircraft. The differences between 'First' and 'Business' are a bit laughable too, based on today's standards! The document link appears not to be working anymore though


I try!


I agree, the prices are quite high, but for the experience, I think that it is worth it and they obviously know that they can charge what they do. To be fair, it is mostly the wing walk tour that adds the most to the cost. My friends tagged along for about $110 for both of them, but obviously didn't do the WW tour or WW itself.

The QC's are generally always busy, a weekday evening seems to be the worst, as you might expect. I'm sure that this is because access is so easy to obtain (through status or paid membership). However, they are a nice place to relax before the flight, and have a drink and something to eat. The MEL QC often has home made pasta and pizzas out during the evenings, which is quite nice.

The prop plane novelty certainly wore off! Just too loud for me really.

What I find interesting at Longreach is the fact that it's all set up in exactly the same way as with one of the larger domestic airports. All of the signage is the same and the staff wear the same uniforms. It adds a sense of consistency throughout the network, although I was disappointed at the lack of a lounge I might have to write to Qantas to complain.

The hotel wasn't particularly modern, but it was comfortable and clean, which are the important factors. I'm travelling to Melbourne next week for the tennis and I'm going to be staying in a youth hostel, for the first time in 8 years! Not sure what to expect.


The tours were great and I agree, they could have cleaned up the cockpit a bit. The biggest issue for me was the junk being stored in the cargo holds. It was difficult to get a sense of size and space. I'm sure that they could have found a better place to store all of that stuff. To me it suggested that the big bird wasn't being cared for that well (which I'm sure isn't true at all!).

Yes, walking right to the end of the wing, and bouncing up and down would have been much more fun! Maybe as the musuem develops they'll be able to open up new activities etc.

Wildlife....well, I'm not good with it either. We saw frogs, locusts, cockroaches and various flying insects. Yuck! No snakes though, they tend to hide. I've never actually seen a snake in the wild in all the time that I have spent in Australia.

I could have moved, maybe I should have done. I'm guessing that the sandwich was made at Longreach itself, which probably provides some income for one of the local bakeries. I'm guessing that they don't have the facilities or resources to create something a little more packaged.

slodki

Awesome trip report. thanks for sharing!

klashn

Once again, this is an amazing trip report. As many have said, it seems that you've taken us along with you. You have inspired everyone to check this out for themselves. ^

matthandy

Thanks both.

Yes, I hope that a few people will book a trip out to Longreach as a result of this report, it was a great experience.

tuapekastar

I stumbled on this TR matthandy (I should read more of them) from somewhere else on FT (I no longer recall, it was at least an hour ago ), and found it excellent, both in content and layout, and most informative.

Interested in your methodology, do you have pen and paper and take copious notes, or just summarise on a daily basis, or rely entirely on memory.

I'm curious because on my one and only TR (on another FF site), I conked out after about a week of a 9 week trip. I started out doing daily summaries for myself, but just got out of the habit. I keep deluding myself that I may complete it one day.

Anyway, excellent TR and I'm about to check out your EK F report.

Oh, and was that the Albert Park Motel's airport transfer limo I saw parked near the pool in one of the early photos?

Blackcloud

Hmmm 1.5 hours later and not a wasted minute....whoops that should have been work tiime
I have flown on the VH-EBQ, in Economy on the Upper Deck, SYD-NRT. I thought it would have been to only time to fly on the UD, that changed due to FT and good use of points upgrades....
Your trip report brings back memories, I hate DH-8 aircraft due to the curvature of the fuselage even with the noise cancelling technology they use.
If find the ATR better but have noticed if you sit infront of the propos it seems to be noiser.
Oh the Q400 you took, I have never flown on it because the 2 times I have been on it the flight was cancelled due to mechanical issues.
Once again love the reports, photos and enthusiasm that you have, even flying Economy.^

matthandy

Thank you for your comments tuapekaster, glad to hear that you enjoyed it.

I tend to keep notes on my iPhone as I go, although sometimes I forget, so I have to rely on the photos to tell me where I was on a particular day. When I get home I then type it all up on my PC and sort out all of the photos, before posting it on FT. It's quite a long process!

Haha! Yes, unfortunately, it was out of action that day, so we had to walk.

Pretty cool that you've actually flown on VH-EBQ Blackcloud ^ Did it look very similar to how it does now? They did mention that the aircraft was stripped out it order for it to land at LRE but it wasn't clear if that meant that they removed all of the seats too and then just put some others back in.

What noise cancelling technology? It was the loudest aircraft that I've ever flown on, not a great experience. The ATR was much better and seemed to have a wider cabin. If there is a next time, I'll be sitting at the back.

Blackcloud

Yes the mini-economy cabin felt quite small, there was a projector screen at the enterance to the loo/cockpit that you had to push out of the way after blocking the image from the projector as you walked to/from it.
The 747 looks great but the favourite of mine is the 747SP because my father told me that it was named after me! (Initials)

I do not know if the Dash 8-200/300s are the Q version (for Quietened) but all 400s are Q400 and should have the noise cancelling technology which IMO only works intermittently.

BA-Flyer

Great trip report! I really want to visit, and would also like to try the Outback train that was mentioned. I just checked the museum website and saw this notice:

PK777

LOVE IT! I wanna go!

SFO777

Just saw this wonderful trip report today for the first time. What a treat and nostalgic step back in time, although that 742 looked to be in better shape than our SYD-LAX 744.
Love your attention to detail, not to mention your incredible patience in uploading and formatting all your photos, and in writing a stellar narrative. I know how time consuming it can be.

In addition to the pic of you standing inside engine #3, this has to be one of my faves...

Thanks for a great TR, Matt. It was nice finally meet you a couple of weeks ago in Sydney.

matthandy

Ah, I wasn't aware of that. It definitely seemed louder on the way back!

Damn. That's unfortunate. I wonder what happened? Maybe she's sinking!

Thanks PK777!

Thanks SFO777. This one was a real pleasure to put together, I had such a good time roaming around the 747. I might even go back again next year.

Gamecock

Don't know if it's still there, but for years (2004-2010) I would see a QANTAS 747 parked across the runway from the FRA terminal, in the general area of the old Ramstein Air Base. I assumed it was parked there waiting for the return trip later in the day.

Always saw the term "Longreach" painted on the side, wondered if that was some special designation for ultra-longhaul, or some such thing.

Now I know! Thanks for an interesting TR!^

worldtraveller73

Neat report and great to hear the history of Quantas a little bit.

You don't always get news of them up here in Canada.