All in the
Planning
Destinations SHELLEY ROSS
A successful flying
safari is about
a lot more than
just joining the
dots. Shelley Ross
shares a few tips
on making your
safari work.
22
AUSTRALIAN FLYING March – April 2015PETER MERWOODS
o where are you flying to this winter?
Whadyamean you dunno? It’s nearly
here! Seriously, you’ve got to start
getting organised – aircraft, leave,
itinerary, destinations, play mates.
And if there are any of Australia’s
show ponies on the menu, then you
can be pretty confident you’re not the
only mob planning on calling in to
visit this year, so you’ll need to pick
up that phone today and make your
accommodation bookings.
Where you put your head
down when away on safari is vital
to the fun factor. Anyone can
do ordinary – you need to find
unforgettable. The good places
fill up a year ahead, particularly
if they’ve planned a knees-up. For
our 18-day September safari last
year, where I needed to book five
rooms everywhere, I started ringing
around the previous November. I
left a few places til after Christmas,including Windorah on the Cooper
Creek in south-west Queensland.
We were on our way up to the Gulf
and were doing everything to avoid
Birdsville over Races week, so we
were sneaking up the outside and
planning on calling in on our way
home from WA once the punters
and their portaloos had retreated.Windorah
Anyway, I gave my desired date to
the publican at the Western Star
at Windorah and without even
hesitating, she reported, “Sorry love,
we’re booked out that night.” Really- eight months out? “Yep, annual
yabby races are on. Chockers we are,
mobs roll into town in droves.”
Everyone’s on their way to
Birdsville. Tricky territory
to negotiate the first week of
September. But it’s proved itself