This is Part 2 of my recent trip report "Dashing up the Queensland Coast" where on 9 March 2008, I was fortunate to fly the Queensland Coastal Milk Run from Brisbane to Cairns with Qantaslink via Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville.

Part 1 finished in Rockhampton (ROK) where I changed flights and aircraft from QF2352 to QF2308.

My Qantaslink Dash 8 - 400 VH-QOB "Yeppoon" had brought me safely to ROK where I eagerly awaited the next three sectors.

In the end, I was only in ROK for just over 45 mins due to the late departure of QF2352 from Brisbane earlier that morning.

I was very pleased to see the arrival of QF2308, which was in the new slightly revised Qantas colours.

QF2308
ROK - MKY - TSV - CNS
VH-QOI
Seat 12 D

VH-QOI arrived from Brisbane via Gladstone and was schedule to operate the remainder of QF2308. From Rockampton to Cairns, with two intermediate stops, would take nearly 3 hours!

Here she is in ROK, getting read for her dash northwards. to Mackay and beyond. There was no other traffic at ROK at this time apart from a lone Qantaslink Dash 8 - 300 which had also arrived from Brisbane.



Boarding QF2308 for the first leg to Mackay (MKY).



This was the view from my new seat - 12D



The first leg was almost full, although again, I was fortunate to have the seat next to me spare. The cabin on this brand new aircraft was immaculate. Seating was comfortable and it still had that "new car" smell inside. The cabin door was closed and before long, we were ready to go. We taxied back along the main runway for a departure from RW15. There were no hold ups and before long, we launched into the clear sky.



Again, the recent flooding was evident all around as we climbed out of the airport and set course for Mackay. Mackay has also suffered from severe flooding with almost 600mm of rain falling in 6 hours just two weeks before I did this trip. I just hoped there was still an airport at MKY for us to land at!



A sharp right turn and we were soon flying parallel to the airport - affording great views of Rockhampton Airport down below. The city of Rockhampton is in the background.



Our flight time today to Mackay was 50 minutes - and no food or snacks were served. We were provided with tea and coffee and juice free of charge. Again, the inflight service on this sector was professional, friendly, yet relaxed. Our cruising altitude on this sector was 16,000ft which gave us all the chance to look out of the windows - not that many people were doing that except me.

View of our starboard prop, enroute to MKY



Again, the flooding all along the coast was clear from 16,000ft.



It was not long before we started our descent, and there were occasional glimpses of the coastline through the puffy clouds.

Here is Hay Point, south of Mackay, a major port for loading of minerals/natural resources from the interior of Queensland.



We approached the airport from the south west, giving us a view of it on the downwind leg, before making sharp right turns to align with the main runway. Due to high winds, the approach was rather bumpy - probably the most turbulent of all the sectors I flew on that day.



The suburbs of Mackay under our starboard wheel - on final approach. Mackay is 603 miles (970km) north of Brisbane and is known as the sugar capital of Australia - there are so many sugar cane fields in the region and Mackay is a major producer of sugar in Australia. Mackay is a young city, having its modern origins in 1860 although the area had been occupied for many hundreds of years before by the Yuibera people. It is also the place of Australia's worst civil air disaster - when in 1960 a F-27 crashed on approach to MKY in bad weather, killing all 29 people on board.



After all the buffetting around, we made a smooth landing on RW14 - the main runway here. A short taxi to the terminal followed, where passengers who were destined for Townsville and/or Cairns were asked to remain onboard. Our turnaround time in MKY was short. About 15 people left us here and approximately 8 new passengers joined us for the journey north.

The only company we had at MKY was a Virgin Blue EM170 which was parked nearby. It was my first time to see one of these new jungle jets - which having sampled one in 2006 in US Airways Express colours from BOS to PHL, I can vouch for the amazingly comfortable ride that the EM170 provides. Lucky passengers on the Virgin Blue aircraft were about to experience such comfort. There are no international flights to MKY - all flights, as far as I am aware, are domestic.

It wasn't long before the props started up again for the next sector to Townsville. We backtracked up the active runway, and without any delay, hurtled down the runway and into the sky.

The terminal building lies below, along with the Virgin Blue EM170 being readied for departure.



A similar departure pattern as with Rockampton followed. We banked sharply to the right and turned back over the airport, affording similar views. I managed to get a snap of MKY just before we entered a low cloud bank.



Farewell to the city of Mackay



So much water down there - at least the landscape was now green





The flight time today to Townsville was another short 55 mins. There was a food service on this sector, which consisted of a chocolate brownie. Complementary drinks were also provided. Our cruising height was 20,000ft for this sector.

Townsville was founded in 1859 when a sea captain by the name of Robert Towns commissioned John Melton Black to build a wharf on Cleveland Bay to service the new cattle industry inland. The "town" was declared a city in 1903. Townsville lies 1,300 km north of Brisbane.

The city of Townsville, after we commenced our descent. The airport lies in the far top left of the picture.



According to Wikipedia, during World War II, the city played host to over 50,000 American and Australian troops as it became a major staging point for battles in the South West Pacific. A large United States Armed Forces contingent supported the war effort from various bases around the city and General Douglas Macarthur made Townsville his base for sometime.

On finals for TSV





Our landing was again smooth and a short taxi later, we were at our gate. Next door was a Qantas 737-400 preparing for departure. Apart from that, nothing else of much note. There were two Macair SF340s sitting on the ramp with no activity around them. At this point, our aircraft was a hive of activity, with numerous people getting off, and about 10 new passengers boarding. Again, as at MKY, passengers continuing to Cairns were asked to remain onboard. I had a chance to snap a quick pic of the seats aboard VH-QOI.



Before long, it was time to say farewell to TSV, and get ready for the last sector to Cairns (CNS). Flight time would be just over 1 hour.

Take off was toward the east and it wasn't long before we were out over the Pacific Ocean, before turning left and heading northwards for our final destination.

Good bye Townsville!





Climbing out over the Pacific Ocean meant that we would have some great views of some of the Great Barrier Reef.

Within 20 mins of climbing out, and whilst eating my ice cream that was served on this sector, I had some amazing views. Our maximum cruising height on this sector was 18,000ft.





One of my favourite pics of the trip - beautiful Queensland!



More pics of the Great Barrier Reef, just before we started our descent into Cairns.





Cairns is situated on the lands of the Irukandji people, and although first sighted by Europeans by Cpt James Cook in 1770, it wasn't until 1876 that a European settlement at Cairns was established. Cairns was named after William Wellington Cairns (the then Governor of Queensland) to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield. Cairns' future was secured as it developed into a railhead and major port for the exportation of sugar cane, gold, precious metals and agricultural industries from the surrounding coastal and Tableland regions.

Some pics of our descent into CNS

Crossing the coastline on final approach



Lots of water here too - but that's normal for Cairns, which is a tropical city with distinct wet and dry seasons.



With a gentle thud, we touched down in Cairns. My journey was over - after almost 4 hours, I had travelled 1,701 km (1,057 miles) from Brisbane in a Dash 8 - 400.



Welcome to Cairns



Qantaslink provided a professional and relaxed service on board. Apart from the delay in Brisbane, I could not fault them (and I am certainly no huge fan of Qantas). Both Dash 8s were immaculate inside and out. I was treated to some amazing scenery during each sector. The Coastal Milk Run was now no longer a dream - I'd done it! Would I do it again? You bet!

For those interested - I've included some pics of Brisbane taken during my visit -









Comments always welcome!