New South Wales I

On this flight, we traverse a remarkable cross-section of New South Wales geology and climate, moving from elevated tablelands down into the western plains.

Our flight departs from Armidale (YARM), which proudly holds the title of Australia's highest city, sitting almost a kilometre above sea level in the New England High Country. Because of its elevation, the city experiences four distinct seasons, including crisp, frosty winters and foggy, cool autumns when the streets are ablaze with golden and red foliage. This landscape is typically rolling, with granite outcrops, and is deeply dissected by massive gorges and dramatic waterfalls to the east, feeding into the coastal rivers. It's often called the 'Cathedral City' due to its impressive historic churches and colonial architecture, and it serves as a gateway to the World Heritage-listed New England and Oxley Wild Rivers National Parks, home to towering gorges and thundering waterfalls like Wollomombi Falls.

The first landing, Lake Keepit (YKEP), is an enormous inland sport and recreation destination created by the Keepit Dam on the Namoi River. This dam, which has a capacity nearly as large as Sydney Harbour, was an early project proposed in the 1890s and finally completed in 1960. It was primarily built to supply irrigation to the Namoi Valley, which significantly boosted agricultural production of crops like cotton, and it's named after the original property, 'Keypit', on which it was built.

Flying on to Tamworth (YSTW), we arrive at one of New South Wales's most famous regional centres. Tamworth holds two major claims to fame: it is known as the "Country Music Capital of Australia," hosting the second-biggest country music festival in the world after Nashville, and it's also the "First Town of Lights," being the first place in Australia to have its street lights powered by a municipally owned electric power station back in 1888. Furthermore, it is recognised as the National Equine Capital of Australia due to its world-class Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre.

Our next stop, Scone (YSCO), is unequivocally known as the Horse Capital of Australia and is reputed to be the second-largest horse breeding area in the world, second only to Kentucky in the United States. The region is surrounded by magnificent, world-renowned thoroughbred horse studs. Just north of Scone is the geological anomaly of Burning Mountain Nature Reserve, a gentle walking trail leading to a naturally burning coal seam that has been smouldering underground for thousands of years, a truly unique sight.

Moving further south, the small town of Warkworth (YWKW) in the Hunter Valley is our next stop. It has transitioned from a focus on agricultural and pastoral activities to being primarily a coal mining area, home to the Warkworth Open-Cut Mine. In its local park, you can find a piece of mining history displayed—a Lee Norse Continuous Coalmining Machine from 1959. Our route then tracks inland to Rylstone (YRYL), a charming historic town in the Central Tablelands, originally known as Dabee. Its town plan was laid out back in 1846. Next, we arrive at Wellington (YWEL), a town situated at the confluence of the Macquarie and Bell rivers. This location served as an important base for explorer John Oxley's expeditions between 1817 and 1818, and he named the site after the Duke of Wellington. It was also established as a convict settlement between 1823 and 1831, a foundational piece of its early history, and it is near the famous Wellington limestone caves and the large Lake Burrendong.

Finally, the destination is Dubbo (YSDU), which acts as the key retail and service centre for a vast area of inland New South Wales. The climate here is semi-arid, distinctly hotter in summer, and with rare, reliable rainfall, representing the transition into the Australian interior. Dubbo is most famous for being the home of the internationally acclaimed Taronga Western Plains Zoo, one of the world's great open-range zoos, featuring over 1,000 animals. It is a major road and rail freight hub, strategically located roughly halfway along the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, and the area's history extends back to habitation by the Wiradjuri tribe for over 40,000 years. One of the oldest homesteads still standing in western NSW, Dundullimal Homestead, was built here around 1840.

The flight is 300 miles long with six landings. Any GA single-engine or light twin is suitable. I will be in the BlackSquare Bonanza, please fly what you like.

The flight plans are here. Almost no airport is in the GTN database; a flight plan with only waypoints is included.

Additional scenery:

YARM Armidale

YSTW Tamworth

YSCO Scone

YRYL Rylstone

YWEL Wellington

YSDU Dubbo

The complete package is here.

We try real weather and want to depart at 6 am local.

Multiplayer Particulars:

Date and time: Sunday, November 16, 2025. 1700 UTC

Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark and use DTP's Teamspeak Channel for communication.

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