Airship Over Atherton

by Christopher Cummings

  Half an hour later the Range Rover was bouncing along a gravel road too fast for comfort and nearly too fast for safety.

  Willy’s father said, “That picnic area back there was the Davies Creek Falls.” Stick was sitting beside him map reading using the map light in the passengers side of the dashboard. He placed his finger on the spot.

  Willy’s father drove as fast as he dared over the rough road. It was badly eroded and potholed. Areas of bedrock protruded causing the shock absorbers to crash hard against the undersides. The road climbed up around the side of the mountain through open forest, winding around steep sided spurlines. Several small creeks were crossed via concrete floodways, then a wooden bridge.

  “Stop!” Marjorie shrieked from the back.

  Willy’s father stood on the brakes as two figures appeared in the headlights, arms waving.

  “It’s Graham and Peter,” Stick cried in amazement.

  Dr Williams braked to a halt. Dust billowed. The two army cadets, sweat-soaked and gasping for breath, ran to the driver’s window.

  A gasping Graham looked in. “Dr Williams! Thank God!” he cried. “Quick! We think we know where they are.”

  “They?”

  “Willy and Roger.”

  “Roger?”

  Graham and Peter both gabbled an explanation. Dr Williams cut them short. “Later. Show me on the map.” He clicked on the cab light.

  Graham leaned in and produced his own map and pointed. “Here, where this pencil line crosses that ridge top. They looked like they had caught on a big tree there, right on top of the range.”

  “Hop in.”

  Graham and Peter undid their webbing and swung it off then clambered into the back seat beside Marjorie. Hugging their webbing on their laps they sat back, chests heaving after their six kilometre run.

  “Navigate all of you,” Dr Williams ordered as he set the vehicle into motion again.

  As he did Graham cried out, “Stop! You can’t get there along this road.”

  Dr Williams stopped the vehicle and turned to look at him, his face agitated with anxiety. “Why not? What do you mean?”

  “This road is all overgrown further along,” Graham explained.

  “But it is shown on the map,” Dr Williams answered, picking up his map and turning on the interior light to see better.

  Graham shook his head. “It is on the map but part of it has never existed. Believe me sir, it is all overgrown. You can’t get through. I walked along it a couple of years ago with the cadets.”

  Peter leaned over and looked. He nodded and said, “Is that the road over Mt Tiptree that you sent the navy cadets along for their Duke of Edinburgh Expedition a few weeks ago?”

  “Yes it is,” Graham agreed. He pointed to the map. “Believe me sir. We must go back to near Mareeba and then go up the Tinaroo Creek Road. That takes us up to near Mt Edith.”

  Dr Williams looked sick and chewed at his lip as he studied the suggested route. Then he nodded and said, “Navigate for me please.”

  With that he did a three point turn and set the Rover in motion again, speeding back the way they had come. As he drove Dr Williams clicked off the interior light so that he could see better. Stick continued to use the front map light but the three in the back had to use their torches.

  Once again Dr Williams drove just too fast for comfort on the rough gravel road, the Rover bottoming out several times and bouncing and banging over the potholes and corrugations. But nobody complained, all being gripped by concern for Willy and Roger’s safety.

  After fifteen minutes of narrow, winding mountain road they passed the picnic area and were able to go faster along several kilometres of flat going. As they passed a turn-off on the right Graham nudged Stick and said, “That is where we do some of our weekend bivouacs.”

  Stick looked but in the darkness there was little to be seen. Discussion on bivouacs helped ease the travel. A few minutes of rattling corrugations later they crossed two small creeks and came onto bitumen. After that it was only another two minutes before they reached the Kennedy Highway. Dr Williams swung left and accelerated towards Mareeba.

  As they went up the first long hill Dr Williams called his wife on his car phone. She told him she was at Tolga and turning left towards Tinaroo and that she had informed the police and the SES. As they talked Graham looked out to the left and studied the dark mass of the Lamb range. This took up a large chunk of the skyline to the south and in the starlight looked quite forbidding.

  Ten minutes of good bitumen highway had them near Mareeba and at Graham’s direction Dr Williams turned left onto the Tinaroo Creek Road on the outskirts of town. This was narrower but also bitumen and they were able to proceed at 100kph safely. Another ten minutes later and they crossed the road that marked the East Barron water pipeline. Soon after that the bitumen ended and they found themselves on a good gravel road.

  The road wound up and down over a range of low hills before dipping to cross a large creek at a causeway. Then it wound up a steep slope into the foothills of the mountains. They passed a set of cattle yards and then went through an open gate into a State Forest. From there the road went down and across a short concrete bridge before climbing for five kilometres up the side of the main range. The vegetation was all dry savannah woodland and the slopes were rugged, dotted with rocks and boulders.

  At the top of the range they entered a narrow valley and then came to a very obvious road junction. Graham was ready for this, having slid his thumb along the map at every bend.

  “Go left,” he instructed.

  Dr Williams did so and then drove on down a long slope and across another short bridge and then up into thicker forest. This was a mixture of pines and eucalypts and with thick undergrowth in many areas. After crossing several more small creeks the road went up a steep slope to the left and then did a sharp curve back to the right on top of a narrow spur. Then it wound around the side of the main mountain. As the vehicle went around the end of each spur Graham got glimpses out to the left of the distant lights of Mareeba. Despite all the twists and turns he was able to keep track of their progress and had the satisfaction of Peter agreeing with him.

  After another fifteen minutes of bumpy gravel the road plunged into rain forest and began climbing steeply. Dr Williams engaged 4 Wheel Drive and went on. The road deteriorated badly. There were washouts, deep ruts and potholes and muddy sections. Dr Williams did not hesitate. He drove as fast as he safely could, ignoring minor damage to the vehicle. Several times he tried using his car phone but got such poor reception that it was useless.

  “Too far from the relay stations and these mountains and jungle must be causing screening,” he explained. He was feeling sick at heart and angry with himself for allowing the situation to develop. He also wished he had made better preparation before driving off.

  The road wound on and up. They passed a turnoff on the left which Graham recognized. “That is where the road marked on the map comes out. But it only goes in for a hundred paces to beside Emerald Creek and then ends,” he said.

  “That is where Andrew and the navy cadets ran into that bird poacher with his mist nets a few weeks ago,” Peter added. That incident had caused some minor dramas as one of the navy cadets, Tina Babcock in Peter’s class, had been threatened by the man and was living in fear of him.

  Stick asked if the police had caught him. Peter shook his head. “No, and Tina is now terrified he will come and get her one night,” he explained.

  “Poor kid. She is a very nice person,” Graham commented.

  “Yes,” Peter said in a dry tone. “I’ve noticed you chatting to her. Have you given up on Rowena?”

  Graham snorted and changed the conversation back to the road. “We are nearly there,” he said. “Only a few more bends; on top of the next big ridge.”

  The road went up another steep pinch which they had to grind up in low gear. Graham wound his window down, ignoring the rush of cold air, and looked out. In places he could see out t
hrough gaps in the jungle. This gave him glimpses across a small valley to another jungle-covered ridge. The road turned sharp right on the crest.

  “This is close to where the pencil line runs across,” Graham cautioned. Dr Williams slowed down and they all peered out but trees kept blotting out what little view the starlight provided. The Range Rover ground slowly around the end of a spur. On the left was a steep drop. For a moment Graham got a good look out along the ridge top.

  “There it is! Stop! Back up! I can see the airship!” he suddenly shouted.

  Dr Williams braked to a standstill and quickly reversed. Graham stuck his head out the window, eyes scanning the darkness. A dim, black silhouette became visible against the stars.

  “There! See it? Up above the trees,” Graham cried, pointing. They all peered out but the vehicle’s headlights interfered with their vision. Dr Williams turned them off.

  “Where? Yes! I see it!” he cried with relief.

  “It’s moving,” Marjorie said.

  “You’re right. It is,” Dr Williams agreed.

  “It must have broken free,” Peter suggested.

  Marjorie gasped and clasped her hands to her chest. “Quick! Follow it!” she cried.

  Dr Williams turned on the vehicle’s lights and engaged the gears. As they moved forward the tiny black shape was lost to sight behind the trees. Driving as fast as he dared Dr Williams drove on along the winding gravel road. To frustrate them the road ran through a tunnel of dark rainforest which blocked their view.

  Graham pointed to the left as they passed a small clearing. “That is the start of the foot track that goes up Mt Edith. This is the highest point on the road.”

  He was right. The road began to wind downwards. Then the vehicle roared around a corner to the right. Marjorie let out a gasp. Hundreds of tiny lights twinkled in the distance.

  “The Atherton Tablelands. We are on top of the range,” Dr Williams said. He reached for the car radio. “Look for the airship while I make a call.”

  He stopped the vehicle on the outside of a bend to the right and the teenagers all craned out the side windows while Dr Williams dialled.

  “Is that it?” Peter asked, pointing out his window. The others followed his finger.

  “Might be. Can’t tell,” Stick answered.

  “Which way is it heading?” Dr Williams asked.

  “Roughly south sir,” Graham replied.

  At that moment Dr Williams made contact with Willy’s mother: “Where are you? Yungaburra! I thought you were going to Tinaroo. What’s that?”

  Dr Williams listened for a while and then turned and said to the others, “Someone else reported seeing the airship to the police. They said it was heading south across Lake Tinaroo. The police told Mrs Williams and she has gone to Yungaburra. She tried phoning us but we were out of communication.”

  He turned back to the phone and said, “Good. Now listen. We are up on top of the Lamb Range near Mt Edith and we’ve just seen the airship. It is drifting south. Tell the police that then you drive out along the Gillies Highway until you are due south of us. Where is that Stick? About Lake Barrine. Got that dear?”

  He listened for a minute then went on: “Yes, that’s right. Go east towards Gordonvale for a few kilometres. Get up on top of one of those big open hill tops. Stop your car and turn the engine and lights off and get out of the car. You just might spot the airship against the stars. Go quickly. We will drive down through Danbulla and join you as quickly as we can.”

  After a few more instructions Dr Williams hung up the phone and set the Range Rover in motion. They began to wind along the very top of the range. As they swept around the next bend red tail light reflectors gleamed in their headlights. A brown Toyota Land cruiser was parked beside the road. Dr Williams applied the brakes and they stopped to look.

  “No-one in it,” Dr Williams commented.

  “Might be forest rangers who saw the airship in daylight?” Peter suggested.

  “Maybe. It’s well off the tourist circuit,” Dr Williams replied. He pressed the Rover’s horn and yelled into the jungle. “Hello! Anyone there?”

  There was no response.

  “Can’t wait,” Dr Williams said. He continued driving, the road dipping down to wind around the southern side of the mountains.

  *****

  Twenty kilometres to the south Stephen, Noddy and Shona climbed back into Willy’s mother’s car. They had driven to Tinaroo along the bitumen highway via Mareeba and Atherton and had just stopped to go to the toilet there when the police had phoned telling them they had a report o an airship drifting south across Lake Tinaroo. Stephen had immediately studied the map and suggested the town of Yungaburra as the best place to make for, being right at the southern end of the large lake. They had just driven there when Mr William’s phone call had come through. Now they went east along the Gillies Highway. Five minutes later they stopped on top of a wide, bare hill near the Lake Eacham turnoff. As instructed Willy’s mother parked the car, switched off the engine and doused the lights.

  “This should do. We will get out and look,” she said.

  They climbed out and stood on the grassy verge in front of the car. The sky was a mass of stars and they all stared up at it.

  After a minute Noddy hugged himself. “Strewth, it’s cold!” he commented.

  “It is winter,” Stephen observed dryly.

  “Oh I do hope Willy is alright Mrs Williams,” Shona said.

  Noddy looked up. “What if he falls off?” Noddy asked.

  Stephen nudged him. “Shut up Noddy.”

  Shona glared at them and both resumed scanning the night sky. Several cars drove past, their headlights illuminating the worried face of Mrs Williams as she anxiously looked up.

  “Pity there isn’t a moon,” Noddy observed.

  Stephen nodded. “Yeah. It’s very dark,” he replied. “I wonder how high the airship is?”

  “It can’t be very high if it was just above the ground at Davies Creek. We are a lot higher here I think,” Mrs Williams said.

  “It got over the mountains,” Nodded said.

  Stephen shook his head. “Yeah, but it had a strong wind pushing it. There’s hardly any wind at all now,” he replied.

  “So how can it go anywhere?” Noddy asked.

  “Shut up Noddy,” Shona snapped.

  They stood in silence for a few minutes, peering upwards in all directions. As Stephen looked up a particularly bright star suddenly went out, then another next to it. Then the bright star re-appeared. He squinted, wishing he had polished his glasses better. He saw more stars vanish, then re-appear. A black shape became visible.

  “Up there! I can see it! Look!” he cried, pointing to the North East.

  “Oh where? Where?” Shona cried. They all peered in the direction indicated by Stephen’s finger.

  “Yes! I can see it!” Mrs Williams cried.

  “So can I,” Shona added happily.

  “Where? I can’t,” Noddy grumbled.

  They ignored him and stared at the moving black shape.

  “Heavens, it’s going fast,” Mrs Williams said.

  “Must be strong winds higher up,” Stephen suggested.

  “He doesn’t look all that high. The airship’s not all that big,” Noddy added, catching sight of it at last.

  “Why doesn’t he land?” Mrs Williams wondered. “Quick, in the car! We will follow him.”

  They scrambled into the car. Stephen sat in the front passenger seat and wound the window down so he could poke his head out.

  “He’s gone south of the highway,” he said as they started off.

  “Get the map and tell me which road is the best to take,” Mrs Williams said.

  “I’ll do it,” Shona offered. “You keep your eyes on the airship Stephen. And don’t you lose sight of him for one second.”

  Shona took the map and clicked on the interior light. “You look out Noddy. I will navigate. OK. Let’s see.... hmmm... Turn right at the next
junction and go past Lake Eacham Mrs Williams.”

  Willy’s mother did so. The car’s headlights lit up a wall of rainforest into which it plunged through what looked like a leafy tunnel.

  “I can’t see him now,” Stephen called.

  “Can’t be helped. We have to go this way,” Shona replied.

  As they drove through the rainforest Willy’s mother used the car phone to call up the Range Rover to report the sighting. Contact was poor but she managed to get through. She was still talking when they came out into open farmland again.

  “There he is!” Stephen cried, pointing up.

  They all expressed relief. The car raced down a long slope and across a small bridge, then up another long incline beyond. The airship’s course diverged slightly from theirs but, of course, they had no choice. At the next junction they turned left and went racing down through the small township of North Johnston. Mrs Williams telephoned another report but reception was still poor and she had to repeat herself several times.

  Stephen pulled his head in to look at the speedometer. “Ninety ‘K’s per hour! We are just catching up with it. It is going bloody fast. There must be a hell of a wind up there.”

  “Willy couldn’t pedal that fast,” Noddy said.

  “Why would he pedal at all?” Shona asked. They had no answer to that puzzle and were simply relieved that they were close on the trail. The road and the course of the airship now converged until they were right under it. Mrs Williams could just see it through the front windscreen. She began tooting the horn and flicking the lights from high beam to low and back again. The others poked their heads out, ignoring the cold wind.

  “Why doesn’t he let out gas and come down?” Mrs Williams asked.

  “Perhaps he can’t. Maybe he is injured or something,” Stephen suggested.

  Mrs Williams bit her lip and kept driving. Shona spoke next: “Is that something hanging underneath the airship?”

  “Could be the mooring rope. It was dangling down,” Stephen replied.

  “It is, but there is something hanging on the end. I can’t make out what it is,” Shona said.

  They passed the turn-off to Malanda and went on along a secondary road. Mrs Williams telephoned this to her husband to keep him informed. She also mentioned they could see something hanging below the airship. Mr Williams replied at length and she made several astonished exclamations.