Mystery To Enjoy
The Sun Herald
Sunday March 13, 1994
I FIRST fell in love with flying when I was 18. Sitting on the tarmac in the belly of a rumbling 747 about to take off for India. It was a grey, drizzly day.
The engines revved, the wheels started rolling and in 30 seconds the nose of the plane was bursting upwards with a thrilling surge of power. Soon the jet was rocking through the cloud cover, rain lashing the windows, to the astonishingly apposite accompaniment of Riders On The Storm in my in-flight headphones.
As we broke through the cloud cover I loosened my grip on the arm rests and the sky opened up around us, the 747 now leveling above the cumulus. I was hooked.
Since then, for me, a love of flying has always been synonymous with a love of travel, and if travel has an essence it's spontaneity and an urge to explore. Within Australia, there can be few better, cheaper and simpler ways to combine all these ingredients than by hopping aboard one of the increasingly popular Mystery Flights, operated by Ansett Australia, Qantas and Hazelton Airlines.
According to Ansett, many people use the Mysteries as a way of seeing Australia. After all, with Ansett and Qantas, flying from Sydney, you could end up as far afield as Cairn, Alice Springs, Hamilton Island or even the destination described by a Qantas salesman as the "creme de la creme" - Perth
Ansett say that they do try to send their Mystery customers as far as they can and unofficially will attempt to avoid sending them to places they've been before.
A touch of the unexpected can also work wonders.
Even if you're a seasoned globetrotter, a Mystery can help you get back in touch with the roots of your fascination with travel. As I found out when I sampled two of the possible options.
I booked my first trip, a one-night package with Ansett ($199 per person standard twin share - $239 single occupancy), three days before I wanted to travel and was notified of my destination the afternoon before flying.
I was delighted when Hobart, which I'd never visited, came up. My trip was the perfect antidote to a hectic week.
Actually, I was half-tempted to simply veg out at the comfortable Northside Manor Hotel but after Sydney it's soothing enough to stroll around the deafeningly quiet streets.
With their elegant large stone buildings they have the unmistakable feel of a Scottish border town. Hobart has plenty of bustle too, particularly on a Saturday morning at the Salamanca Place markets.
By the end of my second short afternoon in Hobart, I'd met the crew of the yacht Silver Mist, in training for their first crack at the Sydney-Hobart race next year, lunched on crumbly local trevally at Sandy Bay and taken in the panoramic vistas of the city and the River Derwent estuary from Mount Nelson.
A one-night Mystery is likely to leave you thirsting for more of your destination. But it's surprising how much you can see in a short time.
Especially if you take a bargain Hazelton Airlines one-day Mystery Tour($129), which includes car rental thus making you mobile from the moment you board the plane.
It also gives you the chance to discover the unusual in your own State -Dubbo, Mudgee and Broken Hill are all potential destinations.
Landing in Lismore, behind the north NSW coast, I managed a 180km return journey through fields of sugar cane to the Bunjalong National Park. In four hours on the ground I took two ferry rides, a 3km walk along a deserted beach, sighted a snake and an eagle, and did a spot of rally driving to reach the return flight.
If you're not in a rush you can stay the night in a Flag Motor Inn for an extra $20 ($149 Mystery Night, minimum two people). With Hazelton you'll end up in a small, cuddly plane (maximum seats 36) and the service is definitely personal.
Regardless of your budget and available time, there's a Mystery Flight to suit. $69, for instance, will buy you a simple out and back flight, possibly to the outback, with Hazelton. A day away flight is $109 with both major airlines, while at the other end of the scale $319 pays for two upmarket nights away with Ansett or Qantas.
All airlines require booking and payment a minimum of three days before flying. With the night away packages you're informed of your destination the afternoon before and on the day only flights, on arrival at the airport.
Wherever you do end up, there's likely to be one more thrill awaiting you on your return: that of flying over one of the most magnificent harbours in the world.
Whether it's your first flight or your five hundredth, you'd have to be pretty jaded not to appreciate the view. As our twin-engine Saab descended through menacing cloud behind the city, on return from Lismore, it simply reminded me of why I fell in love with flying.
For further information on Mystery Flights telephone Ansett Australia on 131344, Qantas on 131313 or Hazelton Airlines on (02) 235 1411.
© 1994 The Sun Herald