HURLEY IN NORTH EGYPT

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 521, 26 November 1928, Page 9

HURLEY IN NORTH EGYPT

UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL ROUTE PLANS ALTERED (United P.A.—By Telegraph — -Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) (United Service) LONDON, Saturday. After leaving Cairo Captain Frank Hurley and his two companions, who are flying from Australia to London, unexpectedly arrived at the Solium airdrome on the north coast of Egypt, on Friday. Captain Hurley was not aware that the Egyptian regulations render it necessary for civil airmen to give the Government 15 days’ notice prior to their arrival In that country. He was delayed at Cairo through this Ignorance of the facts. However the authorities kindly waived the conditions, and the airmen left for Solium, heading out in a mist. They gained fleeting glimpses of the Nile delta, with its bewildering tangle of silvery waterways. They turned west along the dividing line with the blue Mediterranean on the starboard side, and the golden sands of the Libyan desert stretching to the horizon on the port side. The Spirit of Australia reached Solium at 1 p.m. This is a remarkable outpost on the frontier of EgyptianItalian territory. The airdrome is on top of a cliff 900 ft above the sea. There is a treacherous landing surrounded by rocky country, where many airplanes have come to grief. The indefatigable fliers worked on the engine and gave it a thorough tuning-up before crossing the Mediterranean. They will leave at daybreak to-mor-row for Athens.