Flying through the Outback "Top Gun"-style!!!

Trip Start Jun 07, 2008
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144
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Trip End Jun 28, 2009


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Where I stayed
Angorichina Station

Flag of Australia  ,
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

After helping Ian fix a water pipe before breakfast, Ian took Dad and me on a stunt plane flight over the Outback. It was amazing!!! He has a small four seater Cessna with a propeller that he keeps in his barn. He takes off right from his house on his road, which is what we did!!! We took off and flew over to the gorges and we were flying right inside the gorges, and our wings were sideways. Then we flew over the desert and dived down almost to the ground and then zoomed back up right before we hit the ground! We pretended we were being chased by another plane and kept diving and swerving and made sound effects and finally we lost them! We flew really low over some sheep and goats and over some kangaroos. Then we landed right back next to the house on the bumpy road. Ian is a great pilot and he got his license 30 years ago. He uses his plane to round up sheep and cattle, to pick up groceries and supplies in Adelaide, to visit his brother about 20 kilometers away, and to check on his fences and property. It would be awesome to be a bush pilot like Ian
Getting ready to fly with Ian
Getting ready to fly with Ian
! My mom would have loved the flight - NOT!!! But my Uncle Darrell would have liked it a lot.

Before lunch, we helped Ian check on water tanks and pumps to make sure the sheep have enough water to drink. We checked about six tanks - if they are too tall to look into, you can knock on the side and listen to the sound to tell if it is full or empty. At one tank, there was a dead kangaroo. At another one, I jumped up to look in and before I grabbed the edge, I saw a dangerous red backed spider. Luckily, I did not put my hand on it - if it bit me, Ian would have had to fly me to the nearest hospital fast! But it was cool to see it.

We drove through a big gorge to the flat desert to have lunch at the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna. This is another tiny town - only a train station, the hotel, and a post office. Ian's brother, Ross and his wife Jane (who is also Di's sister!) run the hotel. We met them and had a very interesting lunch. The hotel is very old but now it serves a "Feral Feast". I ate kangaroo, camel salami, emu pate, and wild goat cheese. They all tasted okay, but the chips were the best thing. We met Lachlan, who is Ross and Jane's son and who grew up here. He is in his 20's now but he loves it here because he can ride motorbikes, fly planes, and have adventures in the Outback.

When we got home, Ian showed me the wool shed, which is over a 100 years old and is where they still shear all the sheep. I held some of the wool that had just been sheared - it was soft - and saw the machines that they use to shear the sheep. After dinner, Ian had a big surprise for me - he let me watch the movie "Top Gun" about airplane pilots - it was awesome! I really hope we can come back here again!
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