the promised message comes through - meet you at 07:50am
shortly after followed by a phone-call - fog has rolled in - stay put
both from rev - our pilot for the pre-arranged 4-hour lake eyre flight
the delay welcomed to give us time to pack-up, water-up and fuel-up
we drive out to coober pedy airport quietly excited about the day ahead
the place is deserted though one very modern helicopter doing exercises
rev makes the call - it's on - gary and dale arrive and the 5 of us acquaint
one thing with a light plane is to get the weight balance right - i'm up front
fine by me as i can at least pretend to be the co-pilot alongside pilot rev
on with the headphone and microphone sets for on-board discussions
we accelerate down the runway and up very easily goes the cessna 210
a right bank and climbing out to the south-west of coober pedy town
a perfectly blue sky, no wind and a unique landscape - very exciting
the first amazing sight - we see hundreds of holes in the earth's crust
each adjoined by a perfectly formed cone of white earth - tailings
the hole representing a miner digging down in search of the opals
rev starts his commentary - opals earn 400 million dollars annually
85% of that coming out of coober pedy - there's big bucks down there
and then we fly over a now abandoned iron ore mine - 400 employees
the recent crash in world prices forcing the bean-counters to close it down
by now my head is firmly planted against the planes window - i'm hooked
crossing a fence-line and we are over anna creek station - 6 million acres
13,000 head of cattle, 5000km of fencing and an equal distance of roads
mind-boggling statistics are being rolled out only matched by the scenery
we push east at a height of 1500 feet - the plane's shadow in clear view
the terrain is ever-changing with a mix of dirt, puddles, creeks and scrub
the stunning colours and patterns resembling a huge aboriginal artwork
we are heading to the painted hills which are located on anna creek station
the owners barring entry so only accessible by permission or by air - lucky us
as we approach it is easy to understand why they are held in such high regard
rev suggests the shapes and colours are like the top of a lemon meringue pie
an extraordinary landscape and a sense these hills are unique in the world
they cover a huge area requiring a couple of passes before we track east
there are low clouds in the distance as there is today's target - lake eyre
we've already been airborne a couple of hours when we reach the lake
more fantastic (accurate here) patterns formed in the very dense water
it's quite shallow in most places so the bed of the lake is what we see
one point we cross is the lowest part of australia - 15m below sea level
more stats - the water 10 times saltier than the ocean and way more dense
2.5 times denser than the dead sea though swimming is not recommended
we skirt around the small north western corner of the lake - a tiny fraction
the town of william creek is south australia's smallest town - population - 17
rev puts the cessna down then and drives us to the iconic william creek hotel
it's a classic - everything and more you would expect to see in an outback pub
corrugated iron, concrete floor, jukebox, business cards and cash pinned all over
happy to have a (ginger) beer there and perusal of the wall mounted clippings
stories in newspapers of the history of the hotel and the neighbouring station
a brief but very satisfying visit before we clamber back into the cessna 210
rev promises a 40 minute flight back and the conversation now flowing well
4 totally exhilerated passengers and 1 pilot excited about his own future
another gentle touchdown at coober pedy and farewells offered all round
and we are off - the campervan pointed north again to get as far as we can
both of us still buzzing about the flight - worth every cent is the consensus
having filled up in town our only driving limitation now is daylight hours
we push, push, push over the northern territory border 424km to kulgera
a totally uneventful drive again indulging in fine munchies and music
kulgera is basically a roadhouse so fuel up and hit a powered site
happy hour at the pub taken in the company of the grey nomads
a few beers and hot chips seems appropriate - and then settle in
what a day - they just seem to get better - long may it last...
