04/07/2023
Hang gliding goals
Big trip bucket list: Australia.
Kangaroos bounding into the blood-red sunset. Sipping lattes by the Opera House, watching the flags over the Harbour Bridge flutter in the breeze. Throw in a deadly shark/snake/spider, an episode of Neighbours and “That’s not a knife,” and you’ve completed the thought pastiche for Australia.
Free-flight pilots think differently about this land of extreme contrasts. Most will have heard of the big three – Bright, Manilla and Canungra. Bright, four hours north east of Melbourne, is the closest thing Oz has to Alps with a beautiful tourist town to match – bring your partner. Manilla, five hours inland from Sydney, is a little wilder and offers hundred kilometre-plus flights in every direction across the undulating farmlands of New South Wales – bring someone who likes to drive. Canungra is much closer to civilisation and only an hour from Brisbane or the Gold Coast. It offers stunning, complex flying. Take off with a view of the Gold Coast and theme parks, then surf the convergence over the dense jungle of Lamington National Park before returning to land by the pub – bring the family.
Then there’s the rest of the Great Southern Land, where rich, varied and world-class flying experiences abound. Most Australian pilots live on the coast and soar places like Rainbow Beach, the Surf Coast in Victoria’s south and even some remarkably urban spots around Sydney. Every place has a tight knit flying community and a quick web search will hook you up with a well-organised club and invaluable local knowledge.
Or step into another realm of crazy adventures in expansive skies above ancient, wild landscapes. Towing in the flatlands and the outback. Soaring the Great Australian Bight – no landings for a hundred kilometres, if you survive the pounding surf, the sharks will eat you. Soar the Morning Glory cloud. But there’s also a quiet pioneering side to the more remote areas. Some patience and friendly questions will lead you to someone called Alice, Johnno or Dave who’s the best pilot within a five-hundred-kilometre radius and has been flying this one little spot for years with just a few mates and a wedge-tailed eagle for company. They’ve been wondering wistfully about the potential of this homegrown flying site and what some European hot-shot would make of it – be that pilot – bring your A-Game and a good satellite tracker.
Despite the laid-back image, Australian flight is tightly regulated. You’ll get along much better if you join up, pay dues and make friends. The best time to visit is now, the main flying season is November to April, and you’ll find all you need to know on the recently revamped Sports Aviation Federation of Australia website.