Community post
Sunday Flying
If there's any better way to wake up than a mate texting you and saying 'are you coming flying', I'd like to hear it. I've known this guy for 18 years and it's the first time I've been up - mainly as he thought I was chicken, which I denied a few weeks ago.
Dean makes his own planes and has a runway on his property, where him and his partner fly from - daily surf checks along the Great Ocean Road or over to the island she grew up on off the coast of Tasmania.
It's certainly an amazing way to see your home. I know I live in a beautiful place, but to see the place from the sky after fifty five years of existence is wild.
I thought of Dad - when he was on the way out Dean took him up. How cool he got to see this before he sailed off into the great blue. We've set a date for throwing his ashes to sea and he'll be drifting in all that ocean I could see from the plane. Beautiful.
This is the town I live in - it looks tiny from the air, and it is a small town relative to the bigger estates to the east. Look at all that national park! Full of tracks to explore, that we could see from the air. And that's the beach I surf at (including this weekend, which made me so happy).
YOu can also see the 'river' - more of a swap fed by aquifers really and it's not open to the sea. It looks so small from the air. Last night we walked along it and saw more micro vews of wrigglers, ready to be mossies for the summer.
Look at the walking track here and see how close it is to the edge of the cliffs, and how big chunks are about to drop off, as they do, sliding into the sea after rain. You'd wanna hope you aren't walking along that beach when it happens.
I think I'd thought about going up for so long that I didn't even register fear at all - my heart rate didn't change a beat, but I guess I was too busy looking at it all! We flew from his place to Point Roadnight and back along the coast to Bells Beach and Point Addis.
He saws sometimes you can see the herd of white deer down there, but also whales and sharks and big schools of fish.
Honestly I could have stayed up for hours, but we only had a blissful fifteen minutes, sadly.
There's the big Alcoa coal mine stack (it shut down a few years ago thank god) which stands as a monument to the past. Last week he flew over it and you could see right down the stack - he posts pictures on the local Facebook group for the area so we all get to see our beautiful town from the air.
Sorry these photos are out of sequence - I'm about to go for a surf so want to set this to schedule as I'm sure you'll all get a kick out of it.
This is the plane in his shed. He's actually got three - well, his partner has one and they have another faster one for going over to Tassie.
Hope you all had - or will have - as an amazing a Sunday as this.
Replies (17)
Wow, you had a nice ride... happy Sunday! 😊
That's so cool! I did that once decades back. It was in Sept 2000 and one of the homeschool mom's husband had an aerobatics plane. He'd wanted to take my husband up but he wanted no part of it. So I said I'd go. I did warn him that I might get airsick (just in case he thought to get funny).
We just flew in the immediate area and I got this shot as we went over the farm. It's such a cool perspective of where you live....
Meanwhile, some of us wake up to “good morning” and “have you had breakfast?” and you’re out here getting “ARE YOU COMING FLYING?” 😭😂 This is clearly the wrong friendship tier.
What an absolutely gorgeous way to spend fifteen minutes. I’d have been begging him to turn around and do another lap.
What an amazing experience. That coastline looks so much like Northern California. I can almost guarantee that my Sunday won't measure up to this. : )
I'm jealous of white envy.
I flew a sports plane about 12 years ago and even flew it. It was an amazing feeling. But I understand that I don't see this in the future.
It really was unexpected. I do imagine California as similar - also Portugal.ive had such a depressing month that this weekend was like a blessing from the universe to lift me up,
Oh wow --- you went up! Well done! Great photo - it helps me visualise where your farm is placed in relation to other properties!
I know, what a text to get hey!!! That doesn't happen every weekend that's for sure.
Wow, that really is extreme! And then surfing... Girl, you’re on a real emotional rollercoaster on Sunday, hahaha... The photos are so beautiful... But I know you really enjoyed those 15 minutes up there.
🔥👋🏻
How fun, to see your town and the coast from the air! I'm amazed at the height of those cliffs at the shoreline... 😯 That was very kind of him to take you up for a spin around the area! 😊
You know, I was actually braver in the sky than in the water... felt like that's my element... air. Tho I am fire... well, basically there's no fire when there's no air.
That's literally how I felt last week... tho thankfully your friend is skilled, so your trip was smooth.
Mine was like struggling to keep up... because of the broken wings.
Life has a crazy way of giving us highs and lows, and we should be thankful for both.
Let's talk about how gorgeous your home is... such a blessing to be in that place, surrounded by nature and good people... that's like a warm hug from the Universe..And you deserve all of that. 💕
I was bloody knackered by the afternoon! I couldn't even cycle up the shop for wine hahah...
It was super kind. He does like taking friends up I think. I'll never forget him taking Dad up before he died.
I'm air!! I need earth to quite literally ground me less I float away. Perhaps the ocean does that for me, in a way. Not so much as water, but as a reminder I'm connected to place. Hard to explain.
Are you feeling a little better this week? I hope so. X 💖
That's awesome. I'm glad it happened and brightened your mood!
😅
Cheers!
Ah... so now I get it. You're the fuel to my fire. Haha. I suppose Jamie is earth.
Y'know, what you said last Saturday actually did the trick. It helped a lot... tho there's still some residue, I'm feeling so much better. You just have to invite the feelings in instead of avoiding or resisting them.
It's so surprising how many of us are going through the same phase, at least from what I read in some posts over the weekend. I'm just so thankful for this community for making it a safe and judgement-free place where people can be vulnerable, let their guards down, and just bawl.
Ah... it feels good to have a good cry. And I'm glad you're feeling so much better too. We got this. 💕