KIM – well it turned out that the weather defeated us and we are back in Toowoomba. The plan is to head out today for an overnight trip to some rebuilt Scottish Castle southwest of here. I gather they are mowing the runway and chasing away the cattle just for us – now this could be interesting?
A couple of words about the flying – Barb and I have gotten our respective jobs down pat by now and it doesn’t take us long at all to get up into the air. VH-AFR (Alpha Foxtrot Romeo) is a speedy little thing and we can usually make about 120 knots without a tailwind. The aerial views have been incredibly varied and completely spectacular – I hope my pictures will do it justice!
There are just such huge expanses of open space with hardly any evidence of the hand of man. Then you come into the area around toowoomba and it looks like Canadian farmland all neat and tidy and fenced.
We have had quite abit of turbulance but if we fly at about 2500 ft and not higher it isn’t too bad. As the day warms up the thermals get very active at higher levels. We had dodged huge dust devils, thunderclouds and enormous eagles – 1 metre wingspans – who seem to treat us with utter contempt – a kind of glance over the shoulder and an elegant slideslip to get out of our way.
I doubt I’ll get internet at the Castle – I want a tower room! – so next posting will be back in Brisbane and I’ll do lots of pictures and the like.

Take care all – it seems there is a nasty cold working its way around up north!

kim