SAFA Skysailor Magazine

19 November | December 2024 SKY SAILOR that was swarming with birdlife, making for a fantastic walk at sunrise, while looking over your shoulder for crocodiles (salties here!). Before the safari began, James had warned us that, “There will be a bit of tiger country.” We soon found out this was code for, “There is an endless amount country with no landing options.” Most of the land was covered by trees, in places stretching out of sight in all directions. This made us focus on flight planning and navi- gation. We could often keep very small landing options (e.g. farm dams) within glide, but these would have meant many hours of walking as roads were scarce. Following the main road, however, allowed us to fly over a lot of bush without danger. Our final flying day was meant to be from Normanton airport, but strong crosswinds prevented launching. We found a salt pan beside the road that allowed for 400m tows, with the aim to fly into Karumba for a spec- tacular finish. Three pilots got up and away on their first tow, but a winch problem prevented others from flying. Progress to Karumba was looking good, with the first two pilots setting up for final glide when a sea-breeze hit them and they landed 3km short. That evening we believe that Nir became the first person to paraglide at Karumba, launching on the fore- shore at sunset. We stayed for two nights in Karumba, recov- ering and reminiscing, and going on crocodile and fishing tours. Flying conditions were not very different to flatland flying in inland NSW in spring and autumn. Thermals were mostly light and smooth, and turbulence was only felt when they reached inversion layers. Thermal height