SAFA Skysailor Magazine

10 SKY SAILOR September-October-November | SPRING 2026 east and looked into pure wilderness, while Federation now felt closer than ever. From our hike up Mt Eliza we had seen glimpses of the iconic, dangerous moun- tain, and it had beckoned us closer with each thermal all day. All I had to do now was follow the Eastern Arthur Range south and stay as high as I could. Along with the wisp that had formed near West Portal, the Eastern Arthur Range lit up with a street that rivalled doing ‘mainies’ in my first car when I was 17. I was nervous to get anywhere near the terrain, so I milked every climb and sat under my wing 800m above Federation – the summit I had climbed 10 years prior. This flight was particularly special, it had been an aim for three years, but this past summer was the first time I was serious about making it happen. Brought to tears, I was circling above Blade Ridge, looking at the mountains of the south-west. The flight ended half an hour later when a strong southerly sea-breeze funnelled up the valley of the Craycroft River – my first time landing backwards. Feathering speed- bar until a few metres off the ground, I landed softly with the button grass and old burnt tea trees catching my wing a few steps from the Farmhouse Creek ‘Track’ that guides hikers into the Eastern Arthurs. Mikey and Ben climbing Federation Peak Stoke