Hanging in Bryon Bay or Come fly away with me

We decided to take one more local excursion before our departure from our adopted home.  So, off we headed to Byron Bay, which we'd heard was a place of beautiful beaches and surf bums.

The two-hour drive was nothing to speak of, mainly motorway through suburban hills.  But, true to form, Byron Bay is replete with endless curvatures of sand.

We walked the compact town, which seemed full of counter-culture types and backpackers, found ourselves a little beach for a lunch picnic, then took a short walk along the headlands and up to the lighthouse that is Byron's icon.  Along the way was the this beautiful lookout:

  Up at the lighthouse, we watched the graceful flight of three hang gliders riding the winds over the headland.  It looked so thrilling and peaceful at the same time.  Kate, in particular, seemed intrigued, but we were only in Byron for the day, so her wishing would have to wait for another time.

At least that's how it seemed.  The walkway we were on continued down the ridge a way and along the road that dropped down to the town.  As we walked by a small parking lot, this young man, kind of a stoner-type, dark shades on, asked us if we were interested in flying.

Wuh?  We looked at each other.  He continued, "Yeah, my friend Brian over there (pointing to the pickup across the road), he'll take you up if you want."  We mumbled, we hemmed, we hawed.  The guy (his name, we learned later, was Dave) said, "The winds are fantastic, unusual this time of year, you should really do it."   The sun was warm, seemed perfect.  "Yes!" Kate said.

Now, hang on tight!

The rest is history ... and here it is.

Am I REALLY doing this?

Just before lift-off.

And there she goes!

First fly-by - Is she having fun, or what??

Kinda like Mary Poppins.

In formation - Kate and Brian are the wing in the upper right.

Kate's great shot of the takeoff ramp.

Hey Birders!  Few get Kate's view above a White-bellied Sea-Eagle!

Soaring! Kate with instructor Brian.

Kate's three companion gliders over the Bryon Bay lighthouse.

Cleared for landing...

Wheels down

Touchdown!

Oh yeah, Aaron did it too ... against his better judgment!

Congrats all around!

Earth-bound, but the thrill lives on!