From Brisbane to Broome and back again, a Travel West Air Safari gives passengers a bird's-eye view of Australia in all it's glory.
Story By Nathan Dyer
The paddocks of Queensland’s Darling Downs appear like a patchwork quilt flung over the rolling countryside. Broad yellow squares and tight green circles; a colourful pattern of crops holding promise of another good season in one of the country’s most productive farming districts.
Further north, spider web-like networks of coal-seam gas mines interrupt the farmland. At Roma Airport, the car park is jammed with white four-wheel-drives brimming with orange lights and safety flags. Still further north, the striking sandstone of Carnarvon Gorge cuts a deep swathe through the surrounding forest as the plane banks and circles low, allowing passengers to take in the beauty of the gorge.
Farming, mining and wilderness: it is a juxtaposition passengers on a Travel West Air Safari will become accustomed to as they travel by private charter from Brisbane to Broome and back again following a nine-day itinerary that reads like a who’s who of iconic outback destinations. Birdsville, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs and Kununurra are all on the list, so too is Lake Eyre, Uluru, the Bungle Bungles and Cable Beach, as Travel West hosts Graham and Debbie Reid take guests on a tour that covers the breadth of the continent.
This story excerpt is from Issue #90
Outback Magazine: Aug/Sept 2013
