Latest / Salt of the Earth / Ep 127: Lake Eyre with Lachie Henderson

Transcript

Ep 127: Lake Eyre with Lachie Henderson · Salt of the Earth

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to Stolt of the Earth.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: So we've just landed and I'm about to put a microphone on Lockie Henderson.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like the views are unmatched, you know, we can talk about it forever.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Today we headed up the Birdville track, jumped into a Cessna 210, and talked to the skies over Catty Thunder Lake Air in South Australia.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: And we were in very good hands.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Lockie is a pilot who flies tourists over this magnificent piece of water.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: And from the air, it is absolutely breathtaking.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's once in a lifetime thing that you're staying here.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Flying is in Lockie's blood too.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Both his parents had careers in the air.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: But this chat is about much more than flying.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: Lockie talks about Lake Air and the incredible cycle of nature when the water arrives.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: The fish, the birds, and how nature really makes the most of it.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: It signifies that everything is exactly as it should be.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: And nature is capitalizing off its own success.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: He talks about birds dancing in the air, remote communities, and how people out here rely on each other.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, seeing Lake Air so close to full was a very special experience.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: Probably a once-in-a-lifetime one.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: As I said, we've just landed, so let's get into it.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: Here's my chat with Lockie Henderson.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Lockie, that was awesome.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, mate.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: You're very welcome.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Anytime.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And compliments to you.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Leona, my partner, just said, because she's a very anxious flyer, that was the calmest she's ever been.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: What were we in?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: We're in a Cessna 210.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Cessna 210.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Nice and stable aircraft, but we had some fantastic weather this morning.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: It was beautiful, and you put on a nice sunrise for us early, too.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, compliments to the Birdsville track.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you took us down the Birdsville track to a station, and that's where you fly out of?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Correct, yes.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Clayton station, about 50 kilometres out.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, operate out of there, gives a gives the customers a good opportunity to see a bit of the outback on the ground, obviously, on the dirt road, and an excuse to say they've been on the Birdsville too before they take to the skies.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Take to the skies with Oasis Air.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: You got a website?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: We do, Oasis Air.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we're under the Maori Motel as well.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: So Googling Maori Motel or Oasis Air, Lake Air, you'll you'll find us pretty quickly.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Catty Thander, Lake Air, it's now known as.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's the Indigenous Connection.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: How did you end up becoming a pilot?
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I've been in my family for my whole life.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I've grown up around the context of aviation.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's quite a common practice for for younger generations of people who work in aviation to continue the legacy, if you will.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm a direct symptom of that.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Started a little bit later, 24 years old, thought I'd get into it after a bit of travelling and loved it ever since.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Went through training and lucky enough to find a job over this beautiful country here.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, not looking to change anytime soon.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great opportunity that I think uh I think you don't want to throw away once you get the chance to do it, you know what I mean?
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: So the family connection to flying, your dad was a pilot, is that right?
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Correct, yeah.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: He was a he was a pilot husband his whole life, and he started at 18, so he was fresh out of the bat.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Mum was a flight attendant too, so I couldn't really escape it if I tried.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: And there was another pilot out uh at Clayton station this morning, too, with a very similar story.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: Is that right?
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Ironically, yes.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, his father's a pilot, his mother's a flight attendant, and they grew up knowing each other, unto which we have now met each other, and we did not know that up until we met, which was quite funny.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: But small world aviation.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: You guys uh are working for the same company, you're up in the air at the same time in two different planes.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: You're living in this small community, MARI.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: What's that like?
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's got its ups and downs, you know, it's peaceful.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Outback living, it's very quiet.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: The weather is temperate most of the time, you know, you're comfortable, unless it's summer where it's stinking hot and there's a billion flies everywhere.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: You you find with your free time, there's you get quite good at your hobbies and um being comfortable with yourself and the people that are around you.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so nice, you know, you've got to be the right kind of person to to truly grasp and enjoy living in a place like this for an extended period of time.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, the upsides definitely outweigh the downsides of the isolation if if you're comfortable.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Do you remember your first flight over Lake Air?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: I do, I do.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um before our first flight, I um I spent about two, three weeks doing a bit of research because I didn't want to go up there with with passengers and not know what I'm talking about, obviously.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And putting the the actual spectacle of what I was reading about into a first-person view and seeing it for the first time, I can see why all the customers uh and passengers have a have really good things to say when they get on the ground.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: I just think back to the first time that I did it too.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's quite mind-blowing, and you don't feel like you are where you are in the middle of nowhere in this massive body of water.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: So it's pretty special, yeah.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Very special, mate.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: And we witnessed that this morning.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Lake air at the moment it's about 70% capacity, is that it's a good thing.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Give or take.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: Give or take.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: So there was uh pelicans coming in and breeding, estimated around how many?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: During the peak, there was said to be about 20,000.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um that number's dropping off as they've completed the nesting phase of what they're doing.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: So it's predominantly just the youth that are hanging around and doing some feeding to grow up a little bit before they then head over to the east coast and wherever they were from.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Somehow they figure out where to go.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's mind-blowing, isn't it?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: It is, it is.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I haven't been able to figure out.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody've no one I've asked has been able to figure it out either or give me a good solid answer as how they know.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: But I think animals are a lot more intelligent than we give them credit for sometimes.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: A bit more deeper understanding of the world and their environment than you know, just a random bird on the road that we might see.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, it was fascinating this morning looking down, and there was uh large numbers of pelican, and I keep thinking, well, then they've got to be eating something.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: So there must have been large numbers of fish coming in and breeding up too.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Correct, yeah.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: So the Warburton River is probably the main uh inlet of fish because it's just a really long creek, isn't it, at the end of the day?
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: So those fish are traveling quite some miles downstream, and it's a bit harder to swim upstream.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and they naturally just congregate at the end of the stream, which is Lake Air.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's no outlets, so they're just constant stream throughout the year, and there's eggs that lay dormant under the ground too.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: So when the lake is dry, these eggs are sitting there.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: When enough water comes up, they sprite up again and born, and the ecosystem is born.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Serious.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and they're all freshwater fish.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: So if the water gets too salty, then they all start to perish again.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's uh it's quite an unfortunate cycle for them because they've got nowhere to go, but it's nature for you again, isn't it?
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: So Lake Air is fed by uh, I think is it three main rivers?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: The Diamantina, one of them.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yep.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the Cooper Creek as well is is prominent.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Not too much water's come in from the Cooper this year, but the inlet and the river itself are uh flowing quite heavily.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And the Warburton as well, which is more of an extent of the Diamantina, which is on the northern side of the lake.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: So when the waters come to Lake Air and the birds return, do you feel like you're witnessing a landscape or a living thing coming back to life?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's a good question.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's it's a good perspective of cycle, if anything.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: And living out here and seeing the changes of out here, especially Lake Air as well, you're really it's really apparent, like nature's cycles.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: And even just with the greenery of the landscape in general at the moment, obviously it's not like that at usually or very often, and just the significant amount of water that we've had has sprouted and created almost a completely different biome compared to what we're used to seeing, and with the lake too.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: So the birds coming down, it's it signifies that everything is exactly as it should be, and nature is capitalizing off its own success in a in a way.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and things come to life again, but uh sometimes there's those crustaceans or those shrimp and so forth living under the ground without any water for a long time, or are they deep into the ground and they've got moisture down there?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: You found a hole in my knowledge.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: So, what does flying over this country teach you that you don't learn from the ground?
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: As in flying out here compared to elsewhere, or for about the country itself?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: About the country.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: So looking at it from above rather than the ground, what's it teach you?
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Hmm, okay.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Scale and perspective.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, is probably the big one, which can be misconstrued because you don't understand how big it really is when you're up there at the same time.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if you're on the ground at the coast, which I haven't had the chance to do because of the national park and um it's just a lot harder to get out there, but you cannot see the other end of the coast, and you probably won't be able to no matter how clear of a day it is.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Whereas when you're up in the sky, you can.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: You've got a nice, ironically, bird's eye view of as much as you can see, depending how high you are.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that people kind of miscon misunderstand that when a common question that I get is how fast we're going.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's probably the most common question.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: I asked that question this morning.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you did.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, you did.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it the answer of that question lets people understand exactly how big of an area they're flying over.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: So you tell people, you know, between 200, maybe even 250 kilometers an hour, depending on the wind, and you'll they most of the time respond to me, wow, it doesn't feel like we're moving at all.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, in a way, it doesn't if you look straight down, because you are covering so much area, and it's just it's a good way to think about it if you're moving that fast and not moving at all.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's a lot of space that you're trying to cover.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: So just painting a picture on the scale of it, how many kilometers long and how many wide?
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Depending on where you're standing, obviously, but about 140 from south to north, for like A north, and depending on where you're standing again, but about 55 to 65, 70, um, east-west.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: So quite a space of time.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: If you were to walk that distance, you you probably wouldn't be able to do it in a day, that's for sure.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's quite fascinating too.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: The different land formations, I think they were east-west, were they, or south.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: So the sand dunes, which you know we we just use as a signification of the Terrari Desert beginning just north of Clayton Station.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Predominantly easterly, westerly winds out here.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's formed the sand dunes.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and the constant blowing and soft ground too, because a lot of the area is like quite hard rock, which you may have noticed out at the out at the airfield.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: You've got a lot of stones and fairly solid ground.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: But it softens up as you head a bit further north, and of course, loose ground is much more malleable and easy to be adapted by the elements, creating little dunes and winds because wind comes over, picks up a bit, and creates another sand dune because it's just uh it's almost like you're on a seesaw.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then it grows some vegetation, I notice, on the top of those sand dunes, which must keep it together then.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and to be honest, even my boss and everyone who's been here for a long time saying that seeing the vegetation on top of those sand dunes is quite incredible.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: I've only been here for about just over a year and a half, and I've seen quite a change, but to see the vegetation on top apparently is quite quite a significant event to show just how much water we've had out here in the past past few months.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: Is this something that you've seen from the air that a lot of people wouldn't know about?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for example, a bug hitting the windscreen at 6,000 feet.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that blew my mind.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: That definitely blew my mind.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: I still think about it to this day.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: I woke up in nightmares, how how I got up there.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um and it was the size of size of my hand as well, so quite terrifying stuff.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm rather I'm glad it's up there and not down here with us, because a bug the size of my hand, I'd rather not have in have in the living room with me.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um but in the sense of everything else, like the views are unmatched, you know, we can talk about it forever.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a nice shallow part of Lake Air, which I was talking about earlier today.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: Just past the Manigan Gulf, um, the water obviously thins out a bit and it's creates this really, really strong glass effect.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have a few clouds over the top of the lake, it's so reflective that um you cannot tell the difference between the horizon and the lake itself.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's beautiful.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: And on some days you get really good ones, other days, you know, you you really got to hope for the best.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: But when you have the right amount of cloud and there's been a bit of rain, so it's topped up to a nice level, it's fantastic.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I've never seen anything quite like that before.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: So do you still look out the window and go, wow?
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, you do.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Every day's a little bit different.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: Some people might think doing the same thing on repeat for days and days and days and weeks and months.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: You might get sick of it, and you don't really.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: There's enough change, the people are always interesting.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And even if it is a similar view, you just kind of tell yourself that it's once in a lifetime thing that you're seeing here.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think right now it is.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm considering it that way.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, truly.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this year has been massive.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: So about the deepest it's been since 1989, from what I've been told.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And to be honest, I can tell, even if it was a quarter or three quarters as full as it is now, it's it's still just a spectacle.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I think Lake Air is it's one of those things where no matter how much uh water is or isn't in it, it'll always be fantastic to go and see because it's it's just varietal.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: There's it's different views, different times, less water, you get some really significant colours in the water that is there, and you get the the uh the contrast between the salt and the water, and it's it's quite vibrant.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, now with just the abundance of water that we're getting and the apparence of why they called it an inland sea at the end of the day.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: So when the water arrives, like say you've you've been dry for a couple of years, or nearly dry, and then the water arrives, how long does it take for the birds to come?
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: Or they come with the water and the fish?
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Look, it's a that's part of the question as well.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: I got here in March and there'd already been a significant amount of water.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: I was doing a couple flights around from that time, and I think by the end of March, from memory, is about when they were starting to congregate and make their way down, especially up in the northern side on the Warburton area.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I think maybe about a month or so after that is when they settled down on Dalhunty Island and began the process of what you saw today.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, where there's just thousands of them resting, hanging out, you know, having a lunch break effectively before fishing and looking after their young.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well said you said you were here, you arrived here in March.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: How many flights have you done since then?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh that's a heck of a question.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: More than I can count on my fingers and toes together.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: At least 150, I'd say, as a rough ballpark figure.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: I can get you the exact number, but I don't know.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Do you remember the most spectacular sight you've seen?
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Sunrise, sunset, particular birds.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, all the sunrise flights that we can get up in the in time to do are stunning, beautiful, especially when you can be over the lake, just the colours and the reflection of the light.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it's it's fantastic.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: The birds, when they fly together in flocks, almost look like they're dancing in the sky.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's quite interesting.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, that famous V shape that they do when they're flying in formation.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's amazing how they do it.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes there's there's there's at least 50 birds in this V formation.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you're looking down on them.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of the time you are, but you've also got to keep your eyes forward because you never know if you're gonna come into the into the dancer, dancer flocks and make your day a little bit worse.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: It hasn't happened to anyone yet, to my knowledge, because we're all pretty vigilant out there and careful, but it is something that you've got to pay attention to.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, beauty is pain, I guess.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to be careful if you want to look at something as nice as that.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: But you're also on the also got to be quite aware of what else is around you, such as planes.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: Today, I think there was three or four other planes up around the lake, was there?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think during the peak, when we were over the center, there were seven either in the lake coming in or out.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, traffic is the most important thing to us because it's the most apparent and one that is happening all the time around us.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so communication is very important.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: As you heard, the radio is constantly going off, and you've got to be paying attention to each and every call to make sure that they are either not going to be in your way, or if they are, how you can manage that and keep everyone nice and separated and safe and comfortable.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: There's some nice flight etiquette too, isn't there?
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So we we have a certain set of rules that we follow, and everyone out there is a professional, so they all understand those rules.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And after you've been out there long enough, you can begin to understand or expect what certain aircraft from certain locations are going to do.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And you can pre-plan in your mind.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think coming out here early, it was a bit to take in, trying to understand what everyone was trying to do at the same time and make sure that you fit into that properly, and vice versa, and they fit into what you're doing as well.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_01: So um, for our listeners though, like seven planes up over a lake at the one time, you think that's pretty busy, but really I only just spotted one from miles away.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: One plane.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: We we didn't see any others.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, seven is not that much.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Seven's actually quite a quiet morning, especially at the time that we were up.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've been up where there are 15, perhaps even 20 planes at the same time.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: Over the Mari Man, which is just south of Lake Air, there was an occasion where there were I think it was five, no, four, four planes at different altitudes, all circling around the same point.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so you've got to be that's when you have to really be vigilant is to make sure that you are not going higher or lower than you should be, and pay attention to make sure that nobody else is going higher or lower than they should be, while also trying to tell your customers some fun facts.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, what to think about.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Is there something that um people misunderstand constantly about the lek?
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: Scale once again.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure I think there's a better answer here that I can think of.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: The good-looking pilots, mate.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, obviously.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but you know, as soon as you step through our front door, you'll know that that's that's no issue whatsoever.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: Maverick?
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, no, don't call me that.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: So, what do you hope your customers take away from the experience?
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, I just hope that they can, you know, a lot of people come into it with expectations, and 90% of the time, if not more, those expectations are blown out of the water.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of all that's that's all we're here to do is to show them what they have heard so much about and have really wanted to see for sometimes years and never got the chance.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: And just seeing people's faces and hearing their reviews upon the landing of of how they felt about the whole thing, it's you know, I don't really mind what they take away because you know that they've had a fantastic time and seen something that yeah, it's it's quite rare and beautiful.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: So absolutely.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of characters in town, but you would have had a lot of characters come through as tourists as well.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: Is there any that stick to mind?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: I had a couple of blokes who um got out of the car because they drove themselves out to Clayton Station and I was running through some stuff and about to about to get everybody in, and they asked me a quick question, they're like, hey mate, can we bring a slab with us up here?
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, an entire slab?
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like 24, 24 Australian beers.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: And they were like, Yeah, you know, I'm like, well, there's just two of you.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: So what are your plans over this one and a half hour period of time between now and then?
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they've got to have a leak.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, that's right.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it's like we don't want to don't want to not bring enough.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, well, unfortunately, you can't bring any.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: So they were slightly disappointed about that.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I said, you know, you'd rather be hydrated up there anyway, to be honest.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you need to go to the loo, I'm sorry, but I'm not giving you one of my bottles.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: And we all know about breaking the seal.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: And remote communities often rely on each other.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_01: What have you learned from those people?
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well, small communities, the people rely on each other strongly, whether that's you know, because someone has a certain skill set or machine, I guess.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: And when I first got here in March, too, I guess as a first hand experience, a lot of this place was blocked off.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there was water everywhere, specifically out on the Birdsville track, that first four kilometer section, the Frome, you couldn't get through there no matter how hard you tried with a car at that point in the year.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, not just myself, um, other planes in the area, we were either delivering things for people who couldn't get it themselves.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: I did a few fence check runs with with uh Shane, the owner of Clayton, just to make sure everything that was was okay and nothing too significant had been destroyed in the in the floods that we had.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: But everyone helps each other out in any way that they can, you know, because a lot of people here understand that it can be rough.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes things don't go the way that you expect them to.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes you're simply just stuck, and someone can help you out, and under no occasions wouldn't they.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's an important sense of community, and I think the smaller the community, the more important that sense is.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think city people misunderstand about life out here?
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think, and coming from a city person originally myself, like I was born and raised in Melbourne and Hong Kong, so two very much metropolis areas.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's that you don't need as much as you think you do.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, people come people mention or ask, how do you live out there?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing to do.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, well, what do you really need at the end of the day?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Food, water?
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: You should be able to entertain yourself as an adult.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you really don't need much to be happy and comfortable.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I that's probably the first thing that comes to mind is the simplicity.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: They they can't quite comprehend the simplicity.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's a really good message.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: Mate, you've had a pretty interesting career already, though.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Before you were flying, you were a teacher.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_01: Can you tell me about that and where were you?
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, sure.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: So up in the APY lands predominantly, well, exclusively, in a in a little community up there.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um worked in a school, obviously.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: Helping out in classrooms a lot um as an assistant, but then also running a music class myself, which was my first introduction to Outback Living and uh things of that nature, and it was vastly different to hear, vastly different.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: Neither are better than the other.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: I've learned a lot about both places and about People and cultures as well.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I say culture, and that doesn't necessarily just mean indigenous culture, which is obviously quite important, but just the general subconscious culture of people who live in a white Western people who live in a town like Maori compared to what we were talking about earlier in the city, you know.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: Different ways of thinking, different ways of life, different attacks on problems.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that's always really interesting to me, is that a certain issue might arise, and depending on where you're from and your upbringing, you could attack that same problem and solve it in a completely different way to the person from a different upbringing.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm quite happy to have been around a lot of different country and a lot of different people from different parts of country and mindsets.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think everybody should.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a big world out there.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: Gotta try and see at least some of it, I think.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a big world, but you were in very remote little isolated communities, uh, a full indigenous school.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: Correct, yes.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: Of say how many?
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, about 50, I guess, on a good day.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's that's a huge experience for you.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: And you're teaching music.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: Was that a tough gig?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: Very tough.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Kids on any good day can be hard to teach if they're not if they're not one just in general, you know, and it's like herding cats, and I'm sure any other people who have worked with children would agree.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: But also, it's so fulfilling at the same time when a little person is passionate about something and then they follow through with that and you see growth, there's not really much that compares to it.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's tough, but any job is at the end of the day, everything's got their challenges and everything's got their positives.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's just so different.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to realize in places like that that you are an outsider.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, for one, it's not it's not your country, it's not your home, these aren't your people at the end of the day.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: So what happens there is out of your hands, and you've got to you've got to understand that it's different, you know?
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: And instead of trying to make them your way, like I think a lot of people in the West have done in the past, not to get into that too much, but you've kind of gotta flip the coin and be like, all right, I'm gonna try and do this in a way that works for me, but also respects the way that you think and live.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: So that was tough in itself.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Did it take a while to be accepted in those communities?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh as a as an individual, yes.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: It was quite a high turnover.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Seeing a lot of people come and go um is quite common out there.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, if you you just try to be genuinely a good person and are interested in what's happening around you, no, you will be accepted.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll just you won't be as a part of the community per se, but they will see you as someone genuinely being there for a good purpose and trying to help them.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, good.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: Is there a one particular memory that stays in your mind from in those teaching in those small communities?
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and it's look, there's plenty.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's not necessarily a status quo way of education, you know?
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: And the days outs and excursions that you would do just for the sake of it were completely different to anything that you do back in a city school, for example.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like you'd go on a hike as a random Thursday between recess and lunch, and the students would just no worries find two or three lizards throughout the day and bring them back in their pockets and start combing their hair with them.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: The thorny devils were always really interesting.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: They would, because obviously they're quite prickly, the girls would comb their hair with them, and I found that fascinating.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'd never tried it myself, but I'm sure it feels nice.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_01: It'd hurt me if I tried it, mate.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: I've got no hair on my head.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's right.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: Just be a bit of a back scratcher for you.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: Going back to aviation, how important is aviation to remote stations and communities?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, hugely, I think.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of like how we were talking about before, just the access, um, the ease of access and the ability to transfer items or people if really needed.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lifeline at the end of the day, I guess.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: And the Royal Flying Doctors are a perfect example of that.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect example for people in places that cannot get the help that they need.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: Aircrafts and the people who fly them can sometimes be the thing that helps, which is an honorable way to use a qualification, I think.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: You genuinely feel like you're you're helping people.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that's ultimately what I believe a job should be.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're using your skills and your machines for good, what more could you ask for at the end of the day?
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: But yes, I think it's it's very appreciated out here as well.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's not taken for granted, but very important at the same time.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Has technology come into play a bit more since you've started flying?
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yes and no.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: Light aircraft like the ones that we flew in today tend to be a bit of a time capsule in history.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: Not much has changed in the internals.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they operate similar to how they did back when they were made, you know, in the 80s, 90s.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this you're saying before this plane we're in this morning is what 40 or 50 years old?
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: Late 70s, it was Bill, yeah.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: And you said to me you would trust this plane more than you would trust a new car.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, easy.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: That made me feel good.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it's just so diligent.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: The maintenance done on them all the time.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I'm very strict.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: 100 hours, no more, and until it has to go and get a service.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: 50 hours at least, every 50 hours it needs a complete oil change, oil filter change.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then certain milestones along the way past that 100, it'll need like a major service and do this, that, or the other.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, like it's got a landing gear, for example, so every 500 hours it'll need a complete, complete rework of that to make sure everything's good.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I I trust them.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: I trust them quite a bit.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: And for a major service, where do you take that to?
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, we take it down to Gulwa, um, which is a nice three-hour flight over the Flinders.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because we are we are based in Gulwa.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_00: And do you think people are connecting more with the APAC these days?
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: It certainly seems like it.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Certainly seems like it.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: And whether that's the influence of social media, word of mouth, television, hard to say, I think.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: But a lot of people are starting to understand what's out here and why people come out here at all.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope it grows, because really it is a beautiful part of the world.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: And for the businesses out here too, I think they deserve, they deserve the the influx of people and to keep everyone turning over and making the most.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everyone's everyone's got to have a life, and the people out here are have a pretty good one, and they're just trying to show everybody else.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well said.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: Lake Air and Flinders Rangers, for example, that's recognized internationally.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: You get a lot of international tourists come through.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, look, honestly, mostly Australians.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: Mostly Australians.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Occasionally you get a few international tourists.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: But I think the downside, or at least the deterrent for international tourists, is just the fact that it is quite a significant distance from a major city.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: So the idea of renting a car, which they'll have to do because if they're international, they probably won't have their own.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then driving it all the way up here into what is to them completely unknown arid territory.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: So that's my personal aspect on why it's mostly Australians.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: But there are slowly an increase of international people, especially young international people.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: You know, backpack is what you predominantly see out here.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Just going on road trips and trekking the Great Sandy Australia more than anything.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have a favorite time of the day to fly?
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: First thing in the morning.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: Always, all day.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: The weather is smooth, the lighting most of the time quite beautiful.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very consistent time to fly at the end of the day.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: At the beginning of the day, at the end of the day.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so morning flights, definitely.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_01: So sunrise, sunset, or a storm rolling across the desert.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: Which one wins?
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: Which one wins?
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: In the sense of views or yeah.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_00: Sunset, I'd say, for views.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: I have flown around storm cells before, and that was pretty fantastic.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, as long as you fly around it in a way that is safe.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: You fly on the on the way that it's coming from, because then it's not blowing into you, but it's it's beautiful.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's beautiful.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Seeing it was just to the east of the lake, funny enough.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: And to the left, it was blue skies, reflective water, everything that you saw this morning.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then to the right was this really deep, dark, grey, scary looking thing with lightning shooting every 25 seconds.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: No way.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it was awesome.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was awesome.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: As long as you know that you're in the right spot at the right time, it's awesome.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, well, apart from that, what's the strangest thing you've ever seen from the air?
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: So I saw something quite interesting last year at the end as the water was starting to depreciate.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: These little tracks along from the edge of the coast until about would have been 10 to 12 kilometers inland of the lake or, you know, into the salt.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, what is that?
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: So we I tracked them with my eyes, and I see an emu coming the other way, and there's a set of tracks returning just next to it.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: So this emu had walked many, many kilometers out, realized that there's no water, and started walking back.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it looked quite sad, to be honest with you.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_00: But it was an incredible distance that it walked.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I haven't seen anything quite like that yet, because wildlife, or at least ground wildlife, you don't see too many of um surrounding the lake on most days.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought that was quite interesting and funny.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: Possibly going out there for water and then realize it was too salty.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it was still quite a while away from the water, too.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's just a bad day all around for the poor Emma.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: All right, Lockie, are you up for some off-the-wall questions?
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, why not?
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: Short answers.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: What's the best landing you've ever made?
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: The one this morning with you.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: It was perfect.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: You had a crosswind.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going on what's going to happen here.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: The runway's narrow, but you nailed that.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: I only say that because now I have proof with you.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: What's a landing you'd rather forget?
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, there was ones with significant crosswinds where I was a little bit spooked.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: The plane was coming in, would have been at it felt like a 45-degree angle, and I had to use the entirety of my foot to swing it back around.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: Luckily, got it down, no worries at all.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: But that I would have rather have not done that.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: Would have rather have uh landed somewhere else, or you know, just a little bit less wind would have been appreciated by me, I think.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: What's one thing every passenger says when they first look out the window?
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: Don't swear.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: How fast are we going?
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: If your aircraft could tell one story, what story would it tell?
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: I think about this quite often.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: There's probably been hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have sat in the plane that we sat in today.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I just think the impossible book of history that has happened in that same plane, you could tell, you could write movies about, but we'll just never know.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's been so much in 40, 50 years that that plane's been around.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: The amount of places it's gone, people it's had, you know, close calls it's potentially had, you know, happy moments, sad moments, it's it's like an old house.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's just got a a soul about it at the end of the day.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: If you could take one person over Lake Air, who would you take and why?
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, my grandfather would be a great choice.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: My my entire grandparent four, I could fit all four of them.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: Bring them all up as one big happy family, I think.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: Show them what you know, the lake's been around as long as they're alive, but I'm sure that they haven't seen it in the way that I get to every day.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: What's one place in this country everyone should see from above?
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, what kind of question is that?
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: After these flying years that you've had, after flying this amazing part of Australia, what still takes your breath away?
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_00: Sunrises and sunsets.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly, out here they're stunning.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: Such flat land, and it just feels like it goes on forever.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: Could see one every day and be stoked about it.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: All right, Lockie, if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, great question.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: Completely irrelevant to the Australian Outback, but I've really liked the idea of Edinburgh, Scotland.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Really into my castles and the history there.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's fascinating.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, beautiful.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, I like rainy weather, funny enough.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: Do you?
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: I do.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I think I'll get a lot of enjoyment living somewhere like that.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Lockie, we've had a cracking morning with you, mate.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: We've got some views and the and experience that we didn't expect.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: And um love this chat, mate.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_01: And we're in good hands this morning up in the air.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it and your time this morning.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, mate.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: You're welcome anytime.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: I do.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what a view.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: And what a great chat with Lockie.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: Seeing Catty Thander Lake Air from the air with the water so close to full was something I'll never forget.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: And now there's plenty more episodes to come from Mari in South Australia.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: More stories from some pretty special people living and working in rural and remote Australia.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for listening.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'll catch you next time.