A_F_2015_01_02_

S

ometimes you meet a stranger who

makes a profound impression on

you. Half way through our air safari

through the Top End in September,

we’d stopped for three nights at the

tiny coastal community of Cape

Leveque, about 100 nm north of

Broome. This is a decadent, lengthy

stopover in the scheme of things, but

if I’ve learnt anything from flying

around the country, it’s to make sure

you have a breather. This was ours.

Meeting over

a tie-down

We were staying at Kooljaman,

an aboriginal-owned wilderness

camp, and a safari destination I

cannot recommend highly enough

(kooljaman.com.au). From budget

log cabins to rustic-lux safari tents,

this remote resort offers a memorable

WA greeting and it’s all just steps

from your aircraft. So, having soaked

off a hot day of aviating in that

divine Indian Ocean, my mind was

on sunset photography and trying

to capture the memorable scene at

the airstrip ... a row of exhausted

little aircraft with their tails to the

scrub, all tied down into the rich red

Kimberley dust. The charter flights

had whisked the last of their wide-

eyed passengers back to Broome, so

all was quiet as I followed the path

down to the strip where an elderly

gentleman was wandering towards

me. I subconsciously took in the eco

shopping bag and the steady gaze,

the shining eyes and the ready smile.

As often happens, it took around

30 seconds to establish our common

interest in the yellow cones we were

stepping over, and that he was in fact

the pilot of the little Brumby parked

next to ours. It seems he was having a

devil of a time trying to hammer his

tie-down pegs into that beautiful but

unforgiving Kimberley earth. “Here,

let’s have a look,” said Rossy, who by

this stage had come bounding up to

us, and he had that little Brumby

tied down against a force-10 gale in

no time. The gratitude of the gentle

stranger showed in his enormous

smile. “Hi, I’m Bert,” he beamed up

at Rossy as they shook hands. “I can’t

thank you enough for your help.”

Cape

Destinations SHELLEY ROSS

Shelley Ross

shares a chance

encounter with

a stranger on

a remote airstrip

on the Kimberley

coast.

20

AUSTRALIAN FLYING January - February 2015

MAIN: With a couple of

generations separating

them, a lucky young

charter pilot can’t get

enough of Bert’s spirit of

adventure.

LEFT: Great fishing,

beautiful beaches, no

crowds – you might just

like Kooljaman at Cape

Leveque.

PETER MERWOOD

Cameo at the