January. February 129From the f ield
A
NDREW GREGORY’S trip to the
Red Centre coincided with
record-high October tempera-
tures. When he arrived at Kings Canyon
to capture aerial photos, it was 40ºC and
the rim walk was closed. The next day it
was cooler and the walk was open early in
the morning. Andrew hiked to the top so
that he could fly his camera drone (which
took the above image of him) through the
narrow gap near the Garden of Eden and
out along the walls. “It was tricky because
there’s a big gum tree growing in the
middle of the narrowest part of the can-
yon, but I skimmed above it and flew out
for more than half a kilometre,” he says.
Getting permits and approval to fly in
national parks was Andrew’s biggest head-
ache. Regulations prohibit aircraft or
drones from taking off in certain parks, he
says, so he couldn’t get permission to fly at
Uluru or Kata Tjuta. Kings Canyon was
easier, but Andrew had to notify rangers
and discuss flight plans with helicopter
pilots who were doing scenic flights.
King of
the canyon
(^52) ABOV E THE CENTR E
F
OR OUR feature story on brumbies,
writer Amanda Burdon (above) and
photographer Jason Edwards flew
by helicopter into some of the more inac-
cessible parts of Kosciuszko National Park
to observe horses and their impact on the
river systems and plains. From the air
they saw large mobs, including some
magnificent grey roans and quite a few
foals born only weeks earlier. “We also
High above the High Country
(^72) W HER E THE W ILD HORSES A R E
saw where the horses had been wallow-
ing in the creeks and degrading the creek
beds, and the braid of tracks that they use
across the plains to access food and
water,” says Amanda. “We had gone
from 40°C-plus days in Central Australia,
to the Snowy Mountains, where it
hovered at about 5°C degrees or lower
overnight. It just went to prove how
hardy and adaptable these horses are!”