The Mind Creative OCT 2013
I knew that this chance of flying alone would
not happen again too soon. Blues and whites
and greens and gold flashed around me. I
could hear a hum of metal rolling above me
from the “fox” and looking ahead, I could
see the opposite cliff come rushing forward
as my speed increased towards the finish of
the run. A steel pylon faced me a few yards
ahead and I realised that I had not received
instructions about stopping!
“My face is going to be plastered across that
pylon,” I thought. Fortunately, a sudden yank
from behind brought me to my feet. An
attendant then materialised and help me out
of the apparatus. The adrenalin rush gave
me boundless courage, which was cooled off
pretty quickly as I walked back across the
bridge, carrying my equipment. Given the
opportunity, I would have gladly given a
press interview about my now-famous solo
flight!
Emotions were still high as I drove back to
Queenstown and into the comfort of a hot
spa. I saw the terrace of my family’s gold
claims that were detailed in a gold miners
map in my friend’s museum.
This is not an area of country to be taken
lightly and Skippers Road has seen little
change since it was built 150 years ago.
The beauty of the landscape was probably
never appreciated by the hard-working
men who lived dangerously and were only
aware of their lonely work and rough living
conditions.
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