Diary of an aviation nut: As far from home as we're going to get

We said goodbye to Ross, Elsa and their friends during breakfast and then readied ourselves and our aircraft for departure from Cheela Plains.

Behind the area where we parked our aircraft there was a collection of huge mining dump trucks that towered over you as you walked up to them. We were told these sad and dejected relics were left there many years ago because they couldn't negotiate a creek on the way to some mine. There's many abandoned mines in the Pilbara and a lot of equipment left behind especially if recovery costs exceed scrap value. The Cheela Plains trucks are clearly the ghosts of a past time. Big yellow bones left where the mining frontier once pushed through Cheela Plains - or tried to.

Cheela Plains to Carnavon & meeting the Slinging Down Under guy

We left Cheela Plains at 8:45am in calm and cool conditions. It was a lovely morning and only about 12 deg at 6500'. This is often the best time to fly in the outback as the exposed rocky land hasn't had time to heat up and generate convective turbulence that can make flying in the mid to late afternoon unpleasant.

The 1.5hr flight to Carnavon passed quickly as we flew in smooth conditions over a barren land. On this leg we flew over a some desert areas and got our first sight of the uniform sand hills that dominate Australian desert areas.

Us pilots spend hours reading about or watching YouTube videos made by other pilots who are touring or ferrying aircraft around the world. One of the guys we've been following is Kade who has created the Slinging Down Under YouTube channel (Kade's aircraft is a Sling TSi). Kade's videos include the building of his aircraft, his first flights and now a tour of Australia with his wife Carly and young daughter Evie.

They left their home in Albury about a month ago and, from his videos and planned route, we knew they were traveling west across the bottom of Australia and then north up the coast of Western Australia. We wondered if we might bump into them somewhere.

As we pulled up to the fuel pumps at Carnavon, guess what? Over in the corner of the apron was Kade, Carly and Evie packing up their Sling, VH-KCB. We walked over to them and they were stoked when we said "hey - you're the famous Slinging Down Under guy". We had a great time chatting to them for about 30 mins swapping flying adventure stories, places to visit and experiences. A lovely family creating memories while showing their 7 year-old daughter the best of Australia. Maintaining a YouTube channel of the quality of Kade's Slinging Down Under channel is hard work, and I think Kade was genuinely chuffed to know we were regular followers who took the time to speak to him.

As we were chatting, Carly grabbed their camera and Kade interviewed Andrew, John and I for inclusion in his next YouTube episode. I hope it comes out OK!

After meeting Kade, Carly and Evie we walked into Carnavon for a coffee. Along the way we realised that Carnavon was the westerly most point we would be visiting in Australia and as far away from home as we were going to get. It was a bit sobering to realise that when we took off we would be heading for home.

Carnavon to Geraldton over Shark Bay

Denham in Shark Bay was high on my list for an overnight stop, but school‑holiday bookings had snapped up every room in town so we had to be content with overflying Shark Bay and carrying on south to Geraldton. However, the flight over and around Shark Bay didn't disappoint. Shark Bay is another piece of gorgeous Australian coastline. Crystal clear waters and miles and miles of white sandy beaches.

Shark Bay is large bay and includes the Peron Peninsular and is bounded by Dirk Hartog Island. I tracked from the mainland coast across the bay to the peninsular, passed overhead the Shark Bay airfield and onto the south end of Dirk Hartog Island. As I left the island and tracked south I could see large salt evaporation ponds at Useless Loop, (yes - Useless Loop is a real place name). This vast solar‑evaporation salt farm is one of the most remote, pristine, and impressive industrial sites in Australia. It produces exceptionally pure salt, thanks to the region’s dry climate, high evaporation rates, and ultra‑clean marine environment. The varying colours of the evaporation ponds beside the varying shades of blue of Shark Bay was stunning.

When we met Kade and Carly they told us to watch for whales on the coast as we tracked south from Shark Bay to Geraldton. It didn't take me long to find about 4 or 5 whales in the shallows just 100m or so offshore. The water was so clear you could see them beneath the surface and it was great watching them surface and "blow". I did several orbits around the first pod and saw several others as I tracked south at 1000 - 1500' along the impressive sand cliffs.

With a firm bump we arrived at Geraldton to conclude another great day of flying and meeting like-minded aviators.