The COVID-19 pandemic dragged on, and the Pacific Islands turned out to be some of the last nations on earth to open their borders. Additional engine work also made it prudent to fly another 100 hours before setting out across wide ocean stretches. Thus I made my way back to Australia in November of 2022 to take yet another turn around the Australian continent, visiting many new and unusual sights along the way.

Having previously flown extensively around the coastline, this time I decided to spend a bit more time in the interior; as well as a couple of coastal locations which I had not visited before such as Darwin. I also planned to visit a wide selection of Australia’s “Big Things”, a few of which I had visited back in 2020 – these outsized and unusual sculptures, often rather amateurish, dot the Australian landscape.

It was exciting to touch down in Australia again after nearly two long years, and make my way back to Planey to see if I still remembered how to fly him…

The write-up of the Australia (part 3) section of the trip can be found below.

• Australia 3, Part 1: Getting back in the air
• Australia 3, Part 2: Big Things in Queensland
• Australia 3, Part 3: The Gulf of Carpentaria and Arnhem Land
• Australia 3, Part 4: Northern Australia
• Australia 3, Part 5: Western Australia desert
• Australia 3, Part 6: Southwest Australia
• Australia 3, Part 7: Southeast Australia
• Australia 3, Part 8: Return to Maitland