Lunatic pilot & deserted Island- Backpacker to Nomad Memoir excerpt #3
Hi everyone I’m delighted to share with you an exclusive sneak peek into the third travel story from my new travel memoir “Backpacker to Nomad.”
Castaway trip Australia with a kamikaze pilot
Before I could reply to Tom, two vest-top-wearing backpackers, who shook more than the palms leaves above appeared from the jetty. They both looked rough and in dire need of a shower.
“This pilot is bullsheet, crazy, crazy. Good luck!” said of them in a thick French accent while powering right by us down the sandy path to the open road.
Like a kangaroo, the kacky shorts, sandal-wearing pilot jumped out in front of us.
“Serious question — Are ya two scared little Sheila’s too or do ya have a pair of cahoonas?”
Both of us nodded without saying a word, grabbed our bags knowing what the other was thinking, and sprinted through the loosely fitted wooden jetty as the small seaplane came into view. I called it first while pulling and pushing each other, grabbing onto each other’s bag, fighting, and climbing over each other for the passenger seat like two little kids.
Leaving Agnes water mainland
“Shotgun!”
“Fair dinkum, you boys seem a lot more excited than ya friends.” The wacky pilot followed while laughing as I rest against the passenger side door.
It didn’t even occur to ask him what the Island was like. I think we wanted it to be a surprise the tingle of fear of the unknown felt exciting. Tom jumped in the back before I slid onto the passenger side beside the pilot. All other thoughts had disappeared, and the dark cloud had momentarily vanished too as he handed over the headset.
“Ready co-pilot,” He asked.
Calm before the storm
My heart skipped a beat hearing the words, It was the first time since Fraser Island that there was a genuine cheesy grin plastered on my face. Just as the propellers started to spin and the engine turned, vibrations shot through the seat but so did adrenaline.
I could feel it coursing through my veins. All the dials on the wooden dashboard started to move, and along with the adrenaline, cocktail nerves jangled mixed together as the plane started to move. As big as my grin was the pilot was even bigger as he looked across.
“Gnarly hey?” His words came through my headset.
I nodded back my eyes fixed out the window as we skimmed over the calm waters. It was another first experience to tick off the ever-growing list. For the first time since meeting him, the pilot was calm and acted like an actual pilot. Up until now, it seemed like he had taken too much acid and mushrooms in his life.
Something dropped in the pit of my stomach as the plane lifted, turning back to see Tom’s matching cheesy grin looking out the window.
It was moments like this that are made to savor and makes all the bullshit worth it going through. I was learning to capture and feel moments like this while backpacking in Australia
This story was originally on Forever Roaming the World
