Local flying tour operator Andrew Kube of A Kube Aviation recently hosted a flying tour which included parts of Queensland and South Australia. This is the experience he shared with those who joined the tour.

As a pilot I get to see some lovely things out of my office window. The inland of Australia never ceases to amaze. There is always something to surprise and delight and this trip was no exception.

The incredible flight over the Diamantina River with its fibrous channels. It's a sea of green as it makes its way sedately southwest. Pelicans, hawks and egrets circle on thermals above waterholes. Thirsty trees hug riverbanks.

The bird's eye view of rivers snaking their way towards Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast. These rivers are full of water and wildlife. A sunset cruise, spotting rare Snub-nosed Dolphins, crocodiles, osprey, sea eagles and much more.

Above - Flying over the Gulf of Carpentaria

An unforgettable flight along the Gulf coast. Creeks trace patterns like trees in full bloom, branches of creeks look like branches of trees. The floodplains are an artist's landscape. Colours tones and lines making a picture more beautiful than possible by a human hand.

Lawn Hill Gorge is a delightful surprise. Harsh scrubland makes way for a turquoise spring fed permanent creek, lined with pandanus and cabbage palms, framed by orange cliffs.

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Canoeing at Lawn Hill Gorge.

Nestled beside the Diamantina, Birdsville is home to around 120 people.

The iconic race track, pub, and the historic AIM hospital. Big Red at sunset, the infamous 30m high sand dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert. Drinks, nibbles, and some friendly flies with the fading inland light.

The incredible Goyder Lagoon. A massive wetland of sinewy channels and lagoons. No one ever expects this; it's one of the outback's hidden gems, only really appreciated from the air. Fed by the Diamantina River this lagoon empties into the Warburton Creek and then onwards to Lake Eyre. The elongated cinnamon coloured dunes of the Simpson Desert disappear northward, the russet gibber plains of the Strzelecki Desert stretch southward into the distance.

We skim the crystalized surface of Kati Thanda/Lake Eyre. We had tracked the progress of the floodwaters in the Warburton Creek. The rushing lead waters working their way towards the exquisite pastel browns of a slowly baking surface. We were stunned to see three yachts drifting with the floodwaters. The Lake Eyre Yacht Club was having it's inaugural outing for 2018.

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This 5-day trip with A Kube Aviation showed Nhill and Dimboola adventurers Sadie Williams, Alan Braithwaite, Cheryl Lowe and Janet Heenan some of Australia's most iconic locations including Lake Eyre / Kati Thanda, Birdsville, Innamincka, Lawn Hill Gorge and the Gulf of Carpentaria.