![]() We stride out into the middle of the field, following in the footsteps of all the great aviators who have gone before us. The final touch – tying two long, blue and red shimmering ribbons to its bottom point that will act as a tail, giving the kite drag and balance. I tape down the two fibreglass rods in a cross on the back and then thread through some string attached to a spindle. It has a texture like paper but Michael explains it’s made from Tyvek – a polyethylene fabric that’s lightweight, durable and waterproof. It’s a design similar to the ones from my childhood – a diamond shape with a long tail. It contains the kit for the first kite I’m going to flight-test. Michael unzips his bag of assorted contraptions and pulls out a packet. It tends to come off the water and change direction quickly. It blows differently this time of the year, here, near the Royal Botanic Garden. I’m concerned there’s only a kiss of a breeze, but Michael assures me the wind will appear when we need it. The Domain will make a perfect launch pad for my maiden lift-off – a large field of open grass, trees far away on the fence line, with no powerlines or obstructions. Five kilometres! I’ll be happy just to get my kite off the ground. Their determination was impressive: after 40 attempts over 10 years they finally cracked it, sending their kite an extraordinary 5km into the Earth’s atmosphere. Their base camp was an isolated sheep station in outback New South Wales so they wouldn’t disrupt flight paths. In fact, seven years ago Michael and a group of his mates broke the world record for the highest-altitude kite flight. Michael has been teaching people to fly kites for 30 years. ![]() People often use the phrase He walks with a spring in his step – well, Michael is one of those people who truly does. With his gentle weathered features under his battered hat and his khaki attire, Michael could have walked out of a verse of Waltzing Matilda. What’s he got in there? A kite that size could take us to the moon. Michael arrives carrying a long canvas bag big enough to fit a canoe. I can feel the joy rising just thinking about it. I can’t wait to scamper through the grass, under the sun, squinting into the wide blue sky, tethered to a long-tailed comet. I want to shout to the throng: Hey! Hang out with me instead! I have a date with the wind! My re-enchantment with nature has rekindled my inner child. Yet these days, indoors holds so little appeal. It’s as though the kite is an extension of my body and my hand can touch the sky.
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