A hundred kilometres long, between two and four kilometres high and moving at speeds of up 60km/h, it must rank as the world’s most gargantuan wave – at least that’s the way hang glider Jonny Durand looks at the rare Australian cloud formation known as the Morning Glory.
For the past week Durand, a world number one-ranked hang glider, has been waking each morning at the vast salt flats around the tiny town of Burketown in Queensland, Australia and looking to the skies for any sign of the rare phenomenon, a massive wall of cloud which speeds across the Gulf of Carpentaria when weather conditions offshore and temperatures inland are just right.
And if he looks up and spots what he’s looking for, it will be the cue for a frantic burst of activity as Durand attempts to become one of a precious few to ‘surf’ this amazing cloud formation - and capture it all on film.
“It’s an amazing challenge,” he explains from his Burketown base, he and his camera crew and technicians causing a mini-population explosion in the tiny town which boasts just 178 people.
“I’ve been dreaming of this for nearly a decade,” he says. “I heard it was possible about 10 years ago and I think everything I’ve done so far has been leading up to this. For me, it really is like a surfer riding a wave. I really don’t know what to expect. It’s an incredible force of nature. I imagine it looks like someone surfing a tsunami.”
Durand’s preparations couldn’t have been better though. A competition flyer since 1997, in 2006 after an excellent season he climbed to number one on the world rankings, and with over 100 competitions under his belt and a constant top-5 world ranking he couldn’t be more qualified to ‘surf’ the cloud. With him for the experience will be a full film crew, making a documentary about his mission to ride the Morning Glory.
“When we do spot the cloud, I’ll be towed up by an ultralite to the cloud and I’ll be released to fly. There’ll be a helicopter close-by filming. On that there’s an amazing cineflex camera, about a million dollars worth and that can zoom in on me from about 5km away, it can pick up the tiniest details. Also much closer in will be the ultralite, fliming just off my wing tip.”
The cloud formation though can be elusive. Last year Jonny spent 10 days on the salt flats and not once did the Morning Glory show. This time he’s allowed himself a similar timeframe and with half the period gone the cloud has yet to make a filmable appearance.
“We did have one when I first arrived up here on Monday,” he says. “But there was no ultralite here. It came through so fast, just incredible. We must have missed it by five minutes. But we’re keeping our fingers crossed. The weather has definitely been improving, the conditions are getting better for the cloud.”
And when it does appear, what can he expect from the ride?
“I don’t know to be honest,” he laughs. “On Monday when the cloud came through, I was on the ground and the wind was so strong it was unbelievable, it must have been reaching 50/60km/h, it was pushing me round like a bit of tumbleweed!
“It will be easier in the air though, it won’t be a problem,” he adds.
“Landing could be tricky – it’s on the ground that the real danger lies."
But when he’s flying, Durand admits the views are incredible.
“This is one of the most remote places in Australia,” he says. “Burketown is about five hours, about 400km from the next settlement, so it’s pretty far removed. All the food has to be flown in or trucked in and the last 100km getting to here are real rough. There’s one pub and one fuel station.
“But it is incredibly beautiful,” he adds. “When you’re in the air the salt flats make it look like you’re flying over the surface of Mars. The whole area is tidal so there are river beds cut through it and so when you’re up there you look down and it looks like the most incredible series of trees painted on the land. You can never see that from the ground. In the air though... amazing.”
And more amazing with the prospect of the world’s biggest ‘wave’ attached.
“We’re here until the 25th,” he says. “And so far nothing. We can only hope the conditions are right for it and that it does come. And when it does, well, it’ll be a big dream realised.”
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