Not everyone has the luck to be related to a pilot, let alone one who has their own plane; Craig and I are related to two. And not only that, their plane is one of the coolest ones around – a 1957 Auster. It was built to last and is still going strong, with most of its original accessories, although certain modern essentials such as a radio have been added. The compass is of the same style Jean Batten would have used to make her historic flight across the Tasman Sea, and the wooden propeller needs to be spun by hand to get the engine started.

We headed down to Goolwa, an airfield south of Adelaide where the plane lives, and after Mat got the plane ready, we were off. Since there’s only space for three, my sister Anna had to stay behind – but as a pilot herself she flies quite frequently (as does the baby, who looks very cute in aviator headphones).

Mat gave a running commentary of everything we could see below – the developments, the horse-drawn train, the river. South Australia is beautiful from above. After fifteen minutes or so, he asked me if I’d like to steer. I wasn’t too sure, I’m definitely not the aviator of the family, but the fact that he could always take control again allayed my fears. And having a go was awesome, it’s completely different to driving a car!

He took over again to take us back to the airfield and landed smoothly (as always). Craig and I were both grinning as we stepped out of the Auster and helped Mat wheel it back into the hanger – there’s nothing like a flight in a vintage plane to put you on cloud nine.

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This article was written by Linda Martin

Linda Martin is a self-confessed word geek, Spanish addict and world traveller. She and Craig have been travelling full-time for six years, taking in parts of Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. She's currently in A Coruña, Spain.