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A small, close-knit town with a population of around 940 people offers a simple yet charming way of life. It features a family-run supermarket, a post office, a local liquor store, and a community pool.
“It’s a dead-end town,” a local resident explained. “You can’t just pass through it; it’s the last stop on the road, which makes it a very close-knit community.”
He went on to describe the unique appeal of living in Australia’s outback, highlighting the stunning natural beauty and the supportive community spirit. However, he also noted the challenges posed by their remote location.
“Flights from the nearest town, Kununurra, tend to be quite expensive,” he remarked, underscoring the logistical hurdles faced by residents.
Inspired by the practical approach of outback pilots, many of whom use small aircraft for personal travel, he reflected on childhood memories. One vivid recollection is of his friend’s father, who would land his helicopter next to their home after a day of cattle mustering.
“The town, over the years, many times have asked for government support to get these regional airfares reduced, because it just makes it really, really challenging for most locals to fly out of Kununurra.”
Forrest became inspired by outback pilots who use a small aircraft for their personal use, including his childhood friend’s dad who would land his helicopter next to his home after a day of mustering.
To make his life easier, he decided to do the same.
He travelled 1000km to Darwin every fortnight for 11 months to train for his pilot’s license before he was given the green light.
Now, it takes Forrest only 15 minutes to fly to the next major supermarket in Kununurra.
He said it has made everything more accessible for him.
“Having my own plane, having my plane license as well, just means that I can wake up in the morning, and if I have to, I can hop in my plane and fly to Darwin in an hour and a half, opposed to a 10-hour drive,” he said.
“It also means that getting to the remote locations across the Kimberley, like Broome or the Bungle Bungles or even remote communities, has opened up and made everything a whole lot more accessible.
“What would usually take an entire day to get across the Kimberley only takes two hours.”
Forrest has shared his pilot journey on social media, where he also famously posts videos with his grandad for storytelling and sharing their outback living.
That’s when someone from the remote Indigenous town of Amanbidji reached out for help.
The small community, near the Northern Territory border, had been cut off due to cyclone-prompted flooding and was forced to go without any fresh produce for weeks.
Forrest did 100kg of shopping for them, loaded up the plane and flew to their town, where he was greeted by community members who received their first fresh food in weeks.
“Where I can, I like to help out,” he said.
“I’ve had a lot of people reach out through social media all over Western Australia, people who live in rural, Indigenous communities who were there for work, asking if I could potentially help fly their mum from Broome to the remote communities.”
For now, he has been forced to limit his plane use to necessary travel only.
“It’s gone up significantly. So at the moment, I’m paying around $3.64 per litre, and the plane burns 54 litres an hour,” he said.
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