Full Moon Flying

This time last night I was on a plane flying back from QLD. Let me tell you that place is so humid! It is great to visit but no way could I live there with that sort of humidity. I think the least humid day was around 60%. Anyway that is off the topic.

The flight home was 5 long hours. I had a window seat just on the edge of the wing. Once the cabin lights were turned down (due to the late hour of the flight) I was able to get a better view outside. There was not a cloud in sight and the full moon was so bright at first I thought it was one of the lights on the plane and then realised it wasn't flashing.

I believe at the time we were flying over Lake Eyre (not sure of the spelling) which is one of Australia's biggest inland lakes. Most of the time it is a salt lake with little to no water. This is one of those times. Most people would know how much a full moon can light up a dark night but I have never seen the earth from 12,000 feet on such a night. There was a halo around the horizon of the earth and the salt lakes beneath us glowed in dark landscape. On the edge of the lakes I could just make out the ghostly shadow of the creases in the folds of the landscape. It was an eerie but beautiful sight.

We soon passed over some small towns. From the air you can normally see all the lights of the houses and the roads. One of these towns was different. It was like everyone had tuned in early for the night and the only lights that were on were the street lights. It was like looking at a road map. Each road was a dotted line of light but the area where the houses were was dark. You could see how each block was laid out. It was fascinating.

By the time we hit Perth the plane flew in from a northern angle. As we slowly descended I looked out the window again and noticed that there appeared to be a trail of really bright white lights that seemed to be following the plane like a beacon to tell people we had arrived. The brightness would last a mere second before it faded to a pale dot on the landscape. Obviously I knew it wasn't lights but I couldn't figure out what it was until we descended even lower. The lights were in fact the reflection of the moon on pockets of water. I can only assume they were people's dams as they were quite rounded in shape. It wasn't until it hit part of the river that I realised what I was seeing. It was beautiful and so bright. I wish I could have had a video camera on the wing to show you what I saw.

Over the next day or so I will post some photo's of my trip to QLD. At this stage I am being lazy thought Jackie did get me exercising tonight. Must go shopping for food tomorrow as there is none in the house. :)