On August 5, Wayne was among 26 people and another 22 porters that headed up the northwest side of Mt Agung, heading to the top at 3200m.

They set off at 10pm the night before and it was a gruelling seven-hour trek through the night. There were 21 wings, 17 solos and four tandems that launched after sunrise, making this the biggest group to take on this challenge.

Some pilots made it to the beach in Candidasa, 20km away, with the rest landing in paddocks before the beach with a total flight time of around 45 minutes.

It was all part of Wayne increasing his experience and qualifications as an advanced paraglider pilot and this was his second trip to Bali with esteemed instructor Dave Wainwright, normally based at Laurieton, NSW.

“The forecast for Agung was really good so Dave asked if anyone wanted to make the trip, expecting two or three to join him, but it turned out to be big group of more than 20,” Wayne said. “The view was incredible and as we walked through the night we could see the whole of Bali lit up at night. There was also heaps of lightning and even a lot of shooting stars, so it was all happening as we headed up.”

When dawn broke, the view was even more spectacular with jet airliners taking off from Denpasar airport clearly visible below them. And none of them had anticipated the cold, many just wearing T-shirts.

Conditions continued to be perfect and they all flew off the mountain taking about 45 minutes to drift down the 20 or so kilometres to get to the coast.

Wayne is now back at Narooma and continues to expand his paragliding qualifications, already having done a thermalling course at Mt Bright, Victoria prior to the Bali trip.

His main paragliding spots are at Canberra and Stanwell Tops, but even so he has put in long hours on the road all for about five hours of gliding in the last year. For comparison, in Bali where conditions are often perfect, he did 48 hours of gliding in three weeks.

Surprisingly even on the relative flat Far South Coast, there are opportunities to take off from coastal cliffs and catch thermals to get to high as 1000 feet.

But conditions have to be just right, and summertime with its easterlies is more conducive to paragliding around Narooma.

The next step for him is to get his paramotoring qualifications, which is like paragliding but with a small motor attached, allowing the glider to take off and travel over large distances and be less dependent on prevailing winds and thermals.

Too often paragliding only made the news for the wrong reasons, so he was keen to get the message out about the Mt Agung trip.

“It’s something I love deeply,” he said. “You know if it’s for you after the first couple of steps off the edge. Either you feel completely at home or it scares the living daylights of you and for me it’s the first for sure.”