Bright

I spent a lot of time in Australia in Manilla, a place for huge downwind XC distances in almost all wind directions. Manilla is a tiny rural town where during a hot spell the temperature can exceed 40C. It's super relaxed and the flying arrangements are perfect: a club truck drives up at least once a day guaranteeing you a way up the hill, and the landing field is where you might be staying (Godfrey Wennes' farm with cabins, swimming pool, etc) if you aren't staying in town (the Royal Hotel run by Vic and Tom is perfect for paragliders). If you go here you'll probably increase your personal best distance, gain a near superhuman endurance against flies, and decide to give up on cities forever. Manilla is a MUST GO for epic flatland flying if you are visiting Australia.

Camp Krusty during the rain.
I never said the weather
 was perfect in Bright!

View from Mystic launch in Bright.
Probably the best shaped artificial
launch I've ever been on.
They graded it, covered it in
bitumin, and then glued on astroturf.

Now, I've discovered the other MUST GO paragliding spot for Australia: Bright. Bright is a cute small town with lots of cafes, restaurants, and stores about 3.5 hours drive north of Melbourne. The town is nestled in a small valley which heads into the Australia Alps mountain range. Temperatures here have been much more moderate than Manilla, so much so that it actually gets chilly at night! The main flying hill is called Mystic, and has a beautiful launch (better than any I've ever seen!), a 2wd track to the top, and an easy glide to the main landing field. The best place for pilots to stay is the Outdoor Inn, affectionately called Camp Krusty which is a short walk to the landing field and a slightly longer one to town. As this is a mountain area, you'll probably be flying in light winds and attempting to fly triangles over large tree covered ridges and mountains. There is plenty of sightseeing to be done on foot and by paraglider. My favorite flight so far was exploring waterfalls on Mt. Buffalo and then scratching my way back over a couple ridges to launch where I got high again and did some acro before landing.

Sometimes the cows get curious.
Landing out during the Bright Open

I competed in the Bright Open here last week (and ended up rather close to last place, though I think I'm well on the way to understanding what I need to do to become a good competition pilot).  The return to flying around terrain was wonderful and I spent a lot of time exploring the forested ridges looking for Koalas and kicking tree tops. It's raining again, so I'm off to explore Melbourne and do some coastal soaring.