Paramotor
Watch an expedition to Australia's Red Centre
See The Turner Twins paramotor to The Red Pole, Australia's most inaccessible point.
12 min
The Turner Twins: The Red Pole Expedition
The Turner Twins: The Red Pole Expedition
British twins have landed a world first by travelling to Australia’s most inaccessible point by paramotor... and almost getting stuck there.
Professional adventurers Hugo and Ross Turner – aka The Turner Twins – covered 1,600kms to reach The Red Pole, a term they coined to describe the continent's most inland point.
The three-week trip saw them paramotor (essentially, paragliding with a motor belted to your back) through some of the country’s most inhospitable terrain to reach their goal in the remote outback.
However, once landed, the pair were nearly marooned at the Pole when they were unable to find a safe place to takeoff again.
Watch their incredible adventure unfold in the clip above, and read an interview with them below...
Ross, left, and Hugo
© The Turner Twins
The 28-year-olds, originally from Devon, already have a number of adventures under their belts. They rowed the Atlantic in 2011, trekked across Greenland in 2014 and scaled Russia's Mount Elbrus in 2015.
The achievements are made even more incredible by the fact that Hugo broke his neck in a freak diving accident in Cornwall when he was 17.
Pinned to a spinal board for two weeks, he underwent surgery and miraculously made a full recovery.
Hugo’s accident changed the twins’ lives dramatically – and was the start of their adventures.
Ross and Hugo covered 1,600kms on their expedition
© The Turner Twins
Hugo says: “So many people who have an accident like mine don’t walk away from it. I was incredibly lucky. I want to live life to the maximum for the people that can’t.”
Ross adds, “Hugo walked away from it and that was the start of our adventures. It made us realise that life is precious and you have to make the most of it."
The Red Pole Expedition, which took place in August 2016, was the twins’ first crack at aviation.
“We aren’t pilots. We only learnt how to paramotor a year before the expedition, so this was a great challenge for us,” Ross says.
The twins had a narrow window for flying each day
© The Turner Twins
“Our aim was to get a picture of the centre of Australia. The country is so vast and its centre is so remote that flying was the best way to reach it.
“A paramotor is ideal because it’s quick and easy to set up and it’s foot-launched so you don’t need an airport or a fixed wing licence.”
Travelling with photographer and guide Kestor Haynes, who taught the pair how to paramotor, the twins flew for between two and four hours per day.
Their trip took in spots including Lake Eyre, the Simpson Desert and a fraction of Australia's vast outback.
Hugo gives his paramotor the once over
© The Turner Twins
Planning the trip took a year, including paramotor training, route-planning and contacting the Australian government to find the exact location of the centre of Australia.
Located north-west of Alice Springs in a remote part of the country known as the Red Centre – the twins termed the place the ‘Red Pole’.
The expedition was far from a breeze. The pair's daily flying routine was consistently restricted to avoid windy conditions and extreme thermals.
The Turner Twins mid-air
© The Turner Twins
The landing at the Red Pole took a dramatic wrong turn, when what had appeared from the sky to be a decent landing spot actually turned out to be trees and bushes, which are very dangerous if you intend to takeoff again.
At this point, the expedition became a full-on rescue mission.
As Kestor’s wing was smaller than those the twins were using, he was eventually able to get airborne and fetch the car, picking up the stranded twins several hours later in the pitch dark wilderness.
Says Hugo, “It would have taken too long for all of us to get airborne and fly back to the car. Kestor’s wing was smaller and he could fly faster. We didn’t have much light left so it was the only option.”
Hugo takes off in the outback
© The Turner Twins
Ross added: “When we got to the Red Pole, we had an amazing sense of achievement – but it was the start of another adventure as we had to make our way back to the car.
“It was a beautiful thing being in the outback with no-one else around for miles, but it was also a great relief when we saw Kestor’s car lights approaching.”
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