FLYING high above the Western Australian outback, Greg Keynes was living the dream chasing down wayward bulls fro the seat of his helicopter on an aerial muster.
But not longer after he got off the ground, his dream came crashing down when a routine muster in the rocky gorges of the Hamersley Range went horribly wrong.
He was 45 metres above ground when the engine failed. He had no power to inject into the machine and could only guide it as best he could to a landing space.
"I headed for the base of the gorge, and then it was as if everything was as a snail's pace. But I do remember the point of impact as my machine and I collided with the ground."
After that impact, Greg said he found himself being pulled towards a bright light.
"I felt dragged as if on a conveyor belt towards the light, but there was no physical pressure, just a beautiful peaceful environment," he told The Senior.
"I was hanging back saying 'no I don't want to go. I've got too much to do'."
Though he had miraculously escaped death, Greg faced the reality that he may never walk again.
"I was written off. I was 24, fit and healthy, then I had to learn how to walk again."
Now 70-odd, Greg recounts his adventures, the highs and the lows, in a new memoir The Flying Bushman.
"There are a few people that experience the bush and a few people who can write, but not many people who have experienced the bush and who can write," he said.
The Flying Bushman is more than a story of memories in the outback; it's a collective reminder of the true Australian spirit - our resilience and courage and wild hearts that survive the harsh and at times unforgiving terrains that ultimately make us who we are.
Set along the majestic blue ranges and scouring river beds of the Pilbara, The Flying Bushman is a lavishly illustrated and authentic Aussie story of life above the land.
Greg grew up on a family property in the Murchison region of WA. Working as a pastoralist and chopper pilot in the early '80s gave him the unique opportunity of seeing only places that could be reached by helicopter, much of the Pilbara, Gascoyne and Murchison regions along with the world heritage listed Shark Bay.
He still travels WA, continuing to write, working in various roles and keeping in touch with his three children and three grandchildren.
The Flying Bushman is available from Gelding Street Press, September 2, $29.99.