Simmi Valgeirsson stood to watch brown river water and debris rush over Bight Bridge. Tinonee Road led his eyes to the water’s edge to search for the bridge that spanned the Manning River but on Sunday it lay hidden beneath floodwater.
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Brilliant sunshine after days of heavy rain enticed Simmi to leave his home in Tinonee to drive to Wingham to try to capture and “share the different perspective that comes when you look at the world with a drone.”
He launched a Mavic Pro into the air and directed it to fly low over the river, to cross the span of water and soar high over farmland and homes that border the river. After an hour he returned home to edit and share the footage on Facebook and on Sunday night the Manning River Times shared it on its website.
Today, less than one week later it has been watched more than 18,000 times and Simmi is “amazed by the community reaction.”
“I’m just happy that people are looking. The Manning Valley is beautiful and drone footage gives you a completely different perspective.”
There was mixed community comment on Simmi’s selection of music for the clip, the famous waltz by Johann Strauss that is a celebration of Europe’s second longest river, The Danube.
“The music is The Blue Danube ... although the Manning is brown in color! I only use royalty free music, otherwise Facebook will block the videos!”
The Mavic Pro is “a pretty awesome flying machine”, said Simmi, and a step-up from a dash-cam that he and his wife, Sibba Gudlaugsdottir have used on their extensive travels throughout the Australian outback. Since 2012 they have shared more than 500 videos on their YouTube channel, Travelling Vikings, and Simmi said the drone “would allow them to do more interesting videos” as they continue to travel.
Until their next adventure, Simmi said he would continue to send the drone above the Manning Valley to develop his skills and to “see and share the region.”
