062 Fly through the world’s largest waiting room

You know you live in a huge and bare country when the ambulance has to operate from the sky.

Since their first flight in 1928 the Royal Flying Doctor Service has become an essential and iconic part of Australia’s isolated and rural areas. The early flying doctors were the first of their kind and today the RFDS covers more than 7million km², an area larger than Western Europe.

To gain insight into the RFDS, made famous in more than 50 countries by The Flying Doctors TV series, there’s no need to get yourself injured, just head to one of the many RFDS visitor centres, of which Broken Hill is the largest. There you can experience a real life RFDS centre in action every day of the week.

Where // For RFDS visitor centre locations, visit www.flyingdoctor.net

Did you know? // In 2007 the RFDS saw on average 655 patients and performed 96 aerial evacuations a day. The service is free, and the RFDS relies on community donations to buy planes and supplies.

SEE THE FULL LIST: 100 Things you can only do in Australia