Every second year the skies over Batchelor come alive during the nine day event they call RAL week, hosted by the Darwin Parachute Club. Skydivers from Australia, Europe, Japan, and America and beyond converge on the sleepy town of Batchelor to make over 2,500 descents from 14,000 feet. This biannual meeting is a major event on the Australian skydiving calendar and provides the opportunity for divers to improve these skills in the area of freefall, vertical free-flying, sky surfing, and cross country free fall in winged bird-man suits. Living in Batchelor I was amazed at how the town's skies come alive with the sight and sounds of people jumping out of planes all day and well into the night. At any given moment during this event I was able to look up and watch as groups of up to 15 skydivers made their way back down towards the earth yelling with excitement as they formed up to create group patterns and then quickly breaking off to fill the sky with breath-takingly beautifully coloured parachutes.,