`Merauke Five` prepare to leave

Five middle-aged Australians detained in Papua for the past nine months are making
final preparations for their return home after taking their plane for a successful
test flight.
The Queenslanders - pilot William Scott-Bloxam, his wife Vera, and passengers Keith
Mortimer, Hubert Hofer and Karen Burke - were arrested last September for flying
into the sensitive Indonesian province without visas or flight clearance.
Their planned three-day sightseeing tour subsequently turned into a lengthy nightmare.
They were each sentenced to harsh prison terms earlier this year, but their
convictions were last week dismissed by Indonesia's Supreme Court.
The group is now waiting for authorities to finalise paperwork that will finally
allow them to fly back to Australia from the Papuan town of Merauke, which could
happen as early as Friday.
On Thursday, the Scott-Bloxams took their light plane to the air for 15 minutes for
a test flight and found it in good condition.
Ms Scott-Bloxam said the flight made it feel more "real" that they had finally won
their freedom.
"When those papers come through, we can move off," she said.
Papua has been troubled by a low-level separatist insurgency since the 1960s.
Journalists are barred from entering Papua without special permission, and human
rights groups have accused the Indonesian military of widespread human rights abuses
there.