Time to fly to the Great Barrier Reef
It’s 7.30am in Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef awaits. Just for today, I’ve deliberately bypassed the buffet.
It’s not that I’m worried about the consequences of what might happen if the flight is bumpy, it’s got more to do with another weighty issue.
You see before the good folk at Great Barrier Reef Helicopters will let you board the Eurocopter AS350, they insist that you stand on the scales.
They allege that it is an important part of getting the balance correct in the aircraft. I have my doubts.
Although I’m not quite ready for the Biggest Loser, holidaying in Port Douglas for any length of time, can cause a seismic shift of kilograms.
I close my eyes, put my fingers in my ears, and exhale until the weigh-in is over.
It can’t hurt you if you can’t see it, or hear it. That’s my motto.
When it comes to the seeing the Great Barrier Reef though I’d already ticked most of the boxes.
Fast cat ride to a reef platform. Tick.
Seeing the reef from inside a semi-submersible. Tick.
Scuba diving. Tick.
Snorkeling. Tick.
Sailing through the Whitsundays. Tick.
But I’d never seen the reef from the sky. After all it is the only living visible thing that can be seen from space. Astronauts have described it as the “white scar on the face of the Pacific Ocean”. Not being able to afford a ticket on one of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic flights, a helicopter ride was one of several options open to me.
Largest coral system known to man
The reef stretches over 2000 kilometres, from Gladstone in the south to almost Papua New Guinea.
It is the largest coral system known to man with about 2900 reefs, at least 350 different species of coral and 1500 different breeds of fish living in a stunningly complex ecosystem that is just teeming with life.
Geological evidence shows that the reef began growing more than 25 million years ago.
The warm waters of North Queensland provide the perfect environment for the coral to thrive. It’s not too shabby either for those who want to dip their toes. To see the reef, up close, underwater, is something special. It has bucketloads of the wow factor. Swimmers can’t contain themselves when describing the underwater wide-screen high definition theatre. “Did you see the colour of the fish darting about in the coral?” “What about the size of the groper?” “This is amazing.”
Pictures just don’t do it justice. To appreciate the reef from here you have to set all your senses on high alert and make sure you are paying attention.
So what would it be like from the air? Would the Wright Brothers experience, match the underwater Jacques Cousteau-style adventure?
Once the chopper climbs above the famous Port Douglas palm trees you can see the outline of the Low Isles and Agincourt Reef in the distance. We are lucky on this day as the water is at its crystal clear best.
Water colour changes constantly
As we leave the shoreline the water below changes colour from a deep, deep blue to a shimmering turquoise. Our pilot’s voice crackles into the headphones alerting us to a bale of turtles just up ahead. The helicopter eases downwards and it is possible to count at least 25 turtles, flippers flapping furiously, as they go about their daily hunt for food in the shallow waters.
We hover for a while, as if suspended in time, before leaving them in peace to touch down on the nearby Undine Sand Cay, which is about as big as a par three hole on any golf course.
The cay is barren of any vegetation, but it is the resting place of hundreds of seabirds, mainly terns and boobies.
Our arrival causes momentary pandemonium among the cay’s inhabitants. We clamber from the helicopter and dive into the water while our pilot prepares a champagne, croissant and fruit breakfast. The only scales out here belong to the fish so I indulge without guilt.
After about 20 minutes on the ground we head back to the mainland, flying high over the thick canopy of vegetation that from the air look like broccoli stacked together in a fruit shop. It’s by far the best way to appreciate the sheer beauty of the meeting of the reef and the Daintree rainforest.
All up the trip takes about 90 minutes, which is perfect if you are on a tight time frame.
Why not try a hot-air balloon
If time isn’t an issue, you might want to take-to-the-sky in a hot-air balloon. Now you won’t get to fly over the reef for obvious reasons, but if you combine a hot-air balloon ride with a reef tour you will experience the best of both worlds.
If you fly with the Hot Air company it’s usually a very early start to the day with hotel picks ups from Cairns and Port Douglas at about 5am. You’re tired. It’s dark and cold _ well at least by North Queensland standards _ but that is forgotten as soon as those bursts of flame start to fill the balloon. Balloon rides happen early in the morning because that’s when the winds are calm and the air is cold and dense.
It doesn’t take long before you climb into the over-sized picnic basket and soar toward the first searching rays of morning sunlight.
As we climb, I begin to relax and start to scan the horizon.
The 30-minute flight over the Cairns Highlands, previously called the Atherton Tablelands, is much more gentle than I had expected. Even though I’m not great with heights I never feel the urge to scream, although at times my toes do tighten in a gripping position.
The higher we climb the smaller the sugar-cane plantations and mango farms appear. The balloon rises and falls on the air currents as the pilot looks for a spot to land. Our landing is soft, much more gentle than I had anticipated. A welcome anti-climax before yet another breakfast and a 90-minute ride back to Port Douglas for a boat trip to the reef.
Landing on the reef is not always smooth
The only other way to take to the sky and explore the reef is by seaplane. There’s a certain romance and adventure associated with seaplanes. Think Harrison Ford and Anne Heche _ but without the crash _ in Six Days Seven Nights. Think Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark. And if you are spotting a pattern, then well done, the Indiana Jones star owns, and flies, a De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (N28S) seaplane.
There’s no guaranteeing that the landing will be smooth but it it is one of the most thrilling things you will ever do. The feeling of bouncing on the water, coming to a halt, and then diving into the ocean is hard to beat.
Cairns Seaplanes run daytrips out to secluded sandy cays where you can laze under a beach umbrella, sip bubbles, and dream of tomorrow morning’s buffet in your own private paradise.
Memo to hotel laundry staff: Next time I visit please let my clothes out when I put them in for cleaning. It will make my holiday even better and guarantee a larger tip for you.
The Great Barrier Reef by air
Tropical North Queensland
Great Barrier Reef Helicopters
Based in Cairns and offer reef tours and scenic helicopter flights and personalised charters.
Hot Air
Hot Air Ballooning company that offers tours from Cairns and Port Douglas.
They offer scenic reef flights and tours to various Great Barrier Reef islands, Cooktown and Cape York.
Scenic flights and air touring from Cairns and Port Douglas. Lots of special tours and different reef/island destinations including landing on a coral cay.