As I was in Australia and not actually planning to go back, I thought I might as well cross a dream destination out of my head: the Great Barrier Reef.
I thought this would be an expensive dream to fulfill, but honestly, from what I got to see, I didn’t mind the price at all. I have spent more on a hot air balloon ride over Bagan in Myanmar.
So, I decided to do a scenic flight over the Great Barrier Reef. There are many things and activities you can do in the Airlie Beach area, so I had to make wise choices. The pictures from above on this flight look out of this world, plus I know my favorite views are island viewpoints with different shades of blue to blow me away. I knew I had to fly over the Great Barrier Reef. I paid 279 (168€) AUD for a 1-hour flight, but it was actually more like 70 min flight. I bought it at Nomads hostel and the tour included pick-up and drop-off. Yes, because we need to go to Proserpine airport from Airlie Beach, and it is more than 30 minutes away. I didn’t know very well how it worked on the plane so I always asked for a window seat, completely unaware that all the seats are window seats. The aircraft is rather small, it only fits 8 people and one of them is the pilot, so there is only one row of seats.
There was another girl alone and she got the front seat, I didn’t notice but she probably asked for it. When I realized I was like OH NO, I missed this chance, but I ended up happy I didn’t have the front seat. Why? Because the plane wasn’t completely full and no one sat on my left. That means I could have the right side view and the left side view too, which was awesome! Ha, the best side is supposed to be the right one.
The pick-up time in Airlie Beach was at 7.15 am and the flight was at about 8.30 am. We had a brief safety demo and were explained how things work on board this aircraft. After a picture with the plane, we jumped in. We had headphones where we listened to the pilot talking to us and guiding us throughout the trip advising on what we were looking at. As we took off very smoothly, I was already excited to see the rivers and greenery down there, but things were just about to get started. This area has more than 70 islands and on board this flight we flew above many of them. Seeing these islands from above is majestic. They are surrounded by corals and therefore the shades of blue around each island are different. So stunning!! But before seeing lots of islands we flew above Whitehaven beach.
Flying above Whitehaven Beach
I could barely recognize it at first haha. We flew above it during low tide and the first time I saw it from a viewpoint on Whitsunday Island the beach was high tide. This beach is a completely different sight depending on the tide honestly. If during high tide I saw stunning shades of blue, during low tide the water is brownish but the sand banks are very visible. It is a way different perspective of this paradise so I’m glad I got to experience both views of Whitehaven Beach. However, I think I prefer the high tide view. It is really about timing. I think the best view can’t be low or high tide, but the right moment in between them. Must be a very specific time, therefore harder to predict for one who knows nothing about this beach and how tides work here.
Anyway, it is beautiful to see from above and impressive to see how it can change so severely. After Whitehaven beach we crossed many islands, absolutely stunning! Then, from the last island seen to the Great Barrier Reef, it takes about 10 minutes or less to fly. Through this time there is nothing to look at but the ocean and then WOW, there it is: the Great Barrier Reef!
Flying above the Great Barrier Reef
Getting to the barrier reef takes approximately 30 min of the flight. Well, on a 1-hour flight, you can guess what it means. Yes, it means that the time we actually fly above the Great Barrier Reef seems too short. I lost sense of time but I think we flew above the reef itself for about 5 minutes. It was so mesmerizing that it felt like a few seconds haha I could stare at that view for hours honestly.
I have never seen such a beautiful thing in my life I swear. You only have an idea of the dimension of the thing from above. It’s corals and more corals till you lose sight. The MOST BEAUTIFUL THING my eyes ever laid on!!! There are so many shades of blue, so many shapes, out of this world. My jaw dropped to the floor and I wasn’t able to pick it up till we lost the reef out of sight. A word couldn’t leave my mouth throughout that time we flew above the Great Barrier Reef. Pictures may be beautiful, but trust me, seeing it with your eyes is another thing and every penny spent is more than worth it. I would do it again if I was a rich girl and I would do the longest flight possible haha. I could almost cry looking at that perfect nature’s creation. I put the right song in my mind and sang it all along. Sighing overwhelmed with the joy of being able to see such a marvelous wonder.
I thought to myself about how would I take pictures of this place and still enjoy it, cause I definitely wouldn’t want to look at it through the camera… I simply placed the camera next to the window and clicked randomly, I had no clue what was I shooting. I was just hoping some of the pictures were fine haha. I wouldn’t miss the chance to admire the magnitude of what’s in front of my eyes just to take pictures. However, I looked through the camera once we flew above the famous heart-shaped reef. But we flew above it twice.
*But I managed some good pics gladly. Take pictures. I would regret it if I had none. It goes by too fast.
I was surprised to see a human construction in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. It was a heliport and in the end, it makes sense that is there. Because there are people on boats in the Great Barrier Reef and if something happens to them, the boat trip back to land is a very long one. Don’t know if it is for touristy purposes, but I wasn’t expecting to see a heliport sitting in the middle of the reef honestly.
And this was the goodbye. I can’t put into words what it felt like to see this for me. Felt like time stopped. Felt like a second had passed by. I couldn’t even think. Just astonishment. I couldn’t even speak if I wanted. I will never see anything more beautiful in this world I am sure!
Flying above islands
I could see boats heading to the reef. It is far out from the land so trips here are long, I think about 2 hours or more from Airlie Beach to get to the Great Barrier Reef. I decided to skip a snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef, and later I realized it was a good idea because I met a girl who did it and said it wasn’t that amazing. She said she had been there 13 years ago and she remembered something different, a very colorful place filled with fish, and this time she claimed it wasn’t as colorful as she remembered. Sad to know that the corals are dying. I have done a snorkeling trip too, but in the Whitsundays area and it was the worst I remember doing honestly.
Then, after those absolutely jaw-dropping minutes we headed back to land, but not following the same route. So we saw even more islands on the way back and even Airlie Beach from above. For me, this flight was more than worth it, but I guess it depends on each person. For me, this was absolutely dreamy as I never thought I would live to see the great barrier reef with my own eyes!!
Recommend it 100% or 200%. I recommended it to a friend and she was very grateful that I convinced her to join this scenic flight above the Grear Barrier Reef.
I managed to get some good pictures, but I was just pointing my camera somewhere and clicking honestly. But trust me, pictures will never ever tell what this place really is. You will never truly understand the dimension of the thing until you see it yourself.
