The GB Reef: A Birds Eye View

The Whitsunday Islands are a group of 74 tropical islands off the east coast bridging the barrier reef from the pretty town of Airlie. Our original plan was to jump on another dive boat, but then we spotted something much more interesting…a flight around the reef in a plane the size of a mini cooper.

For some reason every time we get in a plane now it seems to get smaller. In this one I had my knees up round my head and the doors locked with a safety button like those in a car, you know the ones you can knock on and off by accident with your elbow…

Our pilot looked fresh out of flying school and we would be up there with another plane, as they needed two to fit everybody in. Just 5 people in ours including the pilot. The guy from the other couple didn’t speak much English and the pilot asked him to sit in the co-pilots seat with the control levers right between his legs. He looked at us and in a Spanish accent said, “This will be my first time flying a plane guys!” We all laughed…nervously.

We were in the air for an hour but it felt like 10 minutes. What a way to see the reef. I could not recommend this highly enough as something to do if you ever get the chance. Swimming in and around it is amazing in itself, but when your staring down across miles and miles of picture perfect scenery it’s truly gob smacking.