Taking to the skies in Airlie Beach - part 1

Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sat 21 Mar 2015 07:41
Having successfully outwitted Cyclone Nathan for the second time, we are now in Airlie Beach. This is a small seaside town rammed with bars, restaurants and lots of backpackers. It is a great place, very lively and also perfect for a last bit of rest and relaxation before heading back to Mackay to prepare the boat for the next stage. We had a short trip here on our last stop in Mackay and we're looking forward to coming back, not least because the fish and chips here are absolutely fabulous!
We have ended up with a longer time here than we would have had normally, due to the cyclone, as there really is nothing else between here and Mackay to the south, which is only about 150km away, and not much to the north between here and Cairns either.
Our first job was to book a sea plane trip. When we met up with Andy in Sydney at New Year, he had just been out to Whitehaven Beach by seaplane and said it was a great trip to do and that we should definitely consider it while we were here.
We went to the office and got it all sorted for Tuesday afternoon and as we were wandering past the helicopter trip office, one of the pilots convinced us that this was the perfect day for a ride. Having been convinced, we went back to the tent, grabbed a camera and off we went. It was my first time ever in a helicopter and very cool indeed!

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Lifejackets on and ready for take off!

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Over the harbour area - it was a really sunny day but photo taken through slightly tinted glass

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Flying over islands in the bay

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Airlie Beach marina

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Coming in to land

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Home in time for fish and chips for lunch - yum yum!