Julie's helicopter ride over the Great Barrier Reef -- Feb 15, 2019

One of the big adventures for Julie during the “Reef Sleep” was a ride on a helicopter to view some of the Great Barrier Reef from on high. The others decided to forego this experience.

The 10- to 15-minute helicopter ride took her and one other passenger over the reef.  FABULOUS!

She was taken by a small boat to one of three helicopter platforms quite a distance from the boat (about a 4-minute boat ride).

                                      

 

They had 5 or 6 helicopters operating, and Julie was placed in the glitzy red one.

Our destination was the Heart Reef, but on the way, the pilot pointed out the "river" (dark blue deep water), and the various aspects of the coral reef.  He also suggested we might see large turtles or sharks, but Julie was too busy looking at all the beautiful and various blues in the water to look for turtles or sharks.  It truly was stunning, and happily smooth flying, so Julie didn’t get sick.  Whew!  The pilot indicated that the reef is so large it can be seen from outer space.  Julie will have to look for pictures to see if it looks as beautiful from above as it does from a helicopter.  We arrived at Heart Reef, which is aptly named because it is in the shape of a heart.  There was also an “H” helicopter pad close by the reef, so the area must be used for scuba divers also.

A view of the catamaran and the pontoon platform from the helicopter

The pilot called the darker blue strip "the river" which ran through the reef

Another shot of "the river"

The Heart Reef landing pad (no, we didn't land)

The Heart Reef -- note the shape

For us, this was the turnaround area after the pilot circled the Heart Reef a few times.  We then flow back to the helicopter pad via a different route so we could see more.  Landing was somewhat scary, but everything went well and soon this once-in-a-lifetime experience was over.

We boarded the little boat and sped back to the platform and the huge catamaran and platform.