One advantage of driving to Uluru was that our carbon footprint wouldn’t be as high as it would be if we flew. That meant maybe it wouldn’t be as bad then to do a couple of aerial tours.
Our first one was with Ayers Rock Scenic Flights. That is the link if you want to check them out. For those that don’t know Ayers Rock was the name given to the rock by colonists, but Uluru is the traditional name.
We decided to go for the sunrise flight. That meant a very early morning and pick-up. So worth it.
Our pilot’s name was Tim and he was really nice. He also picked us up from the resort and drove us to the airport. No way we were getting lost.
One thing that we were really lucky with was that there were only two of us. We did have to go on a smaller plane but I got the whole back seat to myself.
Our ride.
You don’t get as close to everything as you would in a helicopter, but for basically the same money you get 40 minutes in the air compared to 15 in the helicopter. It was amazing and a definite highlight of the trip.
On the ground, you can see quite a long way, but in the air, it is like you can see to the ends of the earth. It was so magical.
Here let me show you some photos.
They were all taken with my Fujifilm X-S10 and the Tamron 18-300mm lens.
I have to admit it wasn’t easy taking photos up there and when zooming into the photos you can see some of them are not absolutely sharp. Still, I did my best. You can also see reflections in the glass in some of them. I decided not to pretend the images were taken in a plane.
I have to say I would love to do one of those flights where the doors are open and you lie on your stomach and take photos straight down. That would be so amazing. In the Cessna, we just had to try and do what we could through the glass. So not really sharp images.
I did take some with my phone. Here are 3 of them.
I found the phone photos could be really weird. There is something about new phones where you don’t seem to be able to zoom in. I hate them. I really don’t like my new Samsung a73 for photography at all. Well except for the night stuff. You had to do wide or not take anything. It was disappointing. The above three I was happy with, somewhat.
I loved the flight and would recommend it to anyone who was going there. Tim was great and gave us lots of information about the area and what we were seeing. He even gave us a great recommendation for where to get some breakfast. It was good but very expensive. Well, what wasn’t expensive there?
Once again all the photos were processed using the Wacom Cintiq Pro 16. I think I want one and I’ve even started telling Dave. Let’s see if I can get one.
Do you like doing scenic flights? What is the best one you have done? How different is it to see the world from above?
…I’ve never been up in a small plane before, I once was a passenger in a blimp though. I managed to get some great aerial shots of Ottawa, both the city and the river. You’ve got some great photos of Uluru, and I agree with you about modern phones, but I especially like the shot out the back of the plane you used as a header image. The plane looks so fragile.
I have never been in a blimp. The shots you would have got would be amazing. Thank you Gabriel, it was fun taking photos from the plane and very challenging.
Nice
Thank you.
Looks a great flight. Very impressive. Talking of great flights in Australia we did a small plane flight from Geraldton in WA to the Abrolhos islands 60K off the coast, landed on Little Wallaby island on a dirt runway, had a simple lunch and took off. Spectacular ocean views.
Worth the effort to fly from the UK. Go to Australia!
Thank you MIke, it was a great flight over a very iconic Australian landmark. Your flight sounds amazing. I haven’t been to WA yet, but it is on the bucket list. I will have to look for that one. I’m glad you thought it was worth it.
What an adventure! Amazing images! Thank you for sharing.
It was Amy, I enjoyed it in many ways. You’re welcome and thank you.
Fascinating. Made me look up the geology of the area.
It is so strange the massive rock in the middle of no where really. Thanks RJ
These are amazing photos. Such an amazing experience. I found your site now. .
Thanks Anita
Thank you Anita, glad you liked the and welcome.
Worth every cent to see this from above. That flat landscape always impresses me so much. We’ve just been out in far western Queensland and it’s the same there. Fantastic!
It really was Carol. I would do again for sure if I went back. I sort of grew up around that flat landscape, but it really is something that is so Australian I think. It is weird how to drive out of the city and then you get to a point where the landscape changes to something so different. Where you are sounds amazing too. Have fun and take lots of photos. Thank you Carol.
Hi Leanne,
This is a wonderful post – I love the photos!
What does Uluru mean?
Mary
Hi Mary, hope all is good with you.
Thank you. I did look it up and one place said it translated to Great Pebble. Then another site said it didn’t really translate to anything, that it was a place name and included much of the area around it. So I guess the answer is, I don’t know. Sorry.
An aerial tour is on my bucket and they offer them in my neck of the woods. I live close to Niagara Falls, NY so I guess flying over and taking pictures of one of the world’s 7 wonders would give me bragging rights lol. I love your post and the photos are amazing. Thanks for sharing.
It would most definitely give you bragging rights Kathleen, oh you have to do it. It would be incredible. Let me know if you do. Thank you and you’re welcome.
It’s very different in seeing things from above versus ground level. You certainly have a different perspective and the scale of things are so much different. Cool you got to experience the view from above.
You are so right David, it is very different. I think with Uluru you don’t really see the depth of it from the ground. It was a great experience, thank you David.
Great photos and what a very cool experience! I have a mild fear of flying so I cannot even get into a light aircraft let alone do what you hope to do some day and dangle out of the plane to take photos.
Thank you Laura. On no, that isn’t good, but I understand. Fears are terrible things. I’m lucky in that in that sense I don’t have a lot of fears around travelling. I’m not afraid of heights.
Heights and clowns are my only travel problem phobias and the latter rarely comes up. I’m pretty good at pushing through the fear of heights too when it comes to flying.
Heights I get, my husband is the same, but not sure about the clowns. I’ve heard of that before though. What is it that you don’t like about them? It is good when you can push through them, would be hard though. I was thinking I don’t have any, but I do, I’m afraid of water. I can swim in it and stuff, but I don’t like going under it, so hate tunnels that go under water. I could never go in a submarine.
I had an early childhood experience of a very awful circus and the clown make up was so awry that I’ve had a deep-seated fear of clowns (and clown adjacent things like mimes) ever since.
I wondered if it was something like that. I don’t think I ever saw clowns when I was growing up except on tv. I can understand it more now, thank you for sharing Laura.
Your in-flight photos are very good, Leanne! The rock is amazing, what happened underground to push the rock up like this? I would love a 45 minute plane ride over this area!
Thank you so much John. It is very amazing. I have read what happened, but I can’t remember, let me see if I can find a link for my next post that helps explain it. It was an amazing ride and I’m sure you would love it too.
You are welcome, Leanne. ☺️
😊😊
Lie down with the doors open–Leanne, you are a braver woman than I!
haha, I think it would be amazing. The views you would get. Thanks Lois.