"A collection of great photos, one saved headset and one used vomit bag later. I would say that was a success."
Australia is home to many great natural wonders, one of which in the Northern Territory is the iconic sandstone rock Uluru.
Back in 2016 my brother and I booked a trip to Uluru together, where we we planned to do all the touristy experiences from the early morning tour bus, the hikes and even the sunset scenic flight. Unfortunately life happens and last minute my brother was unable to make the trip. As everything was already booked and I don't like wasting money, I jumped on that plane in Sydney by myself and visited this beautiful place as a solo traveller.
Uluru and it's surrounding area is a spectacular part of the world. There's something very sereal and grounding about being in the middle of really no where, with very little around apart of the desert and this gigantic sacred rock. It's one of those moments that remind you of how small we are in the grand picture, and it's simply an honour to be part of life.
So my pilot and I met at the airport, walked over to our small yet very capable plane, she got everything ready for take off and before we knew it we were already in the air on our way to view this beautiful landscape and rock from above.
Absolutely breathtaking and captivated by this beautiful landscape. Seeing Uluru and it's surroundings from the air, and at sunset was nothing short than amazing.
This was the moment my headset went flying!
If you're ever in the same position as me where you're attempting to take a photo of the plane from outside, just make sure you take off your headset before doing so.
When I opened the window to stick my camera and head out to take this picture, I completely forgot about both the wind and my headset. So when I did so my headset went flying right off. Luckily my reflexes I fast so I manage to grab the chord before it was too late, and then I slowly reeled it back in.
I awkwardly looked over at my pilot with a guilty face, put my headset back on and said, "Maybe it's best I take the headset off before sticking my head out again." Good thing she had a sense of humour as we just laughed it off, and I went for round two to get this photo below.
Kata Tjuta
Only 30km away from Uluru is another rock formation called Kata Tjuta. Whilst Uluru is the largest sandstone monalith in the world, Kata Tjuta is actually bigger and taller than Uluru and is made up off 36 rocks.
Was a fun manouver, my stomach said different.
The pilot and I were having a lot of fun up in the air, so I think she felt it was a safe place to suggest we play around with some interesting manouvers. As I say yes to everything before I knew it we were flying side ways and on 45^ angles. As much fun as they were, my stomach unfortunately couldn't handle it. So one cheeky tactile vom later I was back into it.
Here we are back on the ground with a collection of great photos, one saved headset and one used vomit bag later. I would say that was an amazing experience and a success.
If you're thinking about visiting Uluru I would highly recommend booking yourself a scenic flight tour, especially at sunset. The ground tours are also amazing but being able to view this spectaculr scene from the sky delivers a unique perspective that really was the highlight to my trip.
Hope you too have a great experience and just make sure to not be sticking your head out of any windows from the air, unless you take your headset off first.