Three weeks in Sydney….
And I already reached on national television, watched an opera at the famous opera house and……. 🤔, oh!
Tried real Ramen for the first time!
[Not the packaged ramen noodles that’s a staple in Caribbean households. No. ACTUAL RAMEN. Like, a freshly made dish at a restaurant ramen! But I’m getting distracted here. Back to the matter at hand.]
Would you believe that shortly after all that though, I flew over Sydney, in a helicopter?
How did I manage to get myself into THIS you ask?
Ya know is a story!
When I moved in with my au pair family, it was quite a busy time in their lives. Their son was performing in an opera a few nights a week and family friends had planned to visit them, almost back to back.
Now, where does the helicopter come in?
Well, when their first visitors arrived (Their son’s best friend from the USA & his dad), a helicopter tour of Sydney was arranged for the kids. And guess who was designated to tag along with them? Moi! 😀
Now, Helicopter tours are, unpredictable in a sense, as they are heavily dependent on the weather. When it comes to experiences like these, I try not to get my hopes up because, ya bat one two eye lash, breeze blow likkle hard and that’s the end of that*. (T*:”Because you blink twice, there’s a strong wind and it’s over”).
Which is exactly what happened 😑
We couldn’t fly because the weather conditions weren’t right. It was overcast and rainy so all tours were cancelled. We were bummed, but kinda expected it when we woke up that morning.
However, the tickets were still valid when their second visitor came to town shortly after! So we were still going to go – YES!
I once again wondered “Is this my life? Am I in a dream?” (How many times I go ask myself dat eh?)
Helicopter, helicopter where are you?
The day came for us to do the tour and we were ready & eager to go. The small tour office was located along the edge of the Sydney airport, which made you feel like you were about to catch a plane (and not a helicopter).
When we stepped inside, the receptionist greeted us, then we were registered and weighed.
Yup. That’s right. Weighed. Weight is crucial when it comes to helicopters (apparently), for numerous reasons such as balance and control (Google the rest).
So they weighed us right then and there on this huge luggage like scale. It made me feel as though I was weighing in for a boxing match or something (Match commentator: “Coming in at XXXlbs is – GLOBAL GYAL!” *And the crowd goes wild!*)
We took a seat
….and helped ourselves to some tea & coffee, (#fancy) until they called our names. We didn’t have to wait long before they lined us up at the door and wrapped a seat belt buckle (like the ones from the plane), around our waists. They had life jackets attached. It was like a fanny pack to save your life #safetyfirst.
Two employees escorted us out to the tarmac where we could see a few helicopters and one already reared up and ready to go (it was ours!). Its blades created so much wind, you kinda felt like those people in the movies who fend off the strong ‘helicopter breeze’ with their arms (they’re actually right, they weren’t just being extra). One by one they escorted us to the helicopter and soon enough we would be in the air!
The pilot himself looked so unassuming. This person who ‘drives’ a whole helicopter on a daily. He’s a pilot. Yet he was in a simple long sleeve white shirt and black pants. The uniform of a server but the job of a pilot #walkingcontradiction. I was escorted to the front seat and strapped in (An adult helping another adult strap into their seat #slightlyakward lol ).
Once inside….
I looked around the interior of helicopter – a well compact space with buttons EVERYWHERE (how do they remember them all?!) We were given headphones so we could all communicate with each other – pilot included.
Once strapped in and ‘all systems’ were a go, the pilot said a bunch of fancy things to the tower and we were off!’
I was only slightly nervous in the beginning, but it quickly disappeared the higher we got. We towered over Sydney and its suburbs in this compact machine, and glided high above its tallest buildings and trees.
Our pilot (who was also our tour guide #multitasking), was quite informed about the city. He began to point out some monumental locations as we flew over popular eastern beaches such as Bondi and Coogee. He highlighted little islands and bays that we knew nothing and shared their history with us.
At this point, we were now in the famous Sydney Harbour!
This is where we saw the Sydney Opera house and Harbour bridge from above and was definitely the highlight of the tour. It was a little overcast, but as we got to the harbour, the sun peeked out just long enough for us to get the beautiful visual of the harbour on a sunny day. There were a multitude of boats – all shapes and sizes coming in and out and I could only imagine what it would’ve been like with clear blue skies and a bright sun bellowing down the entire time.
Soon enough the jig was up.
It was only a 30minute ride and we had to head back in the direction of our landing spot ☹.
Just as we were about to land though, a gust of wind picked up and tossed us from side to side a little. I thought we were about to ‘blow way’ (T*:”Be blown away”), almost like a small toy in the wind.
The pilot was cool and calm of course and still in control. He landed us safely and I commended him because he knew his stuff even though he was pretty young. It definitely reminded me of how delicate it all was. We’re all in nature’s hands in the end.
Nonetheless,
We thanked our pilot and were able to grab some quick photos by the helicopter (which the pilot took #multitasker!) as I think we were the last tour of the day (weather conditions). It had just started to drizzle when we landed!
I was thrilled to have had such an experience. It solidified how beautiful a city Sydney was – with its numerous harbours, bays and greenery. Boy oh boy how fortunate was I to witness it from above.
When the unexpected opportunities seem endless….
Yours Truly,
Global Gyal
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