Abrolhos Islands Helicopter Flight
Friday, June 08 2007 Filed in:
Must Do
Submitted by Steve Baile
As someone who appreciates fine machinery, I knew I had found a kindred spirit when I met Ron from Prestige Helicopters in Gerladton, WA. A helicopter pilot with literally thousands of hours in the air, Rons passion for these machines is clearly evident when you see his fully rebuilt Sikorsky helicopter.
Steve harnessed up and ready and raring to go
These giant machines have proven themselves to be ultra reliable workhorses over several decades of service and millions of hours in the air. They were primarily used by the US Coast Guard and at one stage there were 99 in active service.
Ron located his chopper in California several years ago and shipped it back to Australia where he has painstakingly rebuilt it from the ground up to what is called "zero hour" spec. In other words the helicopter is effectively brand new again. It is a beautiful machine and I couldn't wait to get up in the air.
Rons business, Prestige Helicopters, is working hard to keep up with the demand for their services.
The Abrolhos Islands lay around 60km off the coast of Gerladton and support a population of several hundred fisherman who are based out there in shanty style shacks. The islands are predominantly low lying coral cay's with very little in the way of geagraphic features or vegetation, but are surrounded by beautiful reefs, lagoons and calm waters that are literally teaming with life. The beaches are home to sealions and abundant birdlife including Crested Turns and White Breasted Sea Eagles.
The view from Steves seat in the doorway
Tourism to the islands is a rapidly growing industry and to cater for the demand, Ron has teamed up with Trevor at Batavia Coast Dive Academy to offer diving, snorkelling and sightseeing tours to the islands.
While we didn't get to experience it on our trip, the helicopter is also a boat and routinely lands on the water so divers can literally dive straight in!
Besides taking visitors out to the islands, Rons business also works in an emergency services capacity performing search and rescue and air ambulance services in conjunction with the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
My interest in the area was the Batavia wreck, a Dutch East Indiamen ship that sank near Beacon Island nearly 400 years ago. I wanted to get out and see the site and Ron flew us right over the wreck site as well as the other surrounding islands where most of the Batavias passengers that survived the wreck were murdered by mutinous members of the crew. With all of the charter boat services booked solid, Rons helicopter proved to be a great way to get out to the islands.
Ron (owner) helping load essential equipment at one of our stops
Since Prestige Helicopters began operating services to and from the islands, many people are chosing to take the air option rather than the boat as the water between the islands and the mainland is renowned for being very rough and hard going for inexperienced land lubbers.
Flying out over the islands was certainly an experience we will never forget and we are looking forward to getting back up this way again so we can spend more time exploring The Abrolhos Islands.
More Information
Book tours through Batavia Coast Dive Academy
Website - www.bataviacoastdive.com
Address - 153 Marine Terrace, Geraldton WA 6530
Phone - (08) 9921 4229
Fax - (08) 9964 2229
Email - bataviacoastdive@westnet.com.au
Contact Prestige Helicopters on 0427 062 124
Trip Log - Read the Geraldton Stop in our Trip Log for the full story on our visit the The Abrolhos Islands.
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