Hang Gliding and Microlighting

When speaking with Bek (the receptionist at our apartments) I told her I wanted to go Jungle Surfing, but she told me it wasn't really worth it. After hearing about her experience there, I am so very glad she gave me her honest opinion about it so I didn't waste my day or money. Instead, she showed me a brochure for this company called Updraught that does Hang Gliding and Microlighting. I had never thought of either of these as an option before, so I was very intrigued.

I decided on Hang Gliding, because Microlighting (a hang glider with wheels and a motor) just seemed a little unpredictable and unsafe. I was scheduled to be picked up on Thursday 10/4 at 10:00 by Kevin, the owner/operator and flyer of the business.

Kevin was extremely nice and easy to talk to, which was good considering we had a 30 minute drive to the destination. What was our destination? Rex Lookout - a cliff that drops off to rocks and ocean. He unpacked the hang glider and told me where to put the different poles and how to secure them on one side while he did the other. I was a bit unsettled by the fact that I was being relied on to properly put together something I had never even seen in real life and that if put together wrong could end both of our lives. Then he did a check, shook the hang glider, and asked me if I saw anything fall out. Next we did an ungeared rehearsal of how to stand, where to hold, and how to run off the cliff. When he told me that getting off the cliff the right way was pertinent to maintaining our lives and not nose diving right into the rocks... I got a tad nervous. I asked him if we could rehearse again, but he said no and that I would do just fine. Next thing I know I was signing my life away and putting on what I can only describe as a caterpillar costume.

The Cliff and Scenery (to make you forget about what you're about to do)

Kevin with Our Hang Glider and Gear (the red one off to the side is my "caterpillar costume")

The piece of gear that holds me on to the hang glider was a red, sleeping bag shaped item with a zipper down the center of the front and a vest that closes with heavy duty clips. It's really uncomfortable when on the ground because the part your legs and feet are supposed to go in just hangs awkwardly behind you so you can walk/run. By this point I was just doing whatever I was told, not thinking too much about what I was about to do. I helped him carry the hang glider close to the edge of the cliff, he strapped me in, I held on like previously told, he stared straight ahead - silent, and after some time said, "Ready Nikki?... Now!" And next thing I knew I was running straight for the edge of a cliff...

Contemplating What I'm About to Do

Getting Clipped On and Preparing For Takeoff (see how the bag just hangs awkwardly around at my feet)

Takeoff!!

The instant catch of the wind on the hang glider once our feet left the ground was mind boggling. All I knew was that half a second ago my feet were on the ground and with no huge jolt or jump or anything... I was now in the air. Kevin told me it was now time to put my feet in (referring to the sleeping bag thing). You have to get your feet in just right so that in a minute or two, when it's time, you can zip it up. It had a hard time getting my first foot in at all, but once I did the other went in fine. When it was time to zip up it was really cool. You raise your hips and pull this tab velcroed by your right hip and it zips the bag right up so you no longer have to hold yourself up/in. From then on it was 20 minutes of pure flight.

It was the smoothest sense of flying I have ever experienced. Unfortunately, it was also the most uncomfortable sense of flying I have ever experienced. The way the vest cut into my arms, I was losing feeling in my left arm. Also, if I wanted to see the good scenery, I had to hold my head up from a laying down position (reference pictures above). Imagine laying on your stomach on the floor and using nothing but your back, abdomen  and neck holding your head up (eyes looking straight out) for 20 minutes. Luckily though, while I was uncomfortable and contemplating life with only one arm once my left one fell off, I had gorgeous, natural scenery to take in. We had the blue blue ocean, clean sand, lush green tree covered mountains, and a north carolina blue sky. Being up there, flying, seemed so natural. At times I forgot that I was literally dangling off paper wings a couple thousand feet in the air and we weren't flying over padded bouncy houses. It was smooth, but I did, however, get slightly motion sick - nothing serious, just a little uncomfortable in my stomach. I totally didn't think about motion sickness being a problem, but he said it happens to 15-20% because depending on the weather there will be some bobbing up and down that you are unaware of but your body fully feels.

At some point he pointed to a strip of beach and palm trees and said, "See that? That's our landing strip". He then told me unzip the bag, which you do by pulling a velcro tab on your left hip, but keep my feet in until he said. Closer to our landing strip he told me to take my feet out and then asked me if I was ready to run. I thought, "Um... we rehearsed take off... did you forget to rehearse this part with me?!" and then said, "Yep!" He told me to put my feet out in front of me ready to hit the ground running. I was all set, a little nervous, but set, only to have his feet hit the ground first, take 2 steps and we were stopped. My feet didn't hit the ground until we were stopped. I commented on how smooth and quick that landing seemed and he said, "Yeah, that surprised me. Kind of my best one ever."

Landing Strip

We carried the hang glider off the beach and to the car park (which was super uncomfortable because my caterpillar tail and zipper edges were smacking against my ankles and dumping sand into my tennis shoes). While he hitched a ride back up to the cliff to get our car, I went for a quick walk along the beach and snapped some photos. When he returned, he informed me that I had just missed the bus (which confused me considering the transfer fee I paid him included a trip to and from my hotel) and tried to talk me into staying in the area until the next bus that was scheduled to come in 2.5 hours. The reason for this was he had a very short window of time to get the hang glider packed away, me back to my hotel, and himself back up to the lookout to meet his next person. After my early and long morning and the hang gliding, I was pretty exhausted, not to mention I didn't have any cash on me to do anything in the area, so I helped him pack up quickly and he gave me a ride back.

The Top of That Cliff is Where We Ran Off

My Scenery at the Beach While He Got the Car

On the ride home he asked what I thought and we chatted about it a bit. And he told me that if I liked that then I would love Microlighting and that I just had to do it. I told him I would call him after I had looked at my budget and then he offered me a $60 discount, which was substantial. I had a feeling I would end up doing it, but really did want to check my budget first. Sure enough, that night, I called him and we scheduled to go Microlighting the following Sunday morning.

Sunday morning (10/7) at 7:00 Kevin was out front to pick me up. I got out to the car (wearing shorts and a tank top) and he asked me if I had long pants and a jacket, which I thought was weird, but I went upstairs and changed into bermuda shorts and grabbed the only jacket I brought, which was a light weight zip-up. We had a 15-20 minute car ride to the Microlighting take-off/landing strip. It was further north of Port Douglas on a cleared area of land that he rents from a farmer. There are sheds there that he keeps the Microlight in. Set up was much faster than with the hang glider, but it still took about 10 minutes. The Microlight is like a tiny motor car with just two seats - one behind the other and the back one raised higher) - and a hang glider attached to the top, with 3 wheels, and a motor and propeller in the back. While he set it up, once again, I signed my life away. I snapped a few photos while he got all our gear set up and next thing I knew he handed me two thick bomber jackets (and I should add just how attractive they were... camo on the outside and bright orange on the inside and huge). I chose the smaller one and put that on and then he handed me the second one to put on as well... confused, but trusting I put that on (in addition to my light jacket) and then sweat for the next 10 minutes.

Take Note of the Jacket(s)

Sitting in the Microlight - helmet and microphone on, jackets on, engine roaring, sun shining, sky blue as ever - I could hear through my headphones, Kevin communicating with air traffic control. That's when I realized just what exactly I was doing. Instead of freaking out, I got extremely excited and was fully ready to be in the air. After a few minutes we moved forward, increasing speed, going faster than I thought this thing could ever go, and before I knew it we were up and away.

We flew over Port Douglas including the market, the marina, the hotel I was staying at, and the Sheraton (which as the biggest pool I have ever seen). We also flew over the Coral Sea, Snapper Island, the delta of the Daintree River, some of the agriculture, and Shipwreck Bay. The ocean at times was so very very blue, just that unreal blue. We flew around Snapper Island and then Kevin took us up into the clouds. It was pure white and you couldn't see a thing. The only time I've ever been IN the clouds like that is on an airplane, but this time I was open and right in them. I stuck my hand out and didn't feel a thing, but it came back cold and wet. At the delta of the Daintree River I saw 3 stingrays because the water is so clear and shallow they are easy to spot, however, Kevin was the one that pointed them out. At Shipwreck Bay you can actually see the remnants of a ship that wrecked there because he headed the wrong direction - towards a sandbar. Twice he lowered to just about 5  feet from the beach and we just zipped along the shore for quite some time. It's amazing how slow it feels when you are in the air, but when you get closer to the ground you realize just how crazily fast you are really going. There was no motion sickness with the Microlight and he said there never is because the ride is just so smooth and so controlled. We had the ocean and beach below, the blue sky and sun to one side, and the mountains to the other - it was absolutely breathtaking scenery for an entire hour. Several times I just sat there trying to comprehend first what I was doing and second what I was seeing. The experience is unreal.

Mandalay - Our Apartments

Sheraton With Too Much Pool

Coming Out of the Clouds

Daintree River

Daintree River

Zipping Along the Beach

Unfortunately the hour ended and it was time to land. We flew back to the landing strip, zoomed across it, and I was pretty sure we were headed straight for the sugar cane. Luckily, we stopped just short of it. When we got back to the sheds I seriously contemplated paying him for another hour. I just didn't want to be done. It was so gorgeous and one heck of a way to see the area.

Hang gliding was beautiful and unlike anything I've ever experienced before and I am beyond glad that I did it (especially in Australia), however, I'm not sure it is something that I would necessarily choose to do again. Microlighting on the other hand... Microlighting I'd do again.