Soar Over Melbourne
A vertical city whose downtown core features a shimmering line of glass skyscrapers, Melbourne is also one of very few urban centers, anywhere, where you can balloon over the central business district—a company called Global Ballooning has been doing it for decades.
Sailing higher and higher before the dawn, it’s a chance to watch one of Australia’s fastest-growing cities shake off the night and wake up, from a whole new perspective.
Trace the course of the historic Yarra River, which once brought in hopeful gold miners but now is the playground of early morning rowers who are getting their blood pumping.
Here, a line of cyclists, as tiny as ants, sweep around a curve in the road, and over there, a couple of people play a sunrise round on the green square of a tennis court.
Chopper From the Eclipse
A Bird’s Eye View of Africa’s Great Migration
It is one of the most astonishing spectacles in the animal kingdom—every year, 1.5 million wildebeest move in massive herds across the Serengeti, vast grasslands in Tanzania, in search of life-giving rains and (literally) greener pastures.
They’re led by zebras, who provide the eyes of the operation—and often trailed by a host of hungry predators, including lions and leopards. And the best way to see it all? From the sky. Stay at a lodge managed by andBeyond, one of Africa’s great luxury tour operators, and they will book you onto a once-in-a-lifetime dawn ride in a balloon.
Land on a Sub-Arctic Ice Field
Dropping out of the sky—and landing on skis—in Canada’s vast, northern Yukon Territory is an unforgettable experience. Lifting off from a small runway in the tiny town of Haines Junction, on the southwest corner of the territory, this small-plane flight takes you over the vast expanse of Kluane National Park and Reserve, an 8,500-square-mile preserve that’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, 80 percent of it covered in snow and ice.
You’ll trace the South Arm and Kaskawulsh glaciers, winding higher and higher into Canada’s tallest peaks, including Mount Logan, at 19,501 feet, the nation’s tallest mountain. But it gets even better on the descent—dropping from the blue, having, just moments ago, been dancing across the crowns of mountains, the plane traces a straight line into a seemingly unending field of white.
Fly Over the Falls at Iguazú
A trip to the world’s largest waterfall transports you to an entirely aquatic world. Straddling the border between Brazil and Argentina (and very close to Paraguay), every path leads to a new, unique view. On the Argentinian side, an elevated walkway brings you precipitously close to the Devil’s Throat, which gushes with half of the entire waterfall’s flow, while smaller paths take you past, and even under, smaller cascades.
Hawaii in the Sky
Home to some of the most dramatic scenery in the United States, the rainforests, beaches, and volcanoes of the Hawaiian Islands are even more breathtaking from above. Climbing into a Blue Hawaiian Airbus EC130 “Eco-Star” copter, you’ll be spirited through the air to parts of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island that remain inaccessible to those on wheels (or foot).
On Kauai, get close to the tumbling, plunging Manawaiopuna Falls, an icon since being featured in the opening scenes of “Jurassic Park.” On the Big Island, hover over the fiery, steaming spectacle of Kilauea, the world’s most active volcano, witnessing Madame Pele, the goddess of fire, preside over rivers of lava pouring down to newly formed black sand beaches, throwing up huge plumes as indescribable heat reaches the cool sea waves.
But our favorite ride takes you from Maui to Molokai, the latter an island with just one hotel that’s rarely visited by casual tourists. Leaving from Kahului and skimming across the sharp peaks and deep, dark valleys of the West Maui Mountains, you’ll thump across to the remote, mostly unsettled north shore of Molokai, zooming from the surface of the sea up and over the world’s highest tallest sea cliffs, rising some 3,900 feet, sweeping from the blue to green in a matter of seconds.