Southern Lights Flight 2022 and 2023

11/04/2022

And check-out these STUNNING photos just-in from our recent inaugural Quo Vadis Holidays “Southern Lights Flight”!

Benjamin Alldridge Photography love your work!

Ben was one of my five professional photography crew on-board assisting all our guests both pre and in-flight with their camera settings. Here’s how you do it!

Based in Tasmania, Ben specialises in nightscape and aurora photography and knows more about “aurora science” than almost the auroras themselves!

Looking forward to having Ben and the crew join us back on board again in March 2023 when we fly to around 60° south to see and photograph the enchanting aurora australis once again!📷✈️🌌🥂🎉

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2023-southern-lights-flight/

info@quovadisholidays

02/04/2022

30/03/2022

Anyone with ~10mins spare wanting to hear about my “Southern Lights Flight” from last weekend, one of my awesome Tassie pro photography crew on board, Nick Monk was interviewed on Monday 28th March on ABC Radio by host Helen Shield.

Listen from 0’00” - 18’00” (and after Helen’s intro skip “Sáde” and head to around 4’55” - or listen right through from the start if you want a bit of “Smooth Operator” in your day!)

GREAT work Nick and well-explained how the big adventure all went and all the photography tips. 📷💪

A pity you couldn’t sneakily drop Quo Vadis Holidays’ name in there!😂

Pretty confident you’ll “get the call up” for the next one! 📷✈️🌌🥂👏💪

https://www.abc.net.au/radio/hobart/programs/your-afternoon/your-afternoon/13806270

From around Tasmania, we unearth great music and stories to brighten your afternoon.

27/03/2022

A lovely and very kind testimonial from my good friend and guest Bern who was on our “Southern Lights Flight” with friend Fiona on the weekend.

“What an amazing experience we had Friday night on the inaugural Quo Vadis ‘Southern Lights flight’. My friend had put so much planning into getting this incredible flight off the ground (see what I did there!!). Corona meant postponing from September 2021 to March 2022 …and when the privately chartered Qantas Dreamliner finally left Terra Firma there was a spontaneous round of applause. The joy on board was palpable. Such an incredible energy from the Qantas flight crew and cabin crew, and all guests were buzzing with anticipation at the prospect of seeing the beautiful Aurora Australis. And that moment when First Officer Michael came to Tim an hour before the expected ‘Aurora time’ to say they could already see them - the energy levels lifted even higher. And we were off literally chasing the auroras through the skies. It was crazy exciting.

Tim had thought of everything. 5 professional photographers with experience in Aurora photography were available before and during the flight to help those of us who simply had no idea how to a) use a camera on manual, and b) find the correct settings for getting something representing the Southern Lights. Their patience was outstanding and they were as excited to be there as everyone else.

Astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy (who I’ll be starting a campaign soon to have him confirmed as the new Dr Who) gave a presentation on all things aurorae to help those of us who came to see ‘green fairy lights’ understand a wee bit about this magical phenomenon. It was super cool having him on board.

And the thing that took the experience to a whole new level was that Tim had not sold seats down the centre of the plane. When we bought our seats you bought them in pairs so every pair travelling together shared a window. Business class and Premium Economy have two seats including one by a window anyway, but in Economy you had three seats between two people. And later, on the way home there was the whole centre section of the plane for people to spread out and sleep. It wasn’t crowded, people weren’t fighting to get near a window and get photos. We all had our own window as a pair and were able to just enjoy the whole experience in the easiest possible way. Tim could have sold every seat and doubled his profits and then some, but his commitment on all of his Quo Vadis holidays is to provide the best experience he can for his guests. And if we had had a full plane I can say that it would have been hideous. The way Tim had put that forethought into ensuring our comfort made all the difference.

Quo Vadis Holidays have trips that go to the Northern Lights in Scandinavia. They stay in ice hotels and have husky sled rides and do all sorts of wonderful things. But I don’t ‘do’ winter. It just isn’t for me. Its tough because I’ve wanted to support Tim’s business since he started and it’s been an ongoing joke between us that I just couldn’t do a winter trip with him. And his other tours are usually when I’m working myself. So when this Aurora Australis trip came about I had to jump on board. And I’m so glad I did. I can’t thank you enough Tim. I came to support you and to see some green lights ….and ended up having one of the most enjoyable and memorable experiences in all of my travels. 💫🌟✈️🧚👩‍✈️🌌🌠”

Thanks Bern for your amazingly kind words and great to have had you and Fi join our inaugural “Southern Lights Flight”! Tim ✈️🌌🥂🎉

27/03/2022

How’s this for the flight path on our HUGELY successful “Southern Lights Flight” from Friday night/Saturday morning!

Departed right on schedule at 8:30pm and had auroras showing already by 10:15pm! A solid 5hrs plus of “aurorae” right up until 3:00am when we headed for home!

An absolute buzz on board the whole plane for this bucket-list ticking flight and even a roar of excited cheers and applause when we hit V1 and Captain Lisa Norman at the helm “rotated” and wheels off the ground of our Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner!

Amazing work by Captain Norman and her First Officer and two Second Officers throughout ensuring the best view of the aurorae for everyone throughout the flight.

No need for guests to rotate their seats at all a HUGE plus for everyone for the many hours of the main show!




(Footage credit: Fiona Barden)

27/03/2022

Veni vidi aurorae-ici!

That time you "hired" a $400M Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner for ten hours for a "flight to nowhere"....

4+ solid hours of stunning aurorae for our 122 guests on board our fully-booked Southern Lights Flight on Friday evening/Saturday morning!

What an incredible adventure for all!

More images to follow but firstly, sleep!!✈️🌌🥂🎉

17/02/2022

Just a few seats left with
Economy class now FULLY BOOKED!

Ready to spoil yourself with a front-row-seat way up at 38,000ft and way down south at around 58º south latitude to view and photograph one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World?!

Having seen the Northern Lights (and Southern Lights) on well over 50 separate occasions I can certainly vouch that they are truly addictive!

These last Premium Economy and Business class seats will go soon as the clock ticks down on our 25th March "Southern Lights Flight".

Come along and be part of the very first and very BEST aurora australis flight ot of Australia this year!

No seat rotation required, keep your booked seat allocation for the entire flight. Double the all-important aurora viewing-time!

[email protected]

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

03/02/2022

VERY excited to announce that we've been able to secure on board, FIVE not just good but absolutely best-of-the-best professional landscape, night-scape and event photographers for our upcoming bucket-list ticking "Southern Lights Flight"! All of them are brand ambassadors for different camera companies and all with multiple photography awards and many industry accolades.

Four are travelling up especially from Hobart to be a part of this exciting flight to help all of our guests with their own photography and ensure they also capture stunning images and footage of the auroras.

May I present my expert photography crew for my March 25th/26th "Southern Lights Flight":

a) "Southern Lights Flight" Aurora Photography Crew

i) Luke Tscharke, Luke Tscharke Photogrpahy, Hobart
https://luketscharke.com

ii) Andrew Phipps, Andrew Phipps Photography, Hobart
https://www.eagleeyetasmania.com.au

iii) Nick Monk, Nick Monk Photography, Hobart
http://nickmonkphotography.com

iv) Ben Alldridge, Ben Alldridge Photography, Hobart
https://nightscapephotographer.com/benjamin-b-alldridge-tasmanian-nightscapes/

b) "Southern Lights Flight" Event Photographer

i) Fiona Handbury, The Garage Studio, Melbourne
https://thegaragestudio.com.au

Take a look online at some of the stunning work these five pro photographers I've nabbed for the flight have in their portfolios (and buy their prints or if Melbourne-based contact my good friend Fiona at The Garage Studio for your next newborn, maternity, wedding or event photos!)

Honoured to have such highly-regarded photographers on board as crew for the upcoming bucket-list ticking flight.

Down to the last few seats....be quick!

[email protected]

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

24/01/2022

And may I introduce the other highly esteemed and respected captain looking after us in two months, Captain Alex Passerini.

Here's Captain Alex giving a walk-through of the stunning 787-9 Dreamliner we'll be using to take us down to witness the enchating aurora australis!

Captain Alex Passerini is the Chief Technical Pilot at Qantas. Alex and his team are responsible for the development of flight crew procedures used to safely and efficiently operate airplanes in the fleet, deploy new technologies, liaise with manufacturers and the many departments within Qantas that contribute to flying operations. Alex continues to fly passenger flights as part of his role, and is currently flying the 787 on routes such as Perth/London and Melbourne/San Francisco (and exciting charters like ours!)

Both pilots have flown the Antarctica scenic day-flights as well as aurora flights last year so I am delighted to have been allocated two of Qantas' most experienced and highly regarded Captains to be looking after all of my guests and on-board crew for this unique flight.

Down to just a handful of seats available on board now for the bucket-list ticking flight....

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

[email protected]

24/01/2022

Meet the first of our two captains who shall be looking after us on board our March 25th/26th "Southern Lights Flight" - the highly-regarded and super experienced Captain Lisa Norman.

As mentioned in my previous post Lisa is perhaps THE most experienced 787 Qantas pilot in the company.

Along with her regular flying-role captaining the stunning Dreamliners, Lisa is also Manager Fleet Operations Strategy. Lisa was selected to bring to Australia Qantas' very first 787 Dreamliner delivery from Boeing as well as being heavily involved in the recent "Project Sunrise" Sydney to London non-stop flight project as well as being Captain aboard the history-making Perth to London non-stop flight a few years ago. Some of you may well have seen her in Qantas promo ads or interviews.

Stay tuned for a walk-through video of the stunning Qantas 787 Dreamliner by our other captain looking after us, Captain Alex Passerini!

Down to just a handful of seats available on board now for the bucket-list ticking flight....

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

info@quovadisholidays.

24/01/2022

T-minus two months and counting.....

Getting to the pointy-end now for our "Southern Lights Flight" and in fact speaking of the pointy-end, I'm very honoured to be able to announce and introduce the absolute "Top Gun", best-of-the-best Qantas 787 flight-crew who were last week allocated to fly our exciting aurora flight for March.

May I introduce the highly esteemed and respected Captain Lisa Norman and Captain Alex Passerini who will be flying us from Melbourne down to around 56º-58º south latitude to witness the enchanting aurora australis.

Lisa and Alex are perhaps THE most experienced 787 Qantas pilots in the company and it’s such an honour to have them looking after our exciting flight.

Along with the regular flying role captaining the stunning Dreamliners, Lisa is also Manager Fleet Operations Strategy. Lisa was selected to bring to Australia Qantas' very first 787 Dreamliner delivery from Boeing as well as being heavily involved in the recent "Project Sunrise" Sydney to London non-stop flight project as well as being Captain aboard the history-making Perth to London non-stop flight a few years ago. Some of you may well have seen her in Qantas promo ads or interviews.

Captain Alex Passerini is the Chief Technical Pilot at Qantas. Alex and his team are responsible for the development of flight crew procedures used to safely and efficiently operate airplanes in the fleet, deploy new technologies, liaise with manufacturers and the many departments within Qantas that contribute to flying operations. Alex continues to fly passenger flights as part of his role, and is currently flying the 787 on routes such as Perth/London and Melbourne/San Francisco (and exciting charters like mine!)

Both pilots have flown the Antarctica scenic day-flights as well as aurora flights last year so I am delighted to have been allocated two of Qantas' most experienced and highly regarded Captains to be looking after all of my guests and on-board crew for this unique flight.

Stay tuned for some video posts of our Captains!

Down to just a handful of seats available on board now for the bucket-list ticking flight....

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

[email protected]

24/11/2021

Looking for the ultimate Christmas gift for that “impossible-to-buy-for” person?’

We’re fully-booked in Economy with just a handful of seat-pairs left in Business and Premium Economy classes on board our March 25th/26th bucket-list ticking "Southern Lights Flight”!

- No seat-rotation
- Fewer passengers
- Special guest speaker astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy
- Expert on-board aurora photography assistance
- Timed around the equinox for maximum chances of auroras

Contact us TODAY at [email protected] to secure the last seats and your places on board....✈️🌌🥂🎉

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

Bucket-list scenic return flight from Melbourne to view the Southern Lights/Aurora Australis from a Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner

04/11/2021

Well, it was worth another trip down the coast and with a little patience “The Tricky Lady” showed up once the clouds mostly disappeared….🌌📷🥂

Auroras, Milky Way and setting Venus 🌌💫

Nikon Z6
Nikon 14-24mm f2.8
ISO4000
20” exposures

The first image a Montage of four images to create panorama.

One of the strongest solar storms in decades. Pesky clouds right on the horizon obscuring most of the greens down low.

Won’t have trouble with clouds at 10,000m in our Qantas 787 Dreamliner in March next year on board our “Southern Lights Flight”! ✈️🌌📷🥂🎉

02/11/2021

Some time-lapse footage I took on Sunday night as Earth was hit by a CME (coronal mass ejection) that erupted from the sun a couple of days earlier.

The first "front" hit the Earth at around 7am on Sunday morning and so wasn’t good timing for us here in the Southern Hemisphere.

At around 10pm Sunday evening it went off again with my aurora apps all showing greatly increasing solar wind speed, solar wind density and an all-important negative Bz (the direction of the incoming solar wind's magnetic field in the north/south direction).

Not a clear southern horizon so missed a lot of the slight pastel green hues that were right on the obscured horizon but did manage to capture the the very high reds.

Those with keen eyes will notice the Southern Cross and The Pointers (stars Alpha and Beta Centauri) The Milky Way stretching along the horizon slowly rotating clockwise. 🌌✨

The Kp Index would have been right up around 7.0 when it hit around midnight on Monday.

The sun is defintiely reawakening from her slumber and heading back to a solar maximum as part of her 11-year cycle!

Fingers-crossed for a great viewing on Friday 25th March 2022 on our exciting "Southern Lights Flight". Just a few places left!

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

[email protected]

Nikon Z6
Nikon 14-24mm f2.8
ISO4000
10" exposures

24/10/2021

Hurry, last seats!

Join us on Friday 25th March 2022 for our 9hr bucket-list overnight flight out of Melbourne to view the enchanting and captivating aurora australis from 38,000ft from around 56º-58º south latitude!

We have just a few seat-pairs left in each of Economy, Premium Economy and Business classes left before we're fully booked on board our chartered Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner to see the mesmerising southern lights.

A specifically chosen date around the time of the equinox when the chances of and the strength of auroras are far greater than other randomly chosen times of the year!

- NO seat-rotation required (a guaranteed window-seat for the entire flight for each seat-pair)
- Special Guest Speaker astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy
- A team of expert aurora photographers on board to assist
- Qantas 787 Dreamliner international class dining and beverage
service
- Fewer passengers on board for your comfort, safety and best
service levels
- Departs Melbourne 8:30pm, ~9-10hr flight

Contact us TODAY at [email protected] for more details and to secure these last seats for your flight to the southern lights!

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

29/09/2021

Ready to spoil yourselves for 2022...?

Your very own Qantas award-winning, Business-class or Premium Economy-class aurora-view aboard our exciting March 2022 "Southern Lights Flight"!

Stretch out and relax in luxurious levels of space and attentive service complete with an international-flight standard dining experience as you watch one of the greatest shows of "Mother Nature!

LIMITED seat pairs in both classes remaining. HURRY!

Departing Melbourne on Friday March 25th, our specially chartered Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner 9-10hr return scenic flight to witness the captivting and enchanting aurora australis from 38,000feet.

- NO Seat-rotation
- FEWER passengers
- MAXIMISED aurora strength/probability during equinox week
- SPECIAL GUEST speaker astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy
- PROFESSIONAL aurora photography assistance on board
- FULL international-flight standard meal and beverage service

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

Contact us TODAY to secure your places on this once-in-a-lifetime experience before it's sold out!

[email protected]
1800-722-311 (Melbourne-based)

25/09/2021

Under different circumstances right now we would be t-minus 60 minutes before finally taking-off from Melbourne in our Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner headed for 56º-58º south to view the enchanting aurora australis on our "Southern Lights Flight"!

Covid of course had other ideas for us for this bucket-list ticking adventure.

Many thanks to all who were booked on board and are joining our rescheduled trip set for Friday 25th March 2022!

Also set for the "equinox week", we're looking forward to open borders, an end to lockdowns and restriction-free travel as we set forth on our 2022 "Southern Lights Flight".

Such a great response to the rescheduled date and so now we have VERY limited seats remaining yet again in each of the three classes.

Contact us today before we're fully booked for your bucket-list adventure for 2022!

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

[email protected]

Bring on 2022!✈️🌌🥂🎉

Bucket-list scenic return flight from Melbourne to view the Southern Lights/Aurora Australis from a Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner

06/09/2021

Last seats for March 2022 going fast!

Your bucket-list ticking adventure for 2022 - our exciting "Southern Lights Flight" to view the enchanting aurora australis at 38,000ft from the comfort of a Qantas 787 Dreamliner.

We're already almost full across Economy, Premium Economy and Business seating classes for our upcoming March 25th/26th, equinox-week aurora flight.

A specifically chosen date around the time of the equinox when the chances of and the strength of auroras are far greater than other randomly chosen times of the year!

- NO seat-rotation required
- Special Guest Speaker astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy
- A team of expert aurora photographers on board to assist
- Qantas 787 Dreamliner international class dining and beverage
service
- Fewer passengers on board for your comfort, safety and best
service levels
- Departs Melbourne 8:30pm, ~9-10hr flight

https://quovadisholidays.com/.../2022-southern-lights.../

Contact us TODAY at [email protected] for more details and to secure these last seats!

25/08/2021

So with the current covid outbreaks throughout NSW, VIC and ACT we've had to unfortunately reschedule our exciting September 2021 "Southern Lights Flight" to March next year.

So many of you have been booked on board and waiting patiently for such a long time for our incredible aurora flight to quite literally "get off the ground"!

We secured many months ago yet another premium equinox-week time-slot for our Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner aurora charter flight - Friday March 25th.

The week of the equinox being that time of the year when, due to the alignment of the Earth's and interplanetary magnetic fields, there is greater interaction of the solar wind with our upper atmosphere. This gives a much greater chance for brighter and more active auroras than other, randomly picked times of the year.

Departing Melbourne 8:30pm and returning around 5:30am Saturday 26th March.

Such a shame after 14 months of work on this exciting flight and especially given there were only TWO seats left available with many people wait-listed to get on board!

With most of our guests not wanting to miss out on this bucket-list experience we're seeing a majority joining our rescheduled March flight.

We'll have a handful of places becoming available in each class which will be snapped-up VERY quickly and so we’re anticipating the flight to be fully booked!

By early next year we'll (thankfully) have city/State lockdowns and State border closures a thing of the past so it'll be first-in, best-dressed for these newly available seats.

Make sure you contact us TODAY should you have interest in securing your seats onboard with myself, astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy, the Qantas crew and a team of expert aurora photographers I've put together for this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

Contact us today to lock in those seats before they're gone!

[email protected]

23/08/2021

Last seats for March 2022 going fast!

Your bucket-list ticking adventure for March 2022 - our "Southern Lights Flight"!

We're almost full across Economy, Premium Economy and Business classes so it's first-in, best-dressed for our remaining seats on our exciting March 25th/26th equinox-week aurora flight.

Specifically chosen date around the time of the equinox when the chances of and the strength of auroras are far greater than other randomly chosen times of the year!

- NO seat-rotation
- Special Guest Speaker astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy
- A team of expert aurora photographers on board to assist
- Qantas 787 Dreamliner international class dining and beverage
- Fewer passengers on board for your comfort, safety and best service levels

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2022-southern-lights-flight/

Contact us today at [email protected] to secure these last sea

Bucket-list scenic return flight from Melbourne to view the Southern Lights/Aurora Australis from a Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner

11/06/2021

Your very own luxury Business-class seat aurora-view aboard our exciting September bucket-list ticking "Southern Lights Flight"!

Just FOUR seat pairs left. HURRY!

Departing Melbourne on September 25th, our specially chartered Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner 9-10hr return scenic flight to witness the captivting and mesmerising aurora australis from 38,000feet!

- NO Seat-rotation
- FEWER passengers
- MAXIMISED aurora strength/probability during equinox week
- SPECIAL GUEST speaker astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy
- PROFESSIONAL aurora photography assistance on board
- FULL international meal and beverage service

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2021-southern-lights-flight/

Contact us TODAY to secure your places on this once-in-a-lifetime experience before it's sold out!

[email protected]
1800-722-311 (Melbourne-based)

30/05/2021

Sounds like someone is "just a little" excited to be on board my September 787 Dreamliner flight to view the southern lights...

Lovely to have my special guest speaker for the flight, renowned astrophysicist Professor Alan Duffy post this onto his Insta account late last night. 👨🏻‍🏫🌏🪐🌌✈️🥂

Just five seat-pairs remaining between Business and Premium Economy classes.

https://quovadisholidays.com/tours/2021-southern-lights-flight/

[email protected]

28/05/2021

And the full sequence from Wednesday evening’s stunning Supermoon Lunar Eclipse.

Lucky to have had clear skies throughout!

Nikon P900




www.tlkphotography.com.au

27/05/2021

Putting my trusty Nikon P900 to good work last night with great, clear skies in Melbourne to capture the stunning supermoon lunar eclipse.

Starting at 7:45pm, this sequence of photos spans around two hours until the moon was completely covered by the Earth’s shadow to create the unique colour of the “blood moon”.

Looking forward to showing guests how best to get great aurora pics plus putting my Nikon Z6 mirrorless and 14-24mm f2.8 to equally good use chasing auroras at 38,000ft in September! 💺✈️🌌🥂🎉

https://vimeo.com/555521177puttinv

This is "Lunar Eclipse May 2021" by Quo Vadis Holidays on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

20/05/2021

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain of QF1328 speaking, I see auroras straight ahead... "🧑‍✈️👨🏻‍✈️✈️🌌🥂

Very excited to let all of our guests know that our bucket-list ticking "Southern Lights Flight" is confirmed for take-off on September 25th!

Just ONE Premium Economy Class seat-pair and a handful of Business Class seat-pairs left up for grabs on board.

The date of September 25th chosen specifically to be during the week of the September equinox when aurora strength and reliability are maximised due to the Russell-McPherron Effect.

- NO Seat-rotation
- FEWER passengers
- MAXIMISED aurora strength/probability
- REFUNDABLE deposits (until June 15th)
- SEAT-SELECTION upon booking (based on availability)
- GUEST speaker Professor Alan Duffy and professional aurora photography assistance on board!
- FULL international meal and beverage service

The best and ultimate (and most covid-friendly) aurora flight in Australia.

https://quovadisholidays.com/.../2021-southern-lights.../

Contact us TODAY to secure these last few places on this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

[email protected]

1800-722-311 (Melbourne-based)

Bucket-list scenic return flight from Melbourne to view the Southern Lights/Aurora Australis from a Qantas 787-9 Dreamliner

13/05/2021

And just because I think it came out okay, about 2 hours before the geomagnetic storm (G3!) hit I was doing some Milky Way photography down on one of the Mornington Peninsula back beaches.

It's at this time the year that the Milky Way creates a lovely arc over the southern horizon and lends itself to interesting panoramas and montages when conditions are right as they were.

Little did I know that in two hours the southern horizon was to erupt with an amazing Kp 7.0 aurora show!

Nikon Z6
Nikon 14-24 f2.8
30" ISO 1600