Hawai'i Trip - [Helicopter Tour]

Since the island was so big and drive times were long, we opted to take a helicopter tour of the island, which would give us some overhead views of the active volcano. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was about 3½ hours drive one way from our resort, then a 7-8 mile hike (one way) to to see the active vent, so taking a helicopter was a quicker route.

We started from the Blue Hawaiian Heliport near the hotel, and flew southeast across the island between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa to get to the volcano Kilauea. After we visited the active vent area, we flew north to the city of Hilo and stopped for fuel.

After stretching our legs in Hilo, we traveled up the northeast coast to see the seven valleys that are lush and contain many waterfalls. Too bad there has not been that much rain, since a lot of the waterfalls were almost dry. One valley, Waipi'o, was one where the Hawaiian kings and chiefs met. Next, we flew over Kohala Mountain and the town of Waimea (Kamuela), then back to the Heliport.

The entire tour took over 2 hours, and we saw a majority of the island this way. We flew in a ECO Star helicopter instead of the A Star we paid for. The ECO is quieter and more expensive, but somehow we were put onto one. Both styles of helicopter seat 6 people, plus the pilot. There are 5 cameras on board that record the entire adventure, and you can purchase a video of your trip for about $20.

Click on a picture to see it in a larger size. If you like a picture, feel free to save it, although the quality has been sacrificed for space. I can print you a picture from the original, in sizes up to 8x10 inches.

Here is a picture of the ECO Star helicopter we took our tour in. These helicopters have the rear rotor embedded in the tail, and are super quiet.

Visibility was pretty good from these helicopters, although I was not at a window, so some of the pictures will show some reflections.

Here is a view looking from the rear seats toward to pilot area. Kimberly is on the right, with the pilot immediately to her left.

A small video screen, shown in the middle of the picture, switched between one of the five cameras that were on board.

Here we are looking at some cloud cover as we near Mauna Kea and the Saddle Road. The Saddle Road runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, and most rental car companies forbid you to drive the road.

At least there is some green here instead of lava everywhere!

We approach the volcano Kilauea and the main area called Kilauea Caldera. Note the desolate surroundings due to volcanic ash and smoke.

This volcano is in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, and you can drive to this crater. Volcano Village is nearby too if you want to stay there.

A picture looking at the active vent Pu'u 'O'o, which is about 8 miles from Kilauea Caldera.

This picture was taken as we headed south toward the ocean. There was not too much growing around here, as the lava flow was in this general direction.

Looking at a distant Mauna Kea that peeks out from the clouds. This picture was taken near the active vent looking north.

The patches of green are areas where the flows from Mauna Loa and Kilauea did not not reach, or have grown in since then.

As we near the city of Hilo, we traveled over large farms of orchids and macadamia nuts. The "grid-like" pattern are orchards surrounded by large, tall pine trees that serve as a wind break for the inner trees.

This area of the island, the eastern side, is known for its' greenery and rain. Over 200 inches of rain at year is typically recorded on this side of the island. Most people are hesitant to spend their vacations on this side!

Here we are approaching our refueling stop at the Hilo International Airport. This airport is close to Hilo Bay.

You can see the sea wall that is in the middle of the bay. This town has withstood tsunamis and lava flows.

A picture of the helicopter after refueling. We stopped and were able to use the bathroom and freshen up abit. This was around the halfway point of the tour.

The the helicopter was very hot inside. There were vents and so forth, but with 7 people inside, it got hot!

We are in the air again, and flying north over Hilo. This area use to contain a lot of sugar plantations, but that industry collapsed years ago.

We headed north towards the small town of Honomu, which is very cliffy near the sea.

Looking down on Akaka Falls near Honomu Town. The drop is around 420 feet, and is best viewed early in the day.

This place is popular with tour buses. You can walk to the falls in around 15-20 minutes through lush, sugar land. There are other falls in the area, like popular Rainbow Falls and multi-tiered Umauma Falls. They charge admission to see Umauma Falls.

A glimpse of one of the tall waterfalls in the sever valley coastal area. There were a lot of falls like these throughout this area, which is called the Hamakua Coast.

Most of these waterfalls are over 1000 feet in height!

This area is located in an area valled the Waipi'o Valley, which is near the northern tip of the island.

Erosion is present here, and the sea has taken its' toll on these valleys. In 1946 a large tsunami washed away nearly everything and everyone.

Legend has it that Waipi'o Valley was gouged out by a powerful warrior with his club to demonstrate his power.

Because of the tranquilizing effects of the valleys, this area was chosed as a meeting place for chiefs when making important decisions.

After visting the Hamakua Coast, we flew over the Kohala Mountain and the small, country town of Waimea, which is also knows as Kamuela.

This town sits near the famous Parker Ranch, which has over 225,000 acres of land on the big island.

We approach the Blue Hawaiin Heliport for a landing. The trip was remarkably smooth and turbulence-free.

You can see the main highway on the west coast, called the Queen Kaahumana Highway or Queen K for short. Check out all the lava!