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Helicopter Ride - High Point So Far

HAWAII, Sep 9 - Today's helicopter ride and its aftermath have been the high points of my trip so far, both literally and figuratively.  You will be able to see below some truly spectacular scenery - unique in every respect.  You can see an approximate route of flight on the above map.  I also have a two-hour DVD of the flight, including the audio of all the chit-chat that went on in the cabin, if anyone is interested (click here if you want it).

As I drove to the heliport this morning, I could not believe my good luck.  After five days of nearly constant clouds on top of the Island's mountains, they were gleaming in crystal clear sunshine this morning.  Kohala Mountain was where I drove the other day (see Chapter 2).  Mount Kea (middle) photo is nearly 14,000 feet tall.  It is the world's tallest mountain from the ocean floor to the top (32,000 ft vs. 29,000 feet for Mt. Everest).  Mount Loa, also close to 14,000 feet, is the longest and the largest Hawaiian mountain (right photo).  It occupies about two-thirds of the island area.

The cute little heliport (left photo) was very close to my hotel (about five miles away).  Before boarding the aircraft, we had to go on the ground through the usual FAA (Federal Aviation Authorty) BS about air safety (watch a five-minute video and be escorted down an exact painted path to the helicopter).  God forbid that anyone step over the line.  I did it just to test if the "blue collar" revenge factor applied here, too.  It did.  I was reprimanded for having crossed the line.  :-)

Our captain's name was Jake.  He was charming.  He was also a living encyclopedia of facts and figures about Hawaii.  That made the trip very informative not just enjoyable.  Interestingly, in his previous job, he flew helicopters in Manhattan.  Guess he's had enough of the rat race... :-)

Captain Jake also had to go through some more FAA rules and regs before we finally took off (right photo).  As we were gaining elevation, he asked each passenger to introduce himself/herself.  The young lady in the above right photo (Silvia) was from Mexico City.  Next to her was her Mom, also from there.  In the back row, the couple on the right were from Pennsylvania.  The lady on the left was from Maine.  And then there was yours truly in the middle... (from Grayhawk).

Some shots of the scenery as we were taking off.  Later on, we flew over several craters on Mount Kea (the tallest mountain in the world).  That's where one of the most important observatory in the world is also located, with 13 telescopes peering at the universe the whole time.  Jake said he had watched Saturn from there when he went up in February.  "That was really cool," he summed it up.

You can also see from the above pictures a great variety of landscapes around Hawaii.  Because of its great elevation and coastal contrasts, the Big Island has 11 of the world's 13 climatic zones.  The only ones it doesn't have are the Arctic and Tundra.

After about a half hour-flight, we got to the real deal... the only active volcano on the southeastern tip of the island (see the above map). Captain Jake was quite upset to have seen some people camped out at just under the volcano (look for the blue tent - middle left shot).  "These people have no idea about how serious a danger they are in," he said.  He pointed out the black line just above their blue tent.  He said that was the lava flow from just a couple of weeks ago, when an eruption on this side of the mountain took place.  This volcano started to spew out its lava and sulfuric gasses in 1983, and has been going strong ever since.  You can see literally a river of lava descending down the mountain (right shot).

The temperature in the red hot rivulets you can see in the left two photos is 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Jake.  The only reason such hot lava does not start wild fires is that it has the rain forest ahead of it (the trees and bushes it is destroying are saturated with water - middle right).  It was at this point that I noticed the small monitor on the helicopter cockpit dash (right photo) which was showing all the views the three cameras were recording for the DVD.  Guess I was slow on the uptake (flight term pun intended).  :-)

As we were approaching the Hilo airport, we flew over large groves of macadamia trees (left).  We also saw that there was a big cruise ship docked in the harbor (middle left).  And we had a nice view of the town of Hilo (middle right), and its little airport (right).

We had a short break on the ground in Hilo during which Silvia and I made friends (left). As we took off again, we enjoyed some more beautiful views of the Hilo Bay (middle left), a close up of the cruise ship ("Pride of America" - middle right), and panoramic views of the pretty coastline north of Hilo (right).

The rest of the views of the eastern coastline were simply breathtaking.  The middle left photo shows the (man-planted) eucalyptus forests I had seen the day before.  The rightmost picture (with the arrow) shows the exact Waipio Valley lookout point at which I stood yesterday.

The next valley (rightmost shot), not accessible by road, had several waterfalls...

Some of them were taller than the Empire State Bldg, Jake said (two left shots).  As we left the valley and flew parallel to the coastline again, we saw several other waterfalls.  They can only be seen from the ocean or from the air.

As we turned westward toward Kohala Mtn (middle left), we flew over another spot where I stood on my first drive around the northern tip of the island (left). The middle right shot shows the treed road (Hwy 250) on which I also drove that day.  You can also see how quickly the lush green turns to desert-like landscape on the west side of the island.  And then we enjoyed some great views of the western coastline, looking to the south (right).

The resort on the left (I didn't catch its name) is now closed due to the earthquake damage from the Oct 15, 2006 quake.  But it shows how man steals from the desert and creates green oases.  The middle shot is of the Fairmont as is the right photo, on which I had marked approximately the route of my Day 1 hike.

And that's about it from my camera. 

Select Still Images Captured from DVD

What follows here are selections of still image captured from the DVD that the helicopter company was filming the whole time...

I chose mostly some more spectacular shots of the eastern coastline...

... pictures that I could not take because of where I was seated...

...finishing with a shot of the cabin with yours truly in the back row.

To be continued... CLICK HERE to go to CHAPTER 6...

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