After finishing our visit to Richardson Beach Park, we headed back to Hilo Airport for our helicopter ride. We choose Blue Hawaiian Helicopters’ Circle of Fire Plus Waterfalls tour. We choose the Eco-Star helicopter, which was more expensive, but more comfortable with bigger windows. The current price is $309 per person. We booked and paid for this in advance of our vacation. They only require 24 hours notice for cancellations, so there is little risk to booking early. You can also purchase a DVD of your flight for $25, which we did…and have never watched.
This was our helicopter for our ride over Kilauea. It seats 7 passengers plus the pilot.
A word of warning, when you book your flight you are required to enter your weight. I would be honest about it, because when you check in, they will make you get on a scale. If you refuse, you do not fly. They have to balance the passengers in the helicopter by weight. It is required for safety. Also, you do not get to choose where you sit, because they assign you a seat based on dispersing the weight of the passengers as evenly as possible. My son and I were lucky, we sat in the front row. He had the window seat, the best view available, although the windows are so large, you can see from every seat. My husband and daughter were seated behind us.
Getting ready for take off!
They have you board one at a time so they can get you in safely (the propellers do not stop), make sure your harness is on correctly and your headphones are working. After a brief safety reminder (you will watch a video before you board) we took off.
Flying along the shoreline of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
I apologize for the low quality of photos in this post. It started raining with in a few minutes of take off and all the pictures are taken through the window of the helicopter.
While the pilot is flying you to the shoreline of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park he will give you information about the volcano and the island. He will also ask you questions. For some reason, our pilot liked directing 98% of his questions at me. “Now Tracy….” was how he started almost every sentence. I figured I must be the only one who did any research and knew all the correct answers.
First, you fly along the shoreline, so you can get an idea of how extensive previous lava flows have been (there were no lava flows when we were there). You see absolute desolation and then little oases of trees will pop up, surrounded by hardened lava. It is fascinating to see in person.
An oasis of trees surrounded by hardened lava on Kilauea.
It was at this point that the smarty pants in me (I am putting that nicely) had to come out. When we came upon the first group of trees (there were only 3, it was a small patch compared to this photo), surrounded by nothing but hardened lava for miles on end, and the pilot asked me, “Now Tracy, do you see that small patch of trees?” Well, of course I could see it. You would have to have your eyes closed not to see it. It was the only thing not brown as far as the eye could see. So I responded, “No, I don’t see it.” You can only hear the person who has the microphone and the pilot at any time, all other sound is blocked out through the headphones. So the pilot could not hear my son laughing hysterically next to me, or see my daughter’s huge smile reflecting off the windows. Well, bless his gullible soul, he said, “You really can’t see that? If you just look straight in front of you, right there (leans over and is pointing), you will…..” Then he looks at me and realizes I am completely messing with him because he asked me an absurd question, and says, “You are totally messing with me! I can’t believe you are messing with me! That’s kind of funny.” I thought maybe that would be end of his line of questioning directed solely at me, but I was wrong. I actually have the urge to go back and watch the video and count how many times he said, “Now Tracy….”
Flying over Kilauea, an active volcano, on the big island of Hawaii
I have to admit, when we got to the top of Kilauea, it was not at all what I expected. I had thought we’d be looking into an opening with magma. At the time we were there, the top was covered with a thin layer of hardened lava, so it was all different shades of brown. “Now Tracy, do you see the different shades of brown?” Oh, here we go again. It took everything in me not to say, “No.” “Now Tracy, do you know why there are different shades of brown?” Actually, a decent question, which I did not know the answer to. I don’t recall the exact answer, but it had to do with how recently it had hardened. We flew around the top of Kilauea for at least 10 minutes, hoping to see a bit of lava come up to the surface. The closest we got was watching a dead tree light on fire and disappear with in a few seconds. Hard to believe there was even a dead tree still standing up there on top, but there it was…and then wasn’t. What I found most fascinating, and asked my own questions about, was concerning the small science station right on the top of the volcano. It was filled with equipment to measure various aspects of the volcano. I am sure that it could not have survived the eruption that took place several years later.
It was around this time my husband realized he was seated next to the most prolific vomiter on the planet. I am not sure who I felt more sorry for, the vomiter, or my husband. I was happily oblivious, up front. None of us could hear him, and thankfully, I couldn’t smell it, but my husband could. Kind of put a downer on the experience for him, as he had to do his best to look in the opposite direction and not breathe in through his nose for the duration of the trip. Helpful hint, if you start to feel nauseous, inform the pilot. They can crank up the air and will make wider turns, both of which will help. Unfortunately for everyone in the back seat, we in the front seat had no idea someone was sick. After we had left the volcano and were flying over the waterfall my husband had to ask the pilot for more vomit bags because the poor man in the back had filled up everyone’s bags.
An aerial view of Rainbow Falls, in Hilo, Hawaii
We did a couple of pass-overs above the falls and then headed back for the airport. You get out of the helicopter, one by one, with assistance from the ground crew. Again, the blades keep spinning, so be mindful.
As we were walking back to our car, my husband put his hand in front of my face and said, “Now Tracy, can you see my hand in front of your face?” My son said, “Now Tracy, can you see the street under your feet?” Then my daughter chimed in, “Now Tracy, can you see the tree 3 feet in front of you?” They were all laughing so hard and I said, “I thought he was only talking to me the whole flight. I figured it was because I had the best answers.” That set my son off howling with laughter and he said, “I don’t think that was why he was only talking to you.” It took about 24 hours for them to stop with the “Now Tracy….”
Overall, it was a positive and memorable experience (for more than one reason). I am glad we did it, but I did not like the feeling of pressure in my head from being in a helicopter. It bothered my son as well, but my daughter and husband were not affected. For our trip to Maui, I will not be planning another helicopter ride. I will do another one eventually, when we get to Kauai. There are three things I would do differently. First, I would ask the pilot to blast the cold air right at the start of the trip. I think that might have helped keep everyone on board feeling better. Second, I would have had my husband ask for a partial refund (for his ticket) or to receive the DVD for free, since his trip was not the most pleasant experience. Third, I would not purchase the DVD, maybe some day we will actually watch it and I will change my mind. I think my husband would say that he would have informed the pilot right away when the poor puker started up, now knowing that the pilot can do some things to help out those who are not feeling well. I would be happy to fly with this company again, although we might consider a smaller helicopter that could only fit our family….less chance of vomit that way.
Next up will be our visit to Rainbow Falls in Wailuku River State Park…still in Hilo, there really are a lot of things to see on this side of the island. Wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life!
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The Best Helicopter Tour on Kauai
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An Aerial View of Kilauea
“Now Tracy….” this entry is gold, like a Blume novel!
Thank you! This story is a part of our family history that my kids will never let me forget!