Helicopter flight

Note: this is part of day 5.

Today is helicopter day! Woohoo! I am so excited to finally check this off my bucket list.

We arrive at the airport with time to spare; time for a quick visit to the bathroom (can't help being a bit nervous now can we?)

After a smooth check-in we watch a safety video, then Rogena leads us to the runway where we wait until our pilot flies in. Wow, can't believe we're about to get on the helicopter ourselves!

The folks at Blue Hawaiian really know their stuff and everything is done with great efficiency and a friendly smile. There's even a three man pit crew to guide the six of us to our assigned seats, straps us into our seat belts and helps us with our head sets. And yes, the seats are preassigned by a computer to safely distribute the weight so you can't fight over who gets to sit next to the window.

And then we're off! I can't believe how smooth the take-off is! We're flying one of their new planes, an eco-star -- it's more environmentally friendly (duh) and also has a lot more windows so there's no closed in feeling and fabulous views no matter which direction you look. Here's a view from inside the helicopter

First we cruise over a macadamia nut plantation. The grid of taller trees helps block the wind.

Then it's off to Pu'u O'o vent (coincidentally our room at the Volcano Inn is the Pu'u O'o room haha). Whatever fears I had about plummeting to our deaths into hot lava disappear from my mind as soon as we see the plume ... it's just THAT amazing that there's no room for other thoughts.

Our pilot Zack narrates what we're seeing as we're flying over it and also makes sure to swing the helicopter around so that everyone gets to see what's there.

Unfortunately there's no active flows right now so you can imagine my delight when we spot lava inside the one of the opens in the crater. Now there's something I never thought I'd see!

We also get to see some new lava flows. You can tell they're new by how shiny and metallic they look. Apparently they're also very, very hot ... like 1000s of degrees hot! I think Zack said that if you stand within 3 feet for a few seconds it will singe the hair right off your legs :-o

Jack's Lava House ... the only house that remains standing of an entire subdivision that got wiped out by the volcano. The guests of his B&B need to be flown in by helicopter because all the roads leading to the house are gone too.

We later fly over another subdivision that was flooded by lava, but here about 20% of the people have returned to their homesites and rebuilt their homes. Very strange when you consider that insurance doesn't cover it, no bank will give you a loan, if a lava tube collapsed under the house it's gone again or of course the volcano might erupt again and if all of that isn't bad enough you'd still be living in the middle of a lava field.

Beautiful contrast near the coast. The water here is 3 miles deep in some places.

Some random scenery pictures:

We fly over Volcano Village on our way to the Hilo coast where we get to see some of the waterfalls. It's amazing how many you can see from their air. You'd never know they were all there.

Next a couple of pictures of Hilo Bay. To me it looks better from the air than up close, but either way it's a nice spot.

Last but not least, a picture of our helicopter:

Thanks Blue Hawaiian! There's a reason these guys are rated #1. I highly recommend them if you're interested in doing a helicopter tour.