September 29
Intro & Arriving in Maui
 
September 30
Beaches & A Lava Flow
 
October 1
Iao Valley
 
October 2
A Helicopter Ride
 
October 3 & 4
A Bird, A Dog, Work & Drinking
 
October 5
Haleakala & A Luau
 
October 6
Lahaina & Heading Home
 

October 2, 2005
A Helicopter Ride
 

I had been told taking a helicopter tour of the island was the thing to do in Maui. It turned out Paul had always wanted to do it too. We got up early to get to the airport by 8:00am.   Here's Paul, a little nervous, with his inflatable life preserver strapped around his waist.

There are several companies that give helicopter tours. We went with Blue Hawaiian. The helicopter itself was an ECO-Star. It seats six plus the pilot and was an extremely smooth ride. There were "comfort bags" available but we didn't use any.

In no time we were up and out over the water. I took over a hundred pictures, though some didn't come out well due to reflections off the inside of the windows. You can see a slight reflection in this one looking west over Wailuku towards the West Maui Volcano. That gap in the middle is the entrance to Iao Valley.   We picked a great day for it. There were very few clouds when we started out, though they thickened over the course of the hour we were in the air.

The pilot took us into a valley with a waterfall and then straight up a few hundred feet, over a ridge and down into the valley on the other side.   This picture is pretty high up, looking at the peaks of West Maui. I think it used to be a single mountain, but it's been extinct for so long that the soft stone has eroded leaving many smaller mountains.   That's the reflection of my knees in the lower corner.

A valley on the west side of West Maui.

The peaks of West Maui.

As you learned in school (if you're American, that is) the Hawaiian islands are the tops of extinct and dormant volcanoes.   Maui was formed by two volcanoes, and the rock they formed grew into a single island. This is the view as we flew across the valley between them.

Molokini is a small, semi-circular island south of Maui. It's actually part of the rim of a volcano. The snorkeling inside its crater is supposed to be fantastic. On the outside, you need scuba gear because the wall goes down hundreds of feet.

This is Kahului, at the north end of the valley. Paul said when the cruise liners dock, they're the biggest structures on the island.

We got to the south ridge of East Maui. The mountain is sometimes called Haleakala, but that's really the name of just its crater and national park.

We crossed over the ridge and flew along side it. Near the top is a group of buildings, telescopes and satellite dishes called Science City. It's off limits to the public and Paul said that sometimes there are lasers coming out of it. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I'd say it's how the government reads Paul's thoughts. Oooh, spooky.

We were high enough to see Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii, a hundred miles sway.

The crater has lots of mini-volcanoes in it, each marks a previous eruption.   The thin whitish line just below the crater rim is a chain link fence. It's there to keep out wild animals. The crater is the only place in the world where the Silversword Plant grows, and we wouldn't want it eaten into extinction.

We descended the east side of the mountain and found dozens of waterfalls.

We cruised out over the water and followed the cliffs. Each of the small valleys has a stream that empties into the ocean.

It was very strange to fly just under the clouds, but what a sight ... the clouds, the mountain, the waterfalls in the distance, the houses and roads, the rocks and ocean ... no wonder this place is called a paradise.

The Hana Highway weaves through the trees, over streams and around crags. It's only fifty miles from Kahului to Hana but the drive takes about four hours, and that's if you don't stop to sightsee.

Somewhere near Hana, we flew past a rainbow.

Thankfully, most of the coastline is pristine. There are a few small houses and every now and then, there's mansion. This one belonged to George Harrison.

We went back up towards the mountain and flew past several more waterfalls.

As we headed back towards Kahului and the land started to flatten out, there were still crevices cut into the earth by streams flowing down the mountain.

Aside from the towns of Kahului and Waikulu, the central valley is mostly sugar cane fields. Pineapples are the other main crop, but it's hard to tell the difference from the air.

Back on the ground, my knees were a little shaky. It was an exciting ride and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Hawaii. My parents will be going there for their 50th anniversary, and I hope they don't chicken out.

After we got over our giddiness and looking through the gift shop for something cool to buy, we left to have a second breakfast and go to Paul's place to work on his computer. I had to remind myself that was the real reason I came to Hawaii.

For dinner, we went to another restaurant near Paul's at the Diamond Resort, a stunning bit a architecture with fantastic food. We sat in the lounge very close to the piano/bass jazz duo. They were amazing, especially the bass player. I have a fondness for bass players anyway.

Next: 10/03/05 - A Bird, A Dog, Work & Drinking