Heli Ride

A chance to see the Na Pali Coast is probably the number one suggestion to anyone visiting Kauai. You can only see it by boat or by air. Jeff, the snorkel lover, wanted to try for one of the boat tours that offered a little snorkel time (sea turtles and dolphins are practically a guaranteed sight). Well, most of those tours are 6-7 hours. I can't handle being on the water that long so we tried for some of the 3.5 to 5.5 hour tours. They were all booked until Sunday or Tuesday the following week. Jeff worked out the snorkel situation so that was no longer a priority. Another option was 4 to 5 hour sunset cruises along the coast. Those also booked quickly and our chance was gone. Next we looked into helicopter rides. We read reviews on at least 3 different companies on the island and finally decided to go with Island Helicopters.

Most expensive 50 minutes of our life. Since all of our other options to see the coast were gone I'd say the cost was well worth it. Plus we got to see a lot of the island that you can't see by boat. I wore a motion sickness patch plus I had about 3 other remedies on hand. I chewed two pieces of ginger gum during the trip. Jeff took a ton of pictures. Poor guy. I hope he had a chance to enjoy the ride and the views for himself. So, what follows is basically a photo dump of the island. Here we are getting ready to board the heli.

There were six passengers and one captain/pilot. We were smooshed in there like sardines but the time flew by (ha!) and we got over it quickly. This is liftoff. The pilot played a little James Bond theme music to lighten the mood. It was pretty funny.

This is the waterfall from the opening scene of Jurassic Park, hence the name of the tour; Jurassic Falls. Dozens of movies have been filmed in Kauai. There's even a tour that takes you to all the movie film spots. That would have been fun if we'd had the time. 

I think this is Waimea Canyon. And Jeff's left hand.

The next several pictures are of the Na Pali Coast. It looks like we were there are separate days because some of the shots are gloomy and some are sunny. 

Can you see the trail below? I'll discuss that more.

The next few are of Hanalei Bay. Hanalei Bay is gorgeous. It was where we paddle boarded and visited a couple times to look for shells and watch the locals. Hanalei is mentioned in the Peter, Paul and Mary song Puff the Magic Dragon. 

Puff, the magic dragon, lived by the sea

and frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee

I think this was taken about mid-way through the trip.

Here we are again, safely on land. 

Our cool captain. 

I did not get sick on the trip. My stomach did flip a time or two but everything went very well. I also haven't been on a helicopter since I was about 6 so this was an exciting adventure. Jeff got some really great pictures and I think I might have to pick one to enlarge and frame. I still wish we could have taken a sunset boat tour, especially since our one attempt to get sunset pictures was on a cloudy evening. 

I did mention that a month wouldn't be long enough to see and do everything you want in Kauai. There's also the chance that I may have gotten sea sick on a boat tour and that would have ruined a day so there's that to consider.