Halloween, Hawaii and holiday celebrations - the Hawaii section part 2 THIS SECTION COMPLETED 2/3 - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Wednesday 6 November – part two: this isn’t that great…
We were soon on the ground, and when we walked into Hilo Airport, it was clear that it was a very small and very Hawaiian airport. See what I mean from these photos…
We headed outside and Mark went to use the restrooms. I was going to wait for him, but then I saw the Japanese tour group coming towards me, and I flew into the restrooms, beating all of them. Wow, you should’ve seen the line when I came out! Thank goodness I’ve encountered this issue before and know what to do…
We made our way over to the air tours section of the airport…
… and quickly found our helicopter flight operator, where we paid for our flight. I still can’t believe that they don’t take payment until the day. We found out why on our flight. Our luck was obviously in, as apparently yesterday, all the flights were cancelled due to the rain. We were also told that this isn’t unusual in November, as it’s the rainiest month of the year here, and that’s saying something, as Hilo gets 300 + days of rain. Apparently, that’s why all the tourism is focused on the other side of the island, as that’s the dry side…
We were taken into the passenger lounge and shown a video about the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which was very interesting, and certainly whetted our appetite.
We were soon joined by the other people on our flight, a couple from Brazil, and then the safety briefing began. It’s clear that this is something that they (rightly) take very seriously and they explained what we could take on (basically ourselves and cameras if they had straps on them), how to approach the helicopter, our seatbelts and how to operate them and the operation of the headphones and the sick bags. Thankfully, no-one on our flight needed to use the latter…
We were then taken out to the airfield to wait for the arrival of our helicopter, which literally turned up a moment or two later. We were then given our headphones, life vests and escorted to the helicopter. I was the first to board, as I had seat number three in the back just behind the pilot and I was fascinated to watch them take the doors off the helicopter….
Once we were all in, we took off and I must admit that for the first few minutes of the flight, I did cling on for dear life to the straps by my seat, then I realised that I just need to trust that I was all strapped in properly (which thankfully I was! ) and then I let go. After that, I relaxed a lot more. I know afterwards Mark said to me that he had been quite tense throughout the whole thing as well.
The first few minutes weren’t that great, as we had to fly at quite a high altitude while we were over the city of Hilo and that was a bit more uncomfortable than the rest of the flight with a fair bit of buffering around.
How nice and easy to have the helicopters leave from the airport you arrived at. I was tensing up myself when I saw that little-bitty copter and then read they were taking off the doors! I'm sure it's worth it, because there's no way you could see the park and so much of the Big Island without it.
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Whoa. This seems way more intense than any thrill ride at WDW! It sure makes for some great photo ops though.
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I'm with Marnie, not sure I could go up in a helicopter without doors! I was green after a tiny plane flight over the Grand Canyon and I imagine this being that experience and then some! But I am glad you did it as I can't wait for he pictures!
How nice and easy to have the helicopters leave from the airport you arrived at. I was tensing up myself when I saw that little-bitty copter and then read they were taking off the doors! I'm sure it's worth it, because there's no way you could see the park and so much of the Big Island without it.
we couldn't have done, and we really wouldn't have got a sense of how big the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was from the ground either.
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I am so excited to hear about this! I think an open door helicoptor ride sounds like so much fun... especially over Hawaii! Since there were 4 of you (5 including the pilot), did someone have to sit in the "middle" and not get a window/door seat?
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Thank goodness I’ve encountered this issue before and know what to do… 
) and then I let go. After that, I relaxed a lot more. I know afterwards Mark said to me that he had been quite tense throughout the whole thing as well. 
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I'm sure it's worth it, because there's no way you could see the park and so much of the Big Island without it.
Can't wait to see the pictures! 
If only....
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