During the planning process for our trip, we all agreed on one thing - we wanted to see red hot lava! I was a little disappointed when I discovered that a helicopter tour was the best way to see active lava flow - it was going to be an expensive activity!
Using dad's Shell discounts, we booked a 45 minute Circle of Fire & Waterfalls tour with Blue Hawaiian. It was the same price per person as my first tandem skydive - $220 each.
From What's Shakin', the Hilo Airport was a short drive (about 20 minutes). Once we arrived, we had some confusion locating Blue Hawaiian. I was expecting it to be a free standing business, but it was actually part of the regular airport. We had to circle around a second time and park in the airport parking - another unexpected cost!
After we were checked in, we sat through a safety video. We put on our black shirts and we were ready to go. Prior to boarding, I took a group selfie - not a bad looking bunch!
Our sweet ride was an Eco-Star helicopter. As they were checking us in, they weighed us so they would know where to put us to balance out the helicopter. I wasn't worried about where I would be sitting, but I was thrilled when I discovered that Matt and I would be together. Yay!
It was about 3 PM when we took off. During the tour, we wore headsets and had a microphone so we could talk to the pilot and ask questions. It took about 20 minutes to fly out to the caldera.
The first lava we saw was near the tree line.
The pilot pointed out some more lava flow and I got a picture with my phone. If you look carefully, you can see a slight red glow in the middle of this picture. It's near the shiny silver stuff.
Hmmm...not exactly what I thought I'd be seeing. I wanted to see huge burst of lava shooting into the air! That did not happen, but we were able to see a little lava action.
It wasn't until I looked at my pictures that I realized that there were two spots of red! See the one near the bottom of the picture?
The picture above is the best shot from my cell phone. Seeing the lava in motion was very cool, but in some ways it was anticlimactic for me. I was expecting more action.
According to our pilot, lava flow has never killed anyone in Hawaii because they lava flow (for the most part) is predictable and people can be evacuated. In the picture below, you can see that the main road was spared. Thank goodness!
After we were done at the volcano, we flew over some secluded waterfalls.
Flying in the Eco-Star was like being in a limousine. Our pilot was skilled and knowledgeable. The landing was so soft that we weren't sure we were on the ground. What an amazing adventure!
We went back to the office to pick up our belongings and to wait for the video. It felt like it took FOREVER! I was sort of expecting them to show us the video and try to sell it to us, but they didn't. The video and audio from our helicopter ride was on a thumb drive and we could buy it for $40. Of course, we had to get it!
On our way back to the condo, we stopped to get gas and mom bought some cold drinks. We used Saddle road again to get back to the condo. Yet again, it was smooth sailing and uneventful!
Most of my evening was spent doing laundry and packing. On the plus side, I'd been doing laundry nearly every day so we didn't have many dirty clothes. On the down side, we were taking home a bunch of extra things. Instead of carrying his rig in a suitcase, Matt would be using a gear bag. Perfect! I had an extra suitcase for our new acquisitions.
Before I went to bed, I put three towels, our sales receipt, and sunblock in one of the backpacks. In the morning, we had one last adventure planned - the Dolphin Encounter! What a great way to start our last day in Hawaii!
