Unforgettable

When encountering perfection I sometimes cry, most often when listening to beautiful music. Yesterday this happened when hovering above Kaua'i during my first ever helicopter ride. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of this magnificent island. The brilliant colours of the Na Pali coast - turquoise, azure, ochre and emerald green comprised an impressionist's palette.

We really debated about taking this trip. It was prohibitively expensive, and many locals have serious objections to this tourist enterprise because of the noise pollution. However, the only way to access Na Pali during the winter is to go by boat or helicopter. Friends recommended it highly, so we decided to take their advice.

We chose our company based upon the recommendation of a guide book. Jack Harter has been in the business the longest - 45 years - and has an excellent reputation for SAFETY - a prime consideration. Some of the people who comprised our group - 4 Canadians, also from the Toronto area - opted for the open-door flight. We did NOT, preferring the 6 passenger ASTAR (closed model). Our collective heights and weights put us right up next to the pilot, Duncan by the window and I in the middle with perhaps the very best view.

Our pilot, Ben Silver, from Seattle originally, looked about 16 years old. We were assured he was 35 but I'd be surprised. He graduated as a history major and then needed to find a paying job so he opted to train as a helicopter pilot. He related how he had come to Hawaii as a young teen and had never forgotten his first ride in a helicopter. He decided this might be a fun way to earn a living. Why not? (Click on our photo to enlarge it and see Ben giving the traditional Hawaiian greeting.)

First of all we were surprised at how pleasant, almost sedate, the whole experience turned out to be. It was rather like driving in a car - in the air. Unlike a plane, we seemed to move along rather slowly. I didn't get butterflies in my stomach at all, except when we went over one ridge, with a sheer drop off into the ocean on the other side. Unlike a roller coaster, it was more a mental reaction than a physical sensation. There was actually a pod of humpback whales down below. More tears!

Ben explained that he was a Type A extra-cautious person (I suspect a perfectionist), and this fact helped to reassure me. He was completely calm and competent. He explained that we were very lucky because Mt. Wai'ale'ale, the highest elevation on Kaua'i, was not shrouded in clouds at that moment. Because we'd had to wait quite a while before taking off, he decided to reward us by taking us up and over. This is the wettest place on EARTH measuring almost constant rainfall, up to 600 inches per year. We were suitably impressed.

In the air we could appreciate the incredible variation in the landscape, a mini-Grand Canyon - Waimea Canyon carved by water pouring off the extinct volcano, the 20 square mile Alaka'i Swamp in the crater and the Na Pali cliffs dropping into the ocean. It doesn't suffice to describe what we saw - I found a promotional film on You Tube - Enjoy vicariously!