After our long walk, trying to find the mall, and our return to the pier, we met Jack, a broker representing several companies offering helicopter tours of the island. We talked some and told him we had to be back at the ship by 4:30 to board at the deadline of 4:45.
After making calls to several companies, only to find out that they were fully booked, he found one that needed 2 couples to make a full load. We decided to go, and waited a few minutes and found out the other 2 spaces were sold and the trip was on.
We had a wait of 1.5 hours before we were to be picked up and taken to the heliopad. Upon arrival we donned the belt housing the flotation device, received a safety lecture, then boarded the aircraft.
We were furnished a set of headphones which served two purposes. First, they canceled the noise of the engine, and second, they allowed two way conversation with the pilot and the other passengers. We were to fly from the pad, over Mt. Waialeale and into the Waimea Canyon. With an average of over 472 inches or 39 feet of precipitation each year, Mt. Waialeale is the rainiest and wettest spot on earth.
There was some haze during much of our helicopter tour. Jim, our pilot told us that we were very lucky. In an area of the island where it rains sometime during the day 360 days a year, we had no rain. The sight was truly beautiful. Unfortunately, haze and the curved windows on the helicopter with the resultant distortion and reflections had an adverse effect on picture quality. Hopefully, you will find them enjoyable anyway. The tour continues .....
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