Even though we have visited the Big Island of Hawaii several times we had never booked a helicopter ride. This time the desire of a visiting friend to see the volcano up close and a relative's account of a fabulous view prompted us to book the ride.

We chose Blue Hawaiian (from the relative's recommendation) and found them to be efficient and professional with an excellent safety record. At their website (www.bluehawaiian.com) we discovered that booking a week in advance lowered the price from $165 to $140 per person. We arrived at the airport 45 minutes early for briefing, which included a short safety video. All personal items except for cameras were checked at the airport and people were assigned seats according to weight.

Our small visitng friend got the seat next to the pilot and yours truly, uneasy about heights, got a back window seat. The aircraft holds 6 passengers, including the pilot. We were belted in by the ground crew, and given headsets that let us hear the pilot with a background of soothing Hawaiian music. Our pilot, Will, was comforting, explained all procedures clearly, and told us what to expect. Lift off was gentle, but it took me about half the trip to relax and truly enjoy the view.

The weather was clear, but the volcano was unfortunately rather quiet that day. Kilauea has been erupting for the last 20 years, but activity varies day to day. We flew first over lush rain forest with hundreds of waterfalls, then south to the Puna district where the latest lava flows were creating new acreage for the state. The cone that was causing the latest activity, Pu'u 'O'o was steaming and a bit of orange magma was visible in one opening. Fresh lava had taken another piece of Chain of Craters road leaving an abandomed bit between two flows. Where the lava poured into the sea a toxic cloud arose and I got a quick glimpse of red through the steam. Small islands of green, called kipukas, were left in the lava fields; separate eco systems will evolve there because of the isolation. One large kipuka was home to a bed and breakfast, still operating even though 180 homes in the subdivision that used to be next to it were devoured by the lava.

Turning back towards Hilo we flew over suburbs and in the bay saw the splashing of some whales. All in all a memorable experience. A video of the trip was available for purchse; however some of the cameras on the aircraft were clearer than others so the quality varied.

This area takes you into cattle country and high windy hills. I was surprised to see so many cactus growing amoungst the cattle and grasslands. I was also surprised at how windy it got in the pass. I thought south point was windy, that was nothing compared to the wind through the pass around Mauna Loa! The day we went through, it was overcast, so we didn't get a view of the huge MAUNA LOA mountain---which had lots of snow on it at the time. The road up the mountain was closed off to normal traffic. Supposedly you needed 4 wheel drive and a permit to go up it.

Some of the places along this ride from Hilo are:
WAIMEA (KAMUELA)--Heart of paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) country. Parker Ranch Visitor Center and Museum, Kamuela Museum and Imiola Church. This is in the pass through the mountains. Also a good size town to grab a bite to eat.

PARKER RANCH--225,000 acres with 50,000 head of cattle that supply fully one-third of the beef in the Hawaiian islands. THere's even a visitors' center and museum. Real cowboy country.

IMIOLA CHURCH--A New England-style church with walls and ceilings of koa wood built in 1857.

KAHUA RANCH--An 8000-acre ranch. A native rainforest is preserved at the top of the ranch.

KAPAAU--In King Kamehameha's ancestral homelands (near the northwestern coast)- site of the original statue of the King. This is a small community with small boutiques and art galleries.

THE BOND ESTATE--A missionary estate dating from 1841.

POLOLU VALLEY OVERLOOK--On the far northern coast. I understand the views from here are fantastic, but it was raining and about 30 miles out of the way on our trip around the island, so we skipped it. Pololu Valley was once one of the richest wet taro plantations in Hawaii.