See the Islands. From the Ground.

Tourists come to visit Hawaii for many reasons. The people here are genuinely warm and friendly, the weather is pretty much delightful year ‘round, and the scenery . . .  well, the natural beauty of these islands is truly incomparable!

Every island has an abundance of natural beauty that continues to draw visitors from all over the world. But Kauai is in a class by itself. Many tourists—particularly the younger, healthier ones—head off onto some of the great hiking trails. That’s true for all the islands, but especially so for Kauai.

The downside is that hikers get lost and instead of being thrilled by the sensational views from a vantage point along established trails, they leave the trails, become disoriented and then lost. Most of the time, they are found. Eventually.

But hiking many of these trails is only for the young and physically fit. The rest of us should get our appreciation of the wondrous natural beauty of these islands from mechanical transport: a tour bus or a rental car.

But not a helicopter.

There’s no doubt that that’s the best way to see this island. Its incredible natural beauty is one of the reasons why something like 100 feature films have been shot on Kauai—the Jurassic Park series, for instance. But I’ve never flown in a helicopter and I would certainly never do it on Kauai. The fact is, there have been too many crashes. 

For reasons I don’t fully understand, authorities say it’s hard to be sure that the figures are accurate, But we do know for sure that at least 50 people have been killed in helicopter crashes since January of 2000. The most recent crash occurred just a few days ago on the North Shore of Kauai. Seven dead: the pilot, four adults and two kids.

So come visit.

Enjoy.

From the ground.