During my recent helicopter tour around the island of Oahu I was able to get an incredible view of the North shore. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
During my recent helicopter tour around the island of Oahu I was able to get an incredible view of the North shore. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
During my recent helicopter tour around the island of Oahu I was able to get a breathtaking view of Sacred Falls. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
During my recent helicopter tour around the island of Oahu I was able to get a unique view of the Pearl Harbor and the rest of central Oahu from the sky. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
During my recent helicopter tour around the island of Oahu I was able to get a unique view of the USS Arizona Memorial by air. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
A rainbow seen during a helicopter tour around the island of Oahu. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
During my recent helicopter tour around the island of Oahu I got to see plenty of familiar sites including a look over central Oahu overlooking Ala Wai canal and Waikiki. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
During my very first helicopter tour around the island I enjoyed a great view of Kaneohe Bay and its amazing sandbars and reef system along the windward coast of Oahu. (Grant Okubo/Stars and Stripes)
I got a spectacular view of Ka'a'awa Valley, along the windward coast of Oahu which was used as backdrops for the movie "Jurassic Park" and the TV show "Lost." (Grant Okubo/ Stars and Stripes)
Jan. 04, 2011 A spectacular view along the coast of the North shore of Oahu was one of many amazing sights I saw during my very first helicopter tour around the island. (Grant Okubo/ Stars and Stripes)
Jan. 04, 2011 A view overlooking Pearl Harbor during my very first helicopter tour around the island of Oahu. (Grant Okubo/ Stars and Stripes)
Jan. 04, 2011 A view of popular island landmark Diamond Head, Waikiki and the rest of central Oahu as I took my very first helicopter tour around the island of Oahu. (Grant Okubo/ Stars and Stripes)
Jan. 04, 2011 On my recent trip home for holidays I decided to hop into a Hughes 500 helicopter (a similar model to the one flown in the popular Hawaii based TV series ?Magnum P.I.?) and experience a breathtaking helicopter tour around the island of Oahu. (Grant Okubo/ Stars and Stripes)
Jan. 04, 2011 I was astounded by the spectacular sites I saw during my recent helicopter tour around the island of Oahu. (Grant Okubo/ Stars and Stripes)
Like a tourist, I rented a helicopter to get a bird’s-eye view of the wonders of the island. And I’m so glad I did. Not only did I discover new things, but I also enjoyed a new view of familiar places.
I hopped onto a Hughes 500 helicopter — a similar model to the one flown in the popular Hawaii-based TV series “Magnum P.I.” — at the stunning Turtle Bay resort on the North Shore of Oahu and began my adventure in the sky.
In an hour, I saw most of Oahu. I couldn’t have chosen a better day. The way the weather changed from one side of the island to the other was very surprising. While much was clear and radiant, other parts were filled with clouds and light showers. I even spotted a couple of rainbows along the way. It was beautiful.
From the awe-inspiring North Shore, the aircraft made its way over the grand waterfalls of Sacred Falls near Hauula. The tour continued toward the Windward Coast, flying through Ka’a’awa Valley, backdrops for the film “Jurassic Park” and television series “Lost.” Although cloudy and rainy throughout this portion of the flight, it was still quite a gorgeous sight of Kaneohe Bay and its amazing sandbars and reef system.
As we flew over Makapu’u Beach and Koko Crater on the eastern side of the island, the sun was shining. From there we made our over well-known sites including Diamond Head, Waikiki and Pearl Harbor. We even spied some of Hawaii’s famous pineapple fields before returning to the North Shore.
A flight around the island isn’t cheap, but there are a number of companies offering packages ranging from $150 to $250. For those interested in photography, some companies offer preferred seating and even doors-off flying.
I wanted to make the most of my experience and chose to fly with the doors off. It was a bit disconcerting at first. Staring out of the helicopter, I realized the only thing keeping me from falling out of the aircraft was my seatbelt. I’m not going lie to you, it was a little scary. And I made sure I had my hands wrapped securely around my very expensive camera.
I really enjoyed my flight around the island, and highly recommend it for both newcomers and longtime residents. What a view!
