Day 21 Kauai - Open-Door Helicopter Flight through Waimea Canyon

August 12, 2022

Another major highlight of our vacation is happening today:

The helicopter flight through Waimea Canyon!

We have been looking forward to the helicopter flight since we booked it online last year. However, our son is not as excited as we are. While other 14-year-old boys are adrenaline junkies, our son is very reserved and more afraid than excited about the flight.

After extensive research, we decided to go with an "Open Door" helicopter provider. On one hand, we wanted to see the landscapes without reflective and obstructive windows, and on the other hand, we wanted to make sure that EVERYONE could see and that there would be no additional strangers in the helicopter. The only problem is that our son absolutely does not want to sit near an open door...

We found the perfect solution with the provider "Jack Harter Helicopter". Up to 4 people can fly, with 2 people at the back by the open door, one person at the front by the open door, and the fourth person NOT sitting near the open door, but in the middle between the pilot and the guest. Perfect! So our son will sit in the middle - that's our plan... He can accept that.

We arrive at the Jack Harter "Check-In" point, which is located outside the airport, on time at 9 am. Our flight is scheduled for 9:45 am.

We receive instructions on how to behave and that we are not allowed to bring loose items with us (not even in our jackets or pockets - they could fly out during the flight). Then we are given arm straps for our cameras, camcorders, etc. (I am allowed to bring my DSLR camera with a large 300mm lens without any problems - some helicopter providers prohibit the use of large cameras). Cell phones MUST be in a corded pouch, otherwise, they are not allowed (great, we have that!). We are then all weighed (uh-oh) and our son starts to panic because he is afraid of being over the weight limit to sit in the front middle seat (there is a weight restriction of 63 kg) - and our daughter definitely does not want to sit there either!

While we wait outside with another couple and a solo traveler, the staff members come out and announce who our pilot will be and where each person will sit - the seating is based on weight and cannot be changed.

And so it goes, our son is seated at the back and our daughter is seated in the front middle seat... Oh no!!!

He refuses to go, our daughter is desperate and wants to sit by the door...

I explain our problem to the staff member and ask if the kids could possibly switch seats, otherwise our son does not want to fly.

She checks, comes back shortly after and gives her OK for the kids to switch seats. The rest remains the same, so I sit at the back with our daughter, my husband sits at the front by the open door, and our son sits next to the pilot. Phew...

We board a shuttle bus to the helicopter flight area, right next to the airport. We see several helicopters take off and land, almost all blue and none of them have an open door.

Arriving at Jack Harter Helicopter, we receive further safety instructions, inflatable life jackets (very reassuring...), and learn that our pilot "Rebekah" was born in Stuttgart and lived there for a few years. How cool!

I have a uneasy feeling: I always feel sick when driving in a car, so I usually drive myself. I need motion sickness medication on boats and ships of all kinds... Otherwise, it will be a disaster. I can't gauge how I will feel on the helicopter flight. Just to be safe, I take a motion sickness tablet. Better safe than sorry. I offer one to our son, but he says he doesn't need it. His earache is improving. Of course, he was not allowed to bring his headphones, but he will be given a pair in the helicopter.

The staff member leads us past the main building onto the airfield, where 2 helicopters with running rotors and a lot of noise are waiting for us. The group ahead of us is directed to the first helicopter and we watch as each person boards and gets strapped in, then the helicopter takes off with a lot of noise. Wow...!

Now it's our turn. Our son goes first, followed by my husband, then it's my turn to climb into the helicopter through the small steps at the back. A staff member straps me in, puts headphones on me, and explains how to communicate with the pilot and my family through the headphones and headset. Our daughter is now also securely strapped in next to me, so let's get started.

By the way, the helicopter, a HUGHES MD 500, doesn't have "open doors" - it has NO DOORS at all!

The helicopter takes off and we soar over the helipad into the air. Shortly after, we fly over Kalapaki Beach and the harbor, where the cruise ship "Pride of America" is anchored.

Our 1-hour flight takes us past the Napali Coast, into Waimea Canyon, where Rebekah performs some impressive maneuvers, suddenly descending in front of a waterfall, hovering in place, and experiencing some good turns. Sitting by the open door is amazing! However, there is a lot of shaking and I can hardly use my large camera because of the strong wind. I eventually start taking "blind" photos and film simultaneously with the Insta 360 and take pictures with my phone. It's absolutely incredible to hover over the abyss and look down! Choosing an "Open Door" flight was definitely the right decision.

At one point, we fly through a rain shower, but otherwise, it stays dry. Some of the waterfalls don't have much water, but they still look breathtaking from above. Rebekah keeps us informed via radio about our location and what we are currently seeing.

At some point, when Rebekah performs one of her abrupt turns, I hear my husband telling our son to take a bag... Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this.

Rebekah keeps asking if everything is okay - I don't know what's going on and I can't find the button to speak in the midst of my camera chaos. My husband eventually responds with an "everything's okay." I have a feeling that our son is feeling sick up there...

We fly past Hanakāpīʻai Beach, which Rebekah highly recommends as a great excursion. We can confirm that it's amazing because we visited it the day before yesterday. We continue flying along the Kalalau Trail, see Ke'e Beach, fly over Hanalei Bay, and head back inland.

After over an hour of breathtaking views, we return to the helicopter airport and land precisely on the designated spot.

We are guided to the side of the helicopter, where Rebekah greets us with the "Shaka" hand gesture and we pose for a group photo. Our son smiles - with relief!? - and hides the vomit bag behind his back...

Oh dear, he actually vomited...

He handles it well. It would have been "cool" nonetheless, but it would probably have been his last helicopter flight for the next 50 years. Haha. I thought it was amazing, but I don't think I'll be getting on a helicopter again anytime soon. It was an incredible experience, highly recommended, but not something I would do or could afford all the time.

He is given a can of ginger ale and a handful of candies, and then we take the shuttle back to the Jack Harter office.

It was great!

We continue to Taco Bell in Lihue, our "favorite" fast food place, because here you can customize your own tacos, burritos, or salads and choose from a variety of vegetables and greens. It's not often that you can get something "healthy" in fast food restaurants.

After eating, we go to Kalapaki Beach. My husband and daughter want to rent surfboards for one last time on Kauai. We park the car again in the parking lot by the wall overlooking the beach. Our son and I grab the beach chairs and snacks and sit in the shade, waiting for our surfers to hit the water.

They compete with many other surfers for the waves, but they both look good on the boards.

After over an hour, they are exhausted but happy when they return. We see the cruise ship "Pride of America," which we saw from the air earlier today, leaving the harbor and setting sail. Presumably, the Pride of America is heading to Oahu - where we will be flying to tomorrow.

As we prepare to leave, we notice a sleeping chicken on the hood of our car in front of the windshield... Oh, but I have to wake it up. We load up the car and get in, but the chicken is not bothered by any of this and remains motionless. It opens its eyes and peeks at me, but it doesn't want to leave its spot.

While we are still considering how to persuade the chicken to leave our hood, the couple from the truck next to us opens their car and gets in. The chicken quickly jumps up and jumps off the car. Well, I guess that works too.

We drive to Walmart again to buy some food for tonight. Also, our daughter fell in love with a Hawaiian shirt last time and she really wants to buy it.

Then we drive back to the apartment and tackle the unpleasant part of the vacation: packing our suitcases again. Sniff, the last week of our vacation on the last island starts tomorrow.

A final sunset at Shipwreck Beach brings us rain again and a beautiful (double) rainbow!

And once again, the week on the island of Hawaii flew by way too quickly...