advice for travel to the Big Island and Kauai

[simple girl]

Yeah, every few years, there is a crash of one of our tour helicopters. I suppose when flying that many hours, it is inevitable. The chances that you are the one "picked" for a bad day is quite small, but not vanishingly small. It's always a big story, even though we are used to traffic deaths (of tourists and locals.) For some reason, air incidents seem more significant - perhaps BECAUSE they are so rare.

Yep, that's why I was so freaked out. I read about the crashes. In the end, I decided to take the risk, but I was very anxious about it! I'm so glad I did it, but I certainly don't feel the need to ever do it again. Checked off the bucket list!

 

[simple girl]

For anyone who might be interested in the night snorkel with manta rays adventure...here's a snippet of a video taken by DH with a GoPro. This happened early on during our snorkel time...we saw many other mantas, but NONE ever came this close again. It was magical and we were VERY lucky! There were several on our tour who did not have such a close encounter.

The pic below it is the light setup they use which draws plankton in, which the rays feed upon. You hold onto the light raft and snorkel - they put a pool noodle under your feet to keep your body extended out flat over the water.

Link to video.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Cool video^^^