Island of Kauai

Canyons by Helicopter
Wednesday, October 11^th, 2000

Waimea Canyon

This is the famous Grand Canyon of the Pacific. The name Waimea (Wy-ah-may-ah) means red. So, this is the Red Canyon.

We tend to think of a volcano as having a single crater centered at the top. In Hawaii, we learn that this is not necessarily so. Here's a crater filled with water. It is only one of several craters of this volcano.
On the right we are starting into a canyon. The white spot is another helicopter below us. Our pilot said that he avoids some canyons because of the hiking trails in them. He doesn't want to destroy the wilderness experience with helicopter noise for hikers that may be in the canyon. We appreciate his respect for others and their enjoyment of the wilderness. How much better this world would be if everybody had the same kind of respect for their fellow man.

We're looking down on a beach on the Na Pali Coastline. These pictures were taken through the helicopter window. Sometimes it was impossible to avoid glare and reflections.