Today we went on our helicopter tour to Hawaiian Volcano National Park. 

It was an early start, up at 5am for a 6.20am pick up. After a safety briefing we took off at 7.30am flying from Kailua-Kona and flying past the two largest volcanoes on the island, Mauna Koa and Mauna Loa before reaching the active volcano, Kiluaea.

We flew over the crater with bubbling lava then past an active lava flow. The lava started flowing again less than a week earlier so we were lucky to see it. We then flew on to Hilo where we were taken on a tour around the national park on the ground. 

We visited and walked through a lava tube and had lunch at a coffee farm. Their power had gone out so we could only taste iced coffee. They also had macadamia nuts which were delicious.After lunch we went on a short walk out the one of the active craters then on to a black sand beach which had a green sea turtle resting on the sand. We spotted another one swimming a short distance from the beach. 

Our helicopter flight back went up the east coast of the island with massive cliffs with lots of waterfalls. We then went into one of the valleys which had three waterfalls which we flew right up to. 

We then flew across the north of the island and then down the west side of the island which was covered with old lava flows. When they open land for housing they just flatten out the rock and if you want a lawn you have to pay to bring in soil for your block of land.

After arriving back in Kona we were driven back to our hotel.