Escape Worldwide are 10 years old this year - Happy Birthday to Us!
This month we're celebrating our 10th birthday at Escape Worldwide, and looking back at 10 years of globetrotting in the name of bringing you great holidays - at least that's our excuse! We're having a look at our personal top 10 favourite travel experiences of the last 10 years.
Mark's fear of heights goes out the window!
"I'd been in a helicopter once prior to my visit to Hawaii, and that was over the Victoria Falls in Zambia - I have a terrible fear of heights but I'm OK with flying and thankfully the experience in Zambia showed me that I was OK in helicopters too (unless the pilot does any sudden maneuvers which leave my stomach half a mile behind!) On Hawaii's Big Island, however, the view was so incredible that I didn't really have a chance to think about anything else!
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| The helicopter that Mark took over Big Island |
The Volcano National Park is an incredible and unpredictable place, where the Kilauea Volcano has been continually erupting since 1983, making it the world's most active eruption. Before my visit I'd been keeping up to date with volcanic activity at the park, not sure whether I wanted little activity (but to perhaps be disappointed - after all it's a very long way to Hawaii!) or lots of activity (and to be so scared I'd bottle out of going to the crater!) At the time of my visit activity was actually fairly low, I'd been told, but that just led me in to a false sense of security as I was really blown away with what I saw!
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| Kilauea Volcano in Big Island |
I took the helicopter trip from Hilo, the main town on the east coast of Big Island and apparently the wettest place in the USA (all Hawaiian island have 'wet' sides and 'dry' sides, and the difference on relatively small islands is quite unbelievable! The flight was before I'd explored the area at ground level, so I really didn't know what to expect. Kilauea isn't your traditional 'pointy' volcano, but rather it's more a series of craters along the flank of Mauna Loa, the biggest volcano in the world - Hawaii is seriously volcanic! The landscape around Kilauea is very dramatic, and from the sky you can see how the lava flows have cut swathes through the fertile landscape, irrespective of towns and villages in its way - our pilot pointed out a number of houses that had been completely cut off by the lava flows.
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| Sign post in Volcano National Park |
As you get closer to the current activity you can see fresh lava flows that are
still glowing bright red and orange as they burn their way towards the coast -
those that reach the coast hit the Pacific Ocean with a blast of steam. We
circled over Pu'u O'o cone a number of times to see the lava coming out on its
way to the ocean - dangerous gases prevent you getting too close to some of the
vents as you try to take in this bizarrely beautiful sight.
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| Amazing Lava flows |
At ground level Volcano National Park is very different, and we drove through
the park, along the superbly-named Chain of Craters Road to the coast, as far
as we could before the road was cut off by the latest eruption - in this part
of the world, there are reminders everywhere as to how powerful and destructive
nature can be. This is a superb national park and one I'd highly recommend
visiting - so long as activity isn't too much!
One option that you may want to consider if you do take a helicopter ride over Volcano National Park is the 'doors off' flight - experience the smell and the heat of the volcano as well as the view. Now that would have brought my fear of heights straight back!"
One option that you may want to consider if you do take a helicopter ride over Volcano National Park is the 'doors off' flight - experience the smell and the heat of the volcano as well as the view. Now that would have brought my fear of heights straight back!"
Next time....No 9 - Balloon ride over the West Bank in Luxor, Egypt
Escape Worldwide - Home of Long Haul Holidays
http://www.escapeworldwide.co.uk
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