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By Root 633 0

try the Milford and Fiordland Highlights excursion with the locally owned company Over the Top. You swoosh past alpine lakes, rivers, forests, glacial valleys, and ice-capped mountains. After flying over the fiords, you land on a remote west coast beach and then a sparkling glacier. This trip takes about 2 hours, but the same company offers other journeys that range from 35 minutes to more than 5 hours. One of its other, and most unique, options is an active scientific expedition flight. On the Glacier Recline voyage, you work with a geologist, a mountain guide, and your fellow explorers to determine how New Zealand glaciers, their native flora, and local insect populations are responding to climate change.

Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters is another reputable company that also takes you to areas that are inaccessible by other means. Upon departing Milford via the Harrison Valley, you swoop and zoom between rocky cliffs with staggering views of bright blue waters before gliding onto Mt. Tutoko’s Ngapunatoru Plateau, an exclusive landing spot for this company that very few people have ever stood upon. As you feel the ice crunch beneath your feet and gaze at the vast white fields, the seclusion makes you feel as if you and your fellow riders are the only people on the planet.

Up, up, and away! —JS

New Zealand Tourism Board, Lakefront Drive, Te Anau ( 64/3-249-8900;www.newzealand.com).

Tours: Over the Top–The Helicopter Company ( 64/3-442-2233;www.flynz.co.nz). Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters, 2 Lucas Place, Queenstown Airport Base ( 64/3-444-3016;www.glaciersouthernlakes.co.nz).

When to Go: Sept–May.

Queenstown airport.

$$–$$$ Hotel St. Moritz Queenstown, 10–18 Brunswick St. ( 64/3-442-4990;www.mgallery.com). $–$$ Milford Sound Lodge, 94 Milford Sound Hwy. ( 64/3-249-8071;www.milfordlodge.com).

7

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Flying over an Active Volcano

Big Island, Hawaii, U.S.A.

The roiling red lava spurts out of a pitch-black lava tongue that extends from the volcano and into the ocean. As the molten liquid oozes into the water, steam rises into the air. While the beat of the helicopter’s rotors keep you from actually hearing any hissing sounds made as the lava quickly cools and hardens, you imagine that it sounds like some prehistoric animal spoiling for a fight. But this isn’t a long-ago era. You’re witnessing history in the making—literally new earth being formed. It’s a powerful, breathtaking experience, one you’ll never forget.

You’re flying over Kilauea, the focal point in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Kilauea has erupted almost continuously from its east rift zone since 1983, and the lava flows that creep into the ocean have enlarged the Big Island by more than 500 acres (202 hectares). When the helicopter pivots, you’re within sight of (but not too near) the ash-filled plume rising from a new crater within Halema`uma`u at Kilauea’s summit. Flying over this area in a helicopter you can see old houses that were hastily abandoned when Madam Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lightning, volcanoes, and violence, expressed her fury in the past. Through the years, the lava flows have covered 83⁄4 miles (14km) of highway on Kilauea’s southern shore with lava as deep as 115 feet (35m).

Lava flow in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

By helicoptering over certain parts of the park’s 333,086 acres (134,795 hectares), which rise from sea level to 13,677 feet (4,103m), you can see there are actually two volcanoes. The second is Mauna Loa, which last erupted in 1984. Today, there’s an observatory near the top.

Volcanoes National Park has seven ecological zones where a variety of plant and animal communities—some endangered—thrive. Within the park are several archaeological sites and petroglyphs, reminders of the indigenous people who consider this region a sacred space. Seeing these ancient artifacts in person is a tremendous thrill. These are just a few of the reasons why Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is both a designated International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.

Several companies