Over the weekend, I discovered the on demand Smithsonian Channel on my (Time Warner) cable box. As I looked through the show options, I was intrigued when I saw a listing for an aerial show all about Hawaii. So, without haste, I watched it, of course.
As you might imagine, the video scenery is gorgeous. I enjoyed being able to watch this aerial view which added a new perspective to places I’ve visited only from the ground. The video includes all the six major islands.
If you also have the Smithsonian On Demand channel, I would encourage you to watch it. The show is called Aerial America: Hawaii. In case, you don’t have the Smithsonian Channel, I’ve embedded the entire Hawaii episode below. (Email subscribers, please click here to access the video.)
Please note that the entire episode is just under 47 minutes-long. So you may want to watch the video when you can set aside that time.
For the most part, the commentary is accurate and I certainly learned some new things about these islands that I love so much.. There were a few pronunciations, names and bits of history that weren’t exactly accurate, but I was able to overlook that because of the high quality video. 🙂
Whether you’re a seasoned Hawaii aficionado or you’re preparing for your first trip to these islands, I think you’ll enjoy these birds eye views of Hawaii. After you’ve watched the video, I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts of it. Please share your comments.
Sheila Beal
8 comments
Shelia
This was awesome. Thanks again for sharing and reminding me why I love to go. We will do Kauai and Oahu again this year.
Wow!! Stunningly beautiful, amazing, and the ending with Bruddah IZ….spectacular! Thank you Sheila for finding and sharing this. A little grating to hear the mis-pronunciations but so worth it. Thank you!
Definitely sounds like it’s worth checking now. Some of the views of the islands from above are spectacular. Now I just need to set aside some time to watch it.
Great find.
@ Annette – glad you liked the video, too! Are you going on two separate trips or Oahu and Kauai on the same trip?
@ Janet – yeah, Bruddah IZ at the end is icing on the video cake. Isn’t it delicious?! 🙂
@ Kris – Would you believe that I was terrified to take my first helicopter tour? I resisted as long as I could. Now, I still get some butterflies, but don’t have the heavy heart pounding like I did on the first helicopter experience. I hope you get a chance to watch the video soon, maybe you can share it with the baby so he can get a taste for the islands before his first visit to Maui. 🙂
I can relate to those pre-flight jitters. I was all psyched up for the doors-off flight in ’09, until we were walking to the chopper and I saw that doors-off literally meant the entire side of the helicopter was gone. That, plus the fact that you’re merely using the same seatbelts as you do on an airplane.
If not for my cameras and focusing on photographing the stunning views, I probably would have been totally freaking out.
Our first helicopter experience was with the doors off on Kauai. Like you said, it’ll wreck your nerves, but the photo are a bazillion times better without the window reflections.
Nice, Kauai by air has to be just a beautiful as Maui (not that I’m biased or anything). Whenever we make it back to the Garden Isle, I definitely want to get up in the air for a shoot.
I would like to know if the back ground music for Ariel view of Hawaii is available on a cd or any form of downloading?