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Hawaiian Legacy Tours Launches “Earth, Wind and Fire Tour” with Paradise Helicopters

Honolulu, Hawaii, Oct. 21, 2014 – Hawaiian Legacy Tours (HLT), voted Hawaii’s Best Ecotour 2014 by the Hawaii Ecotourism Association, is offering a new “Earth, Wind and Fire Tour” in partnership with Paradise Helicopters Hawai‘i, a leading operator of helicopter tours on Oahu and Hawaii Island.

Guests will have a one-of-a-kind opportunity to view major Hawaii Island natural landmarks by air and stop at the Hawaiian Legacy Forest to plant their own Koa Legacy Trees. Six-person charter tours start from $5,400 for a 2-hour flight over scenic areas including the southernmost point of the U.S., the rare green sand beach, black sand beaches, active lava flows, the waterfalls of the lush Hamakua Coast, and the City of Refuge. Guests will also land at the Hawaiian Legacy Forest above the historic Umikoa Village on the slopes of Mauna Kea for a 45-minute private tree planting tour. All-day charter tours are also available, which include a 90-minute private planting, tour and gourmet lunch in the Legacy Forest, as well as several landings at hard-to-reach locations throughout the island.

“Partnering with Paradise Helicopters gives guests another exciting way to learn about island conservation and contribute to our growing Legacy Forest,” said Jeff Dunster, CEO of HLT. “Our Legacy Tours and on-site tree plantings give guests a chance to plant a living memorial.  Every tree is equipped with a proprietary RFID geo-tagging system. This technology allows each Legacy Tree sponsor to track their tree from space using online applications such as Google Earth. The tree will even store information about that person or event, creating a living monument. This innovation has made the Hawaiian Legacy Forest the most intricately mapped forest in the world.”

In partnership with its nonprofit reforestation division, the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative (HLRI), and more than 340 charities, 70 Legacy Partners and tens of thousands of individual tree sponsors, Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods (HLH) has planted more than 250,000 endemic koa, sandalwood and other rare and endangered Hawaiian species for permanent reforestation in the world’s first Hawaiian Legacy Forest, with a goal to plant 1.3 million endemic trees statewide.

“Paradise Helicopters has been committed to Hawaii’s conservation since we launched with one helicopter in Hilo in 1997 – we now offer tours out of Kona and on Oahu with a fleet of more than nine helicopters, in addition to our contracts with conservation organizations and federal agencies,” said Waynette Kwon, director of marketing at Paradise Helicopters. “This new tour in partnership with Hawaiian Legacy Tours is a natural evolution of our ongoing efforts to educate guests about Hawaii’s unique natural wonders.”

To book a Hawaiian Legacy charter tour with Paradise Helicopters, call (866) 876-7422; tours must be booked at least a week in advance. For more on the Hawaiian Legacy Forest and Legacy Tours, visit LegacyTrees.org; for more on Paradise Helicopters, visit paradisecopters.com.

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