Inside the Maverick Helicopters Hana Rainforest Experience: A Photographer’s Perspective
There are things you can see in Maui from the ground, and things that only reveal themselves from the sky. The Road to Hana takes a full day by car and the jagged sea cliffs along the north coast are nearly inaccessible on foot. The remote valleys where the original Polynesian settlers built their communities have been largely reclaimed by rainforest, so to truly understand the geography — and the history — of this island, you need to get up in the sky.
My husband, Doug, and I were able to attend the Hana Rainforest Experience with Maverick Helicopters as a part of a trip to Maui hosted by the Maui Visitors Bureau, and it was one of the most quietly profound experiences of the entire trip.
Disclosure: This experience was received as part of a prize package hosted by the Maui Visitors Bureau. All opinions and photography are entirely my own. All photography by Heather Hanson Photography LLC.
The aircraft
We flew in Maverick’s ECO-Star helicopter — a seven-seat aircraft with individual front-facing seats, raised theater-style seating in the rear, and wraparound glass that ensures every passenger gets unobstructed views. Personal surround-sound headsets let you hear your pilot (and some curated tunes) clearly over the noise of the rotors, which matters more than you’d think when your pilot is as knowledgeable as ours was. For anyone nervous about helicopter flights, it’s worth knowing this is a doors-on experience — enclosed, air-conditioned, and genuinely comfortable.
The flight — northshore to Hana
We departed from Kahului Heliport early in the morning, which I’d recommend without hesitation. The light along Maui’s north coast at that hour is extraordinary — soft, directional, the kind that makes a photographer wish the flight was twice as long.
Our pilot, Tone, narrated the entire route with the ease of someone who has flown it hundreds of times but hasn’t lost his appreciation for it. Of course he pointed out the most famous spots as we passed over the legendary Jaws surf break, the wave that has made Maui famous among big wave surfers worldwide and the “rock” that started out the Jurassic Park film. Following the winding thread of the Road to Hana from above — those winding curves and narrow bridges that take a full day to drive reduced to a ribbon of asphalt through dense green jungle. And everywhere along the coast, waterfalls. Cascading down into the ocean, water seemed to be coming out of nowhere.
The coastal cliffs along this stretch of Maui are unlike anything I’ve seen. Jagged, dark, dramatic — the kind of landscape that makes you understand why the early Hawaiians considered this island sacred.
The history you don’t expect
This is the part of the experience I didn’t anticipate, and the part I keep coming back to.
As we flew over the eastern valleys, Tone shared some of the history of the land below us. The original Polynesian settlers of Maui gathered and lived in the island’s eroded volcanic valleys — areas like Kīpahulu on the eastern coast — farming taro and practicing fishing in a self-sufficient relationship with the land that sustained communities for centuries.
That changed in the 1850s, when Chinese contract laborers were brought to Maui to work the sugarcane plantations — a labor system that, whatever its legal classification, subjected workers to brutal and exploitative conditions. The transformation of the land to support sugarcane agriculture was extensive and lasting. Ancient taro fields were displaced. Traditional freshwater systems were diverted into less efficient uses. The landscape was fundamentally altered in ways that are still being felt today.
What moved me most was what Tone said next: that Maui is actively working to reverse that damage. To restore natural freshwater flow and to revive traditional Hawaiian agricultural practices — to return, in some meaningful way, to the land as the original inhabitants understood it.
Flying over that landscape with that context changes everything you see. The waterfalls aren’t just beautiful. They’re part of a water system that was disrupted and is slowly being healed.
The rainforest landing
We landed into a surprisingly manicured lawn deep in the Hana Rainforest — a remote area that Tone explained has road access for a weekly lawn mowing service (to prevent the rainforest from reclaiming the space). For roughly 30 minutes we explored on foot, surrounded by native flowers, banana trees, and the dense, humid stillness of old-growth rainforest. The canyon walls rose on one side and a stream ran nearby. The only sounds were the water, birds, and the rustle of wind through the trees.
Then came the mimosa style champagne toast — we were promised a glass of champagne but Tone brought along some canned fruit juices — Pineapple Orange and Lilikoi Guava — to make mimosas which was an even better treat.
We were back in the helicopter, without enough time to really wander off, but I carried the calmness I’d achieved there with me for the rest of the trip.
Practical details
Tour: Hana Rainforest Experience Operator: Maverick Helicopters Maui Duration: Approximately 75 minutes total — 20 minutes each way, 30-minute rainforest landing Departure: Kahului Heliport, Lelepio Pl, Kahului, HI 96732 Aircraft: ECO-Star (doors-on, air-conditioned, wraparound glass)
What to bring: Sunglasses, sunscreen, closed-toe shoes suitable for walking in the rainforest, one water bottle per person, your camera
Extra helpful: The Shaka Guide offers GPS-driven guided tours and is worth the couple bucks to purchase, especially if you plan on visiting Hana from the ground. Also, wear black pants — ask me why in the comments below.
Note: No restrooms in the rainforest — use facilities before boarding Book: maverickhelicopter.com
If you visit Maui and do only one thing beyond the beaches, make it this. Not just for the views — though the views are genuinely unlike anything you’ll see from the ground — but for what you learn about the island while you’re up there. Tone gave us more than a helicopter tour. He gave us a way of seeing Maui that I don’t think I’ll ever lose.
Planning a Maui wedding or elopement? The landscapes you’ll see on this tour are the same ones that make Maui one of the most breathtaking places in the world to get married. I’d love to help you capture it.
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