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Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
Published: February 3rd 2011North America » United States » Hawaii » Volcano National Park
January 30th 2011
Today was the day, the main event, número uno, den perfekta dagen!!! As it was Lava day! This was the single, most important, natural event I wanted to see and I had been worrying about the possibility of not seeing it for some time. The day prior our tour guide Brandon, who called himself "Mr Lava Lava", had said there is no 100% guarantee but if you are with him then he would do his best to find it. The group of people travelling with us today were an Australian couple, Helen and Martin, and a couple from Atlanta US of A, Duncan Nugget and his wife. He was pretty funny, talked out the side of his face and was a motivational speaker to kids aged 12 to 19. Quiet a character! The destination was Hawai'i ... read more
January 25th 2011
Today we were off to Hana!!!!!! It was going to be a 112km round trip. Hana highway was constructed in 1926 and offers some of Hawaii's most spectacular coastal scenery. The drive would be also interesting as it zigzags over 56 one-lane bridges, snakes around more than 617 hairpin curves, and pasts countless waterfalls. Luckily, our tour guide was the greatly experienced Isaac and with over 200 drives of this road and an iPod of pretty good music we knew we would be in safe hands. First stop was to an amazing local organic supermarket called Mana Supermarket. This is by far the best supermarket ever, the choice of local fruit and veg was amazing and the nut selection was unreal!!! We got an apple and pecan nut scone which turned out later on to be ... read more
January 24th 2011
Iao Valley was about a 15 minutes drive from our hostel and was a lush green valley covered in rainforest laden hills. Famous for it's large rock pinnacle called "Iao Needle" which stands 2,250ft tall over the Iao stream which winds down from the surrounding mountains. Before all this however we were going to visit some heritage gardens which celebrates the many different influences that Hawaii has had. From the Polynesian to the Portuguese and not forgetting the British. The gardens were nice with a largely Japanese influence but had some nice plants and flowers. The British "influence" however wasn't the most impressive. It was meant to be a cottage but just looked like a typically old style Hawaiian house. Still after a nice walk round it was time to head for the main event. When ... read more
January 22nd 2011
Today's agenda was walking and lots of it! Location, the world's largest dormant volcano. Distance, 13 miles from the top, down into the crater then back up the other side. All coming to the end with a beautiful sunset above the clouds 10,000 feet above sea level! The name Haleakala meaning "House of the Sun" this is the world's largest dormant volcano and the summit stands at 3,055m above sea level! Apparently if the volcano was to be measured from the base below sea it would be over 35,000 feet high!! The temperatures can drop by more than 15 degrees so warm clothes were packed. Today was a clear day and last week there had even been some snow at the top but today it was much warmer. We started the drive up and soon found ... read more
Hawaii - Oahu and Waikiki
Published: January 25th 2011North America » United States » Hawaii » Oahu » Waikiki
January 19th 2011
After a brilliant month in Brisbane with Kate and Gary the big day had finally arrived. We were all packed and regrettably having to leave the brilliant land of Australia to the paradise of Hawaii. The pass 11 months had been amazing and we had seen so much and met so many brilliant people. From the first experience of Australian super camping, to water skiing to the thrill of the great barrier reef we feel we have seen it all! Along the way there has also been some sad sights, the storms of Melbourne and the Brisbane floods have helped us draw a bit more life perspective, but we will hold the memories with us forever! It was a sad time for reflection at the airport but sure we will be re visiting in the future.......... ... read more
June 28th 2010
The destination this weekend was Port Pirie and the plan was simple, 3 birthdays spread over one long weekend, a chartered fishing trip squeezed in the middle, surrounded with lots of beers and good times! We would be flying to Adelaide, travel down the coast to Port Broughton for a days fishing, and then continuing down the coast to the main event in Port Pirie Saturday night. It should be a classic! We headed for the airport during which I listened to Heath and Joel exchange previous fishing experiences. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any experience to bring to the conversation as this would be my first fishing experience. However, listening to Heath talk about how unlucky he is when fishing and how he doesn’t do well when he goes out on the boat filled me with ... read more
June 28th 2010
For some time now I had been planning a surprise trip for Hanna’s Birthday and had invited Kate and Gary to visit us from Brisbane for a long weekend trip to the Grampians. The plan was amazingly complicated but would hopefully result in a unexpected surprise visit for Hanna. I started constructing the plan back in February and got Kate and Gary to book up some flights ready for Hanna’s Birthday weekend. Then with a bit of searching found a suitable place to stay for a night and set about finding the best parts of the Grampians to visit in 1 weekend. Because we would have a few nights at our flat we needed some essential things such as extra sheets. Getting Hanna to buy smilingly unnecessary items was a challenge and at times impossible. The ... read more
March 13th 2010
Awaking/not sleeping at 5am in the morning was really fun but luckily it wasn’t the English organising the pick up and 1 minute before the allocated time of collection the coach driver appeared through the hotel door. We headed to the airport with the thick fog gradually clearing and ready for an 8 hour flight with the foot! We found the check-in desk and learning from our previous mistakes booked Hanna a wheel chair as we could foresee more swelling was on its way. I asked for a wheel chair for Hanna and the lady waved to ask the wheel chair man to come over to the desk. Hanna quickly asked if she was given a wheelchair “would she be able to go to the shops?” The lady looked at her as if to suggest well ... read more
March 3rd 2010
Today was Kowloon day! Kowloon is an urban area in Hong Kong, comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It is located north of Hong Kong Island and south of the mainland part of the New Territories. The peninsula's area is approximately 47 km2 or 18.1 mi2. Together with Hong Kong Island, it contains 48% of Hong Kong's total population. To get there we headed for the tram and this took us to the financial district of Hong Kong Island. From there it was a short walk made long to the star ferry port. On the way we passed some interesting and sad sights. Firstly, there was a sign/poster on a bus stop which seemed to give rules of how you must live in Hong Kong. Luckily, the government had foreseen that even people with the ... read more
March 2nd 2010
After an early night and a great sleep we awoke to find that Hanna’s foot was surprisingly ok. With this positive step we set out in search of a filling breakfast. Luckily, opposite the hotel was a lovely fruit stall and they had an amazing selection of fresh fruit (opposed to the tesco’s selection back home) we stocked up and headed for the neck cracking tram. We were able to get on the tram at its first stop so we always got a seat which was helpful for us both. Today the destination was THE PEAK TRAM! The Peak Tramway is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. It provides the most direct route and offers brilliant views over the harbour and skyscrapers ... read more
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