Advertisement
Published: October 9th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Sunset at Kona
Outrigger in the foreground. Hawaii (11th - 17th September, 2006)
San Francisco to Honolulu to Kona (Hawai'i/The Big Island - Spencer Beach Park)
"Happy 26th Birthday Bern and Elizabeth and just for your birthday I'm taking you both to Hawaii and I'm coming too!!!!" Very high security alerts flying in the States on September 11. We were no longer able to carry liquids on the plane due to problems at Heathrow in the last month.
After arriving in Honolulu we flew straight out again to Kona on The Big Island. Our forward planning started to get a little bit lax, having booked a flight to Kona the night before, booking a car when we arrived at the airport and then just having to find a campsite when we arrived.
Kona (Hookena Beach Park)
A lady in a security buggy woke us up at 7 reminding us we needed to leave the park because it was closing for 2 days. We had a lot of left over birthday cake for breakfast to get through first! We drove down to Kealakekua Bay State Park and just as we were about to leave spotted some spinner dolphins jumping out of the water. By then it was
time for our next course of left over birthday cake while we sat and watched these large pods of dolphins.
In the afternoon we headed out with Big Island Divers to Garden Eel Cove. During our first dive in the daylight we saw a couple of Mantarays, eels and loads of fish. In the evening we went for a night dive with the manta rays at the same location. It is one of the top 10 dives in the world. It was truly one of the most magical experiences. Scary at first. And I did confirm with the dive master that they didn't have a stinger (it was post Steve Irwin). They just have long tails. The scariest part was when we jumped off the boat in to the water and had to make our way to the bottom because there was already 6 manta rays swimming around the boat and it was difficult not to bump in to them. When we made it to the bottom there was 9 manta rays swimming around us eating the plankton which is attracted to the artifiial light. It felt like there was 500 of them given their huge size and the fact
that they kept bumping in to you. Bern's wetsuit hood was covered in slime from the manta rays brushing against her head.
Kona to Volcanoes National Park (Namakanipaio Campground)
From our campsite this morning at Hookena Beach Park we spotted some more spinner dolphins. We kayaked out to Captain Cook's monument from Kealakekua Bay and went snorkelling, spotting a couple of sea turtles which were swimming around and feeding off the rocks.
We drove to the Volcanoes NP and down the Chain of Craters Road to where the road suddenly comes to an end because of the 1983 lava flow which flowed across the road. In the daylight we walked over the lava rock to a point where you could still see lava flowing down the mountain and out of a rift. Sat on the lava bench to have dinner and view the bright red glow of the lava in the darkness. The lava was even still spurting out of the rift. A spectacular sight. The wind was blowing in the right direction that the fumes weren't a problem and the lava bench didn't break off and fall in to the ocean! We were well back from the coast
Sea Turtle
Snorkelling at Kailua Bay. and quite a distance from the lava flow!
Volcanoes NP to Kona (Hookena Beach Park)
We spent the morning driving around the crater rim of Kilaua where there was still a lot of steam vents and a strong smell of sulphur.
Back in Kona we had dinner at a Kava Bar and sampled Kava. Kava is a muddy looking drink made from the crushed roots of a kava plant. It makes your lips and tongue a bit tingley and is supposed to be a relaxant. It tastes much better with juice!
Kona to O'Ahu, Honolulu - Waikiki (Hokondo Beachside Hostel x 2 nights)
Spent the morning snorkelling at Kailua Bay with the sea turtles and there were plenty of them.
We flew back to Honolulu on the island of O'Ahu and spent our final 2 days of our 12 month round the world adventures enjoying the sun and the surf. At Waikiki Beach we hired softop longboards and were very successful in being able to get to our feet on a few waves. Along the beachfront we enjoyed some traditional Hawaiin dancing. Ono's in Waikiki served cheap Hawaiin food that was very tasty especially the laulau (meat wrapped
Volcanoes National Park
Smoke billowing from the lava flowing from the volcanic rift in to the ocean. in spinach leaves).
Unfortunately we all got a little too much sun on the last day making for a very unpleasant nights sleep and an uncomfortable 12 hour plane trip. Our final dinner and cocktails on the beach was at Dukes Restaurant (in memory of the guy who introduced surfing to America and Australia). And just to top that off we ordered a stretch limo (for $5 more than the airport shuttle bus) to Honolulu Airport for the flight home! It was a requirement to drink champagne in the limo!
Wow, what a trip it has been!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.355s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 19; qc: 90; dbt: 0.0929s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb