Hey everyone!
I hope you all had a lovely summer- I cannot believe it is September already- time really has flown by.
I am back home now, but still sorting through all the photos etc, so expect to have a few more holiday related posts yet.
After Waikiki, we flew (you have to fly- no boats between islands) to Hilo on Hawaii (confusing, so most people call it “The Big Island”, as it is the biggest), and had several days in the Volcano National Park. It was amazing! I love going to National Parks- we managed lots of walks (and hikes down to the crater floors and back up again), and even managed to see flowing lava one night. We stayed in a tree house in the rainforest- it was very cool- it collected rainwater to use for the shower- and had some solar panels. Anyway, I will try to keep the photos to a minimum!
Yes there used to be a road under that- not sure how the sign survived! There were different types of lava too- some smooth, some more like rubble, some that looked like cables.
Crater with steam pouring off- the lava below heats the rainwater.
Same crater at night- the lava makes the steam glow orange and red- amazing.
Rainbow in the background! We saw lots of rainbows there!
Lava tube- I am still not 100% sure I understand how they are formed- the lava flowed through, so I think it pushed through the thinner rock, and left behind a tube? Not sure though.
Lava
Walking on the lava (there is a road buried under that somewhere)
Our tree house in the rainforest
View out of the window (lots of big trees and leaves)
View of the sea from the park
Banana trees (I think?) planted right by the sea
Where the lava stops the road
Petroglyphs (ancient carvings in the lava rock)
And more (there were loads)
Some people had rebuilt their houses on top of the lava- it was very spooky
View of the lava in the daylight- just steam was visible
Then it got very dark!
And we could see the lava glowing on the side of the hill! Amazing!
Arch created by lava flowing into the sea
More lava
Crater floor (think this is the one we walked down to, along, and back up the other side)
In the crater floor
Being windswept by the crater!
Anyway, it was fantastic there- so interesting, so much to see and do. We stayed in a little town (called Volcano), and there were only a few small restaurants cafes. We found an amazing vegetarian cafe (with a goat in the garden!)- Cafe Ono. I did take some photos but you can look forward to them later!
Right, that is enough for now- I had better get ready for work tomorrow!
🙂
The first place we visited was Oahu, which has Honolulu on it (before we started looking into this trip, I thought it was all one island but it is loads)- anyway, a short drive from there to our hotel near to Waikiki beach. It was a lot like Miami beach- I liked it, but it was a big touristy city right by the beach, just a bit more laid back really. 
I went out for a run the first morning; luckily some of it had a board walk because running on the sand is such hard work (as someone commented to me!). My bright red face in the hotel lobby must have been a sight! 
View of Downtown and Waikiki beach from Diamond Head We went for a walk up to a place called Diamond Head (because people thought that the glittery stones were diamonds)- it was very steep but worth the amazing views- the car park looked very small from up there. 
We went to Pearl Harbor (spelling it the American way because it is American)- Andrew really wanted to see it, and it was interesting, but I did find it weird that people were having their pictures taken in front of the memorials and things. 
After that we had a more light hearted trip- to the Dole Pineapple Plantation! Mainly it was an excuse to buy some Dole whip (sort of a cross between frozen pineapple, frozen yoghurt and sorbet)- I have only ever had it at Disney before and it is yummy. Plus we got to ride the Pineapple Express (anyone else see that film? I thought it was going to be rubbish and about a bunch of stone-heads, but it was so funny)- and before we got on the train we had to pose for a photo while I held a real pineapple. Random. 
We had already eaten quite a bit before we decided to take photos! 
Even though I have seen them before, it was still funny to see how they grow. 
Also getting a bit obsessed with the beautiful hibiscus flowers that are everywhere. We also spent a day driving around the island- the North Shore was much more quaint, with lots of surf shops and little art shops and things. 
So many beautiful beaches and views of the sea. The scenery changes are so dramatic- sea on one side, volcanic valleys covered thickly in trees on the other. We got to see where Lost and Jurassic Park were filmed. 
On Friday night one of the hotels put on fireworks on the beach, so we watched those in the evening. Anyway, that is enough photos for now! After that we went to the Big Island (which apparently is actually called Hawaii but that was too confusing)- went to the volcano national park, and even saw some real lava! But I will save that for next time. 
Right, I thought I had a picture of me waving (for some cheesiness you know) but I don’t, so this is from the gardens at the pineapple plantation- seems a long time ago already! Bye for now xx