Aloha Hawaii - the BIG island

After spending three glorious nights in Waikiki, it was now time to fly off to the Big Island of Hawaii. For those of you not familiar with the islands of Hawaii (the state), there are six main islands, Oahu, Hawaii (the Big Island), Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai.  

 

Hawaii is the largest of the Hawaiian Islands and still growing. This island is as diverse as it is awesome, with black, green and white-sand beaches, rain forests, lava deserts, snowy mountains, pastureland and flowing magma. The atmosphere of this island changes as you move around the edges of it. We flew into Kona airport that an ocean of lava surrounded. It seemed so desolate; I wondered what we had gotten ourselves into, there were a few palm trees at the airport but as you drive out of the airport there is nothing but lava.

 However, things change as you drive into Kona. A gorgeous little resort town, famous for its coffee -" the best in the world in my opinion -" and the Hawaiian Ironman.

 

Again, we spent three nights on Hawaii staying in a condominium with a lanai (balcony) looking out over the Pacific Ocean. Three days is not enough to see the whole island, but enough to get a little taste. We hired a car and drove around the entire island, taking in the volcanoes national park, the lush green rain forests and pastureland, with a little side trip in a helicopter, which was to take us over the coast where the lava of Kilauea flowed into the sea. Unfortunately, the weather closed in, and we ended up having to turn back. The Blue Hawaiian Helicopters tour group reimbursed all our money, but that didn’t stop some of the other passengers kicking up a big stink wanting to finish their tour.

I just don’t get some people, why would you risk your life just to see a sight. I can understand they may never have the opportunity to come back and see it again, but if you fly in bad weather, you may never have the chance to see ANYTHING ever again. Get a clue!

 

Ok, so now that I have vented, I will say that of the four islands I stayed on this time, Hawaii was my least favourite. I think it all had to do with the atmosphere, even though the island is still growing I felt there was little life there. This was not the case in the north of the island though, where the rain forest grew, however I only spent a day driving through that area. The Kona area is still very beautiful and we had a fantastic time. However, this little Sunflower will not rush to go back.

 

I don’t want to put anyone off though. Shane loved it. He loved everything about the island. Volcanos Nation Park was very interesting, you have the chance to stand on a active volcano, walk through tubes formed by hot lava, and watch lava flow into the ocean (if the weather is in your favour). It was definitely worth the visit and I am not sorry I went. The coffee and sunsets alone were worth it.