Paradise Found

Blagging it at the Hilton.
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After a night near Waikiki beach we took a short flight and landed in a small airport on the Big Island of Hawaii.  We couldn't do a great deal for the first couple of days.  It was too humid to walk any more than 200 yards so we sat and watched paddle boat racing on the Kona pier whilst we waited for our rental car to arrive.  Two days later our car arrived (Hawaiians rarely rush things and are often annoyed at 'mainlander' tourists who expect them to) and, working on a tip we received from a stranger, we went to see dolphins living at the Dolphin Training School within the luxurious Hilton Hotel at Waikoloa Beach.  Unashamedly, we weren't going to let a little thing like not actually being a resident at the Hilton get in our way.  So we parked the car and walked confidently through  the reception area, threw our stuff onto a covered sun lounger and went to watch five dolphins swim and play around in front of us.  Around 200 photos later, we went back to our stuff, put on the snorkelling gear we'd brought in preparation from Walmart the day before and went snorkelling.  The Green Sea Turtles that choose to live in the salt water bay near the Hilton grow up to four feet in length so they can be pretty intimidating when they first swim up to you.  But they're harmless and seemed genuinely unperturbed at our attempts to get closer to them.  this is one experience neither of us will forget!

Free Willy
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We headed South from Kona and visited the City of Refuge (Hawaiian name:  Puuhonua O Honaunau) which is an ancient beachside village adorned with temples, statues and palm trees.  Further south still, we entered the Painted Church which was, you guessed it, a church that was nicely painted!  See the photos - our linguistic talents can't describe it adequately.

We continued South along the road that hugs the coastline (we circled the whole island over three days in the end) until we hit South Point.  Here, bright aquamarine waves crashed against pitch black cliffs at the most Southern point in the U.S.  After a difficult hour long walk (in flip flops) over rocky terrain we finally arrived at the appropriately named Green Sands Beach.  Apparently  the Green Sands Beach in Hawaii is one of only two in the whole world where the mix of minerals from the surrounding areas creates a strange green coloured sand.

Erm... are there any other famous dolphins?
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Next stop along the way was Black Sand Beach (Do we really have to explain?).  Here we saw some Giant Turtles, this time lounging around on the black sand  that was caused by volcanic eruptions hundreds of years ago.  Whilst walking the beach we were approached by a young local who, in a show of great athleticism, climbed a nearby coconut tree, picked some coconuts and cut them open for us to drink the water inside.  For this, he wanted nothing more than the opportunity to show off his tree climbing skills and chat to some foreigners.

If they're so intelligent...
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A short drive later, we arrived at our primary destination - The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park where we were lucky enough to watch an active volcano spew glowing lava into the sea creating a massive plume of steam.

Also at the park we walked through a huge lava tube (a giant air pocket within frozen lava), hiked across miles of frozen lava to see ancient carvings made thousands of years ago, saw two mile wide craters where steam still poured out from the eruption of 1959.  The highlight of the National Park however was a walk, in the dark, across the barren lava fields to a view point where we could see five streams of lava flowing into the sea, making the island of Hawaii bigger by the day.

South Point
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After a night in the very posh Volcano B&B (we were upgraded) we headed in the rough  direction of 'home' to see the Akaka and Rainbow waterfalls.

Back in Kona, we decided to check out a secretative beach a local told us about when we stayed at Volcano.  The beach isn't signposted from the road (rumours are that the local people took the sign down) but after a windy old road we found the most beautiful beach we've seen since beeing away.  Soft golden sand, bright turquoise water... this beach had it all!

... howcome they don't cook their fish with a hint of lemon?
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We enjoyed the beach so much that, on the last day we had the car, we headed out there in time for sunset.  After watching a gorgeous sunset we headed back to the car only to find the keys had fell out of Kieren's pockets.  We hurried back to the beach, but seeing as the tide was coming in quickly, we didn't fancy our chances.  After frantically searching for 10 minutes (though it seemed longer) we miraculously found them, washed up, nowhere near where we'd been sitting!  Talk about lucky!

"Seriously mate - will you just **** off!"
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We've loved Hawaii.  It's got everything:  Beautiful lush scenery, golden (and black and green) beaches, friendly people and an active volcano.  We can't fault it!