Day 6 & 7 - Kona, Hilo and Volcano National Park, Hawaii

The flight to ‘The Big Island’ was very smooth. The 45 minutes seemed for like 25 minutes. We landed, picked up our car and headed the 5kM into Kona as the sun was setting. Jenny found our apartment while doing her 150 hrs of research. It’s a privately owned condo about 15minutes from the Airport on the other side of Kona.

Day 6 - Kona, Hawaii
We woke up the next morning and headed straight to a snorkeling beach. We were so keen to get out that we didn’t take the camera but it was  great beach with schools of bright yellow fish.We then drove North, past the airport out to Hapuna Beach

Photos taken by Ryan

 

Too much sun?

We ended the day watching the sunsetting over Keanalele Beach (seriously I don't make these names up!)

Day 7- Hilo and Volcano National Park, HawaiiHawaii is the biggest of all the islands, larger than all of the island put together. It is still growing as the Kilauea Volcano spews tons of lava daily into the ocean. The Mauna Loa  volcano is the largest mountain in the world rising to 12ft above sea level and down another 40,000ft to the ocean floor. We drove the 2 1/2hrs from Kona to Hilo along the northern #19 highway. Hilo is the opposite to Kona with 120 inches of rainfall each year while Kona has 10inches per year. We drove up to the Akaka Falls, took some photos and then stopped at the coconut fruit stand for some coconut water and freshly picked pineapple. Yummy!

Akaka Falls 

We stopped in Hilo for a swim in some lovely rock pools and then headed up to the volcano. The volcano is massive. There is smoke spewing steadily from the crater but, sadly, you can’t go near it unless you want to die from the fumes. We drove along crater rim drive and took in the sights. We were planning on staying to see the lava glowing after dark but decided I would rather do the 2 1/2 hr drive back in daylight.We stopped at a hole in the wall shack for some Korean barbecue ribs and seafood. It was surprisingly delicious.