This is a follow up from my thread about helping me plan my first trip to Hawaii -
Help me plan our 1st trip to Big Island & Oahu! May 2010 :)
Thanks again to everyone here at CD Hawaii forum who chimed in:
nwcountrygal, hotzcatz, calicosalsa, mdand3boys, franklin42, meadownc, newuhprof, badatta2de, hawaiilover, wikiwikirunner, hankdfrmsd, islandboo, bellalunatic, jmlowman, koakine, gorgar, tgrey, thisbloominglife, and
skybob.
I'll give a run down of some activities now and will add other details and maybe some pics in a day or so
Thursday May 6: took 3 planes from 9am est-730pm hawaii time (6 hours earlier) to arrive on the Big Island where I was greeted by my husband and a lei that was a really sweet gesture but smelled really stinky LOL. No jet lag the whole trip! Stayed at King Kamehameha hotel in Kailua-Kona - pool, balcony, clean, being renovated, nice service. We got a great rate on PriceLine
King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel in Hawaii
Friday May 7: did 4 hour morning snorkel tour with FairWinds to Capt Cook monument in Kealakekua Bay.
Fair Wind $130 each but gave military discount so was less. Boat wasn't crowded - half full - saw lots of fishies, water was cold, had lunch on the boat, and one of the passengers got to reel in a sport fish that we trolled for. Pretty wild - didn't think they needed to bash it's brains out so much but...? No hat, plenty of sunscreen, no burn - the whole trip! Rented fins from Snorkel Bob's (we had our own masks/snorkels) and can return them on Oahu - nice.
Snorkel Bob's | HOME
Saturday May 8: drove up West coast past Kohala resorts to Hawi where we took the 4 hour zip line tour through the rainforest with Big Island Eco Adventures.
Big Island Eco Adventures - Big Island Hawaii Zip Line Tours $160 each but gave military discount. My first zip line but won't be my last. It was SO fun - LOVE heights and this had plenty of heights - I think the tallest was about 2,000 feet - or maybe that's how long it was. Either way - lots of fun and only two other couples with us. On the last line I landed and told the guy I wanted to do it again - he said he was waiting for someone to say that - he'd already called back (actually I heard "something" while waiting to zip) and arranged for us to do the last 2 zips again!
Sunday May 9: drove down the West coast toward Volcanoes. Stopped at a few scenic spots like a black sand beach but skipped South Point in favor of getting to the park earlier. Saw zebras LOL. Stayed at Kiluaea Military Camp right in the park
Kilauea Military Camp - www.kmc-volcano.com - clean and serviceable but not as nice as the hotels. Did Crater Rim Drive - visitor center (lots of good info and helpful rangers/volunteers), sulphur banks, steam vents, overlooks with views of dormant and active crater (amazing glow and smoke), jaggar museum, devastation trail, thurston lava tube - including the dark side which was so cool! Speaking of cold - it was down right frigid at night there.
Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park - Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Monday May 10: did 4 mile Kilauea Iki hike through rain forest and across dormant crater floor. Drove an hour or so outside park to the viewing area for the current lava flow which is tightly controlled by the government at private lands. Parked and had to walk a mile or so through barren lava fields where some people had built houses. Get to the new viewing area with it's barriers and guards. Could see where the lava had crossed the road on May 5th and trapped the previous viewing area barriers. Could see heat rising from the black lava and smoke/steam rising from the sea cliff after the lava emptied into the ocean. Also could see the surface flow coming down the mountain in the distance. But, we couldn't get very close to anything and we wanted more...
Tuesday May 11: The previous evening we met a couple of the residents from the lava field and arranged for a private tour. We met them at the end of the viewing area at 4:30am. It was pitch dark but we had little flashlights and they guided us through tunnels and across shear ocean lava cliffs to the fresh flow. We spent a couple hours together so by the time we left it was bright. We stood as close as we could tolerate in front of fresh, oozing, and sometimes flaming, lava flows. We walked on hot, crusty mounds, of just cooling lava - stepping across crevices that revealed the
flowing red molten lava below. We poked the lava with a stick. It was breathtaking and amazing and all sorts of other superlatives. Absolutely the highlight of the trip. Later that day we did Chain of Craters, the petroglyph walk, and other sites along that road. Then we flew Hawaiian Airlines from Hilo to Honolulu. Love the passion fruit orange juice they serve.
Wednesday May 12: Stayed at Aqua Palms & Spa in Waikiki on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Waikiki Boutique Hotel - Hotels in Honolulu Hawaii (http://www.aquaresorts.com/oahu-4-80/aqua-palms-spa-home.aspx - broken link) Got a great price on PriceLine. Went to Hanauma Bay to snorkel. Fun morning - stayed inside the channel and still saw lots of fishies and even heard a parrot fish munching on corral - cool. Speaking of cool - Oahu was warmer than Hawaii - nice
.
baymap, Official Web Site for The City and County of Honolulu better pictures elsewhere but don't want to worry about copyrights and competing sites. Went to Pearl Harbor to see the Arizona Memorial. Very moving - made me cry - was surprised not to see anyone else so moved.
Pearl Harbor Memorial Tours ~ Welcome to the Official Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii Disappointed that the tour was just transport and didn't include any history. No bags allowed but you can carry a camera and water and stuff in your pockets.
Thursday May 13: Had to switch hotels to Ohana Waikiki East
OHANA Waikiki East - Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii - - OHANA Hotels & Resorts It was fine but not as nice as Aqua. Went back to Hanauma Bay in the morning and then drove up the East coast and to the North shore. Coming through the tunnel and seeing the East coast was the most gorgeous view I saw in the islands, I think - in the picture postcard sense. On the North shore we stopped at turtle beach and saw a beached turtle and a bunch of them floating in the surf. Fun. Stopped at Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay and some other spots too - all beautiful. Watched kids cliff diving.
Friday May 14:Went back to Pearl Harbor to tour the Might Mo. Well worth it. Left for Kona later that day. Got home 4 flights later on Saturday afternoon.
All in all we had a great time - lots of exciting adventures and new experiences
More later about food and some other stuff. Will try to post some pics too
Time for dinner and American Idol results!
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