This island is very different from Kauai. It has many different climates: of the earth's 13 different climates, this island has 11 of them. We landed in the desert zone - a big field of lava rock. As you're landing, you can't help but wonder why did we come here? It looks like the moon.
Got to the resort and checked in. Of course, there's more greenery here, and lovely sunsets.
Next morning, we went on a petroglyph hike. There's a petroglyph park adjacent to the resort, and they provide informative walks through the park. It has many markings on the rocks left behind by the early inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands, who arrived anywhere from 200 AD to 800 AD... I've heard and read different dates since I've been here. Here are a few shots of the petroglyph markings taken along the way.
Then Paul and I did a session of yoga and meditation on the lawn in front of the ocean. Sorry, no pictures of that - use your imagination - a young woman giving a yoga class that consists of Paul and me. We didn't ask for a private class, but nobody else showed up.
That evening (we're at Saturday by the way), we went out to a Luau. Here I am sporting my new Hawaiian shirt.
Before dinner, the Hawaiian boys unearth the pig that has been roasting in an underground oven all day.
As they prepare the pig, and all the other food, for the buffet, I take advantage of it to get another lovely sunset picture over the Pacific.
Here's a shot of Paul with some of his, and now my friends, waiting for the feast to begin.
After the feast, the show begins: a series of traditional Hawaiian dances which tell various stories, performed by the locals.
...and of course, the hula.
At some point in the evening, I might have gotten up to join them on stage, and performed a Hawaiian tribal dance with them... but since I have no photographic evidence of that, I can't be sure.
In any case, it was a great evening and lots of good food and fun with great people.
Sunday is the day that we booked a bus tour of the Big Island.. Volcano Day !!!
Highlights of the day were the Pololu Valley Lookout, which is on top of a North facing cliff, with a great view of the valley and beach below.
After a few more food stops (market for fresh white pineapple and Poke counter for a local raw fish based dish - Hey, Yuki organised this tour, so I'm not surprised there's a big food theme... I have no problem with that), we're off to the volcano.
More specifically, the Kilauea Crater. This crater has been in a state of "eruption" since January 3rd, 1983. It is not an explosive eruption like you think of when you think of a volcano... more of a constant heated gurgle and overflow. Nonetheless, it is constantly changing the landscape of the Big Island by destroying existing land and settlements, but adding more. Over 500 acres of new land has been added to the island since this eruption. Enough education - on to pictures.
The first thing you come across are the steam vents. These are caused by water that is collected in the ground from rain, and is heated by the underground lava, and is released as steam.
You can walk up close to it and feel the heat and smell the sulphur being released from underground.
Of course, all this steam creates a lot of fog and mist, so not great for pictures, but here is one of the crater taken from a lookout point.
Of course, the real highlight is viewing this in the dark - then you get a feel for the fire which is burning beneath this earth. We came back after dark, and although we did not see any active lava flow, you certainly get a sense of the intense heat from the red glow in the sky. Here are a few shots, which obviously don't do it justice, but give you a sense of power of this crater.
Here is the Halema'uma'u crater, which is a crater within a crater, with steam rising and glowing from the underground red-hot lava.
...and my best attempt at a close-up.
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