A couple of hours touring the Zion Wildlife Park and some very close encounters with big cats. Getting up close and personal with a couple of tigers. Someone went in to touch the leopards - but you had to pay $200 each for this so we didn't.
Met up with Christina in Auckland. She was my lodger a few years ago then moved back to NZ with her husband Mark. We'll be catching up with him later in the South Island. Christina's working in Auckland at the moment so took us out to St Hellier for supper and then a tour of Auckland at night. Very pretty with all the lights. Lots of big boats in the harbour (and I do mean big - some of the masts were about 70 metres high). Not sure if this was an Americas Cup one as it was in the place they usually moor. A lovely wooden one as well.
Off to Napier to spend a few days with Dee (Christina's sister) who I used to work with in Mobil days. Lots and lots of classic cars around. Older places flying overhead as well whilst we watched the parade on Saturday. Over 250 cars and motorbikes chuntering around the town. I greatly coveted a beautiful blue Bentley whilst Dee was taken with an Auburn. Chris liked the superchraged Bentley racer and the two racing Lagondas.
Max the kitten was very entertaining whilst we were there. Only a couple of months old and very sharp teeth/claws. We both have a few marks on our legs where he liked to climb up. Dee and Hannah both wear jeans!
Took the scenic route (gravel road in places and also lots of roadworks where no real road at all) across the centre of the north island heading towards Taihape - the gumboot throwing capital of the world. Slightly cooler weather here as it has been very hot and humid all week.
A couple of goods trains rumbled past us (and also during the night). We seemed to see quite a few trains over a couple of days.
We decided to go north again and headed for Mt Egmont (or Mt Taranaki whichever you want to call it). Drove up above the treeline and went for a walk from the plateau. Stunning views across from one side to another - you can see the sea on both sides. Continued down and then around the mountain. Visited Dawsons Falls - attractive waterfall with lots of steps on the way down (and up!)
Drove back south again as heading for the Interislander Ferry on Friday and wanted to spend some time in Wellington. Spent the night at Himatangi Beach - best loos/showers so far. Spotlessly clean and recently refurbished. Made some of the others seem quite basic.
Spent this afternoon looking round the Te Papa museum in Wellington. A fascinating place - loads to see - I recommend it if you visit Wellington. We went on a couple of the rides - a submarine one and an adrenaline sports one. Both were in motion simulators and the latter was quite energetic. There is even a bush park outside with a glowworm cave and dinosaur fossils for children to dig up. Loads of information on volcanoes and earthquakes together with the history and people of NZ.
Sitting in the sun writing this - a beautiful evening in Wellington on a very busy campsite - we had to queue to get in. Off to the south island tomorrow - ferry mid morning. Hope the winds will have died down a bit by then as it looked a bit rough as we passed the harbour earlier.
More soon (and I will upload more photos)....
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
New Zealand - Week 1
This is the first chance I have had to update the blog since we arrived last wednesday. Probably will do weekly updates from now on depending upon availability of internet etc.
We've been pretty busy so far. We've been travelling around the far north of NZ. Going from Auckland to Whangerai for our first day and staying at the Blue Heron holiday park again which has been upgraded since last time. There are lovely views from the peninsular across the water. We've also visited a Kauri forest and seen some enormous trees.
Just north of here is Ngunguru which those of you may remember the photograph from the previous trip - blue seas, sandy beaches etc - it's still the same - as pretty as ever. We're still trying to find places that beat it.
We visited Wairere Boulders - a surreal place where you climb in and out of large basalt boulders in a valley. The only place of its kind in the world. There are videos on their website.
Driving north again we arrived at the bottom of 90 mile beach and stayed in a campsite nearby. We paddled in the water. Lovely views across the massive sand dunes. Lots of people driving on the beach (not allowed in rental cars/vans). Lots of classic cars came in - they've been doing a 1000km round trip of NZ.
Fantastic starry skies at night. There's very little light pollution so it's very clear and they come down really low. The milky way is easily visible. Orion is upside down which seems a little strange.
Continued north to Cape Reinga which is pretty much as far as you can go. Camped overnight on the beach and went for an early morning swim in the river and had a cold water shower afterwards.
Te Paki sand dunes are massive. People were sliding down them either on boards or just on their fronts. A little oasis in front where a river goes down to join the ocean.
Turned south and stopped to look at some white silica sand dunes - completely different colour to any of the others. Continued down to Matauri Bay and the campsite we stayed in previously overlooking the Cavalli Islands. They call the road to it Million Dollar View Road. Fantastic stars again. Chris even saw one shooting star.
South again back to Whangerai where we're staying for a couple of days.
We need to review our photos and will upload some soon.
We've been pretty busy so far. We've been travelling around the far north of NZ. Going from Auckland to Whangerai for our first day and staying at the Blue Heron holiday park again which has been upgraded since last time. There are lovely views from the peninsular across the water. We've also visited a Kauri forest and seen some enormous trees.
Just north of here is Ngunguru which those of you may remember the photograph from the previous trip - blue seas, sandy beaches etc - it's still the same - as pretty as ever. We're still trying to find places that beat it.
We visited Wairere Boulders - a surreal place where you climb in and out of large basalt boulders in a valley. The only place of its kind in the world. There are videos on their website.
Driving north again we arrived at the bottom of 90 mile beach and stayed in a campsite nearby. We paddled in the water. Lovely views across the massive sand dunes. Lots of people driving on the beach (not allowed in rental cars/vans). Lots of classic cars came in - they've been doing a 1000km round trip of NZ.
Fantastic starry skies at night. There's very little light pollution so it's very clear and they come down really low. The milky way is easily visible. Orion is upside down which seems a little strange.
Continued north to Cape Reinga which is pretty much as far as you can go. Camped overnight on the beach and went for an early morning swim in the river and had a cold water shower afterwards.
Te Paki sand dunes are massive. People were sliding down them either on boards or just on their fronts. A little oasis in front where a river goes down to join the ocean.
Turned south and stopped to look at some white silica sand dunes - completely different colour to any of the others. Continued down to Matauri Bay and the campsite we stayed in previously overlooking the Cavalli Islands. They call the road to it Million Dollar View Road. Fantastic stars again. Chris even saw one shooting star.
South again back to Whangerai where we're staying for a couple of days.
We need to review our photos and will upload some soon.
Monday, 8 February 2010
Saturday 6th February - Diving
A big day today. A twilight dive and then a night dive hopefully to see manta rays.
A humpback whale was breaching as we arrived - a good sign as they eat similar things to manta rays.
Visited Eel Gardens - saw lots of garden eels which live in the sand and disappear if you get too close. Also several moray eels and lots of fish. Then a surface interval on the boat waiting for the sun to go down before our second dive.
We were each given a large torch and a blue glowstick on the back of our tanks. Entered the water around 6.45pm. A slightly surreal experience going into a dark world. A box of lights was sitting on the rocks - only about 35 feet deep and we were told to settle down around it and shine our torches upwards into the plankton to encourage plankton and manta rays. Whilst we were waiting the reef was still alive around us. A large moray eel out hunting fish made its way around various boulders towards me and I gave it a wide berth. After 20 minutes or so there were no signs of any mantas so we started exploring the reef instead whilst still keeping an eye out for any movement around the lights.
Lots of other creatures come out at night. Shining our torches we saw two sponge crabs (literally large crabs which have sponges living on their backs) having a minor argument. More moray eels came hunting using our torches to catch out unwary fish. Most of the fish looked sleepy - either hiding between the corals or somewhere else safe. Someone did see a moray catch one. A few red shrimps and a couple of smaller bright orange crabs. A slipper lobster was pointed out to us - all I could see was two eyes the camouflage was so good.
I thought I could hear whales singing. This is quite common as their songs travel quite a long way.
Back on the boat the captain had seen another whale right next to him and wanted to jump in to see it but couldn't find the spare mask. He couldn't get our attention whilst we were under the water so we all missed it.
A lovely starry night - could see Orion and Cassiopeia from the boat - not much light pollution here.
A humpback whale was breaching as we arrived - a good sign as they eat similar things to manta rays.
Visited Eel Gardens - saw lots of garden eels which live in the sand and disappear if you get too close. Also several moray eels and lots of fish. Then a surface interval on the boat waiting for the sun to go down before our second dive.
We were each given a large torch and a blue glowstick on the back of our tanks. Entered the water around 6.45pm. A slightly surreal experience going into a dark world. A box of lights was sitting on the rocks - only about 35 feet deep and we were told to settle down around it and shine our torches upwards into the plankton to encourage plankton and manta rays. Whilst we were waiting the reef was still alive around us. A large moray eel out hunting fish made its way around various boulders towards me and I gave it a wide berth. After 20 minutes or so there were no signs of any mantas so we started exploring the reef instead whilst still keeping an eye out for any movement around the lights.
Lots of other creatures come out at night. Shining our torches we saw two sponge crabs (literally large crabs which have sponges living on their backs) having a minor argument. More moray eels came hunting using our torches to catch out unwary fish. Most of the fish looked sleepy - either hiding between the corals or somewhere else safe. Someone did see a moray catch one. A few red shrimps and a couple of smaller bright orange crabs. A slipper lobster was pointed out to us - all I could see was two eyes the camouflage was so good.
I thought I could hear whales singing. This is quite common as their songs travel quite a long way.
Back on the boat the captain had seen another whale right next to him and wanted to jump in to see it but couldn't find the spare mask. He couldn't get our attention whilst we were under the water so we all missed it.
A lovely starry night - could see Orion and Cassiopeia from the boat - not much light pollution here.
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Friday 5th February - Diving
A 6.30am start - haven't had one of those for a while now.
Fitted out for a wetsuit at the dive centre and drove down to the harbour. The boat isn't kept here but is launched down the boat ramp.
Got chatting to a couple of other divers whilst waiting for the boat to be made ready. Bill from Calgary, Canada has done 500+ dive with Big Island Divers, Bob from Hawaii has done over 200 so they are pretty independent. There's Steve from Portland and another couple plus one man doing his dive training.
First dive was to Pine Trees/Golden Arches. As it is a while since we last dived (around 2 years really) it look some time to get comfortable again. Saw lots of fish (have posted several photos from this and the second dive). Visibility was excellent - could see for 15-20 metres. Saw quite a few fish. Apparently there was an octopus which Vinnie the dive guide was pointing at but it was really well camouflaged and I couldn't see it.
Back on the boat for a snack and drinks and then off to the next site - Kaloko. Had less weight this time so felt much better, buoyancy under control. An excellent dive with lots of fish. We saw a few rare ones - a male Whiteley's boxfish which is blue. Everyone got very excited about it. Also a flame angelfish and the strangest fish I have ever seen - a juvenile dragon wrasse (also known as a rock mover). It doesn't look like a fish at all.
As we came up there were humpback whales breaching to the south. One of the other divers said he could hear them underwater. The boat has a hot shower and even hair conditioner! For female divers this is quite something.
Very relaxed on the way back. Picked up a fish id book from the dive center and spent part of the afternoon trying to match our photos to those in the book.
Have booked ourselves on the night time manta ray dive plus a twilight dive to the same place just before so we know where we are when it is dark. There will be a circle of lights and we will be kneeling next to them and the mantas should be attracted to the lights and feed on the plankton. Fingers crossed that we see one.
Fitted out for a wetsuit at the dive centre and drove down to the harbour. The boat isn't kept here but is launched down the boat ramp.
Got chatting to a couple of other divers whilst waiting for the boat to be made ready. Bill from Calgary, Canada has done 500+ dive with Big Island Divers, Bob from Hawaii has done over 200 so they are pretty independent. There's Steve from Portland and another couple plus one man doing his dive training.
First dive was to Pine Trees/Golden Arches. As it is a while since we last dived (around 2 years really) it look some time to get comfortable again. Saw lots of fish (have posted several photos from this and the second dive). Visibility was excellent - could see for 15-20 metres. Saw quite a few fish. Apparently there was an octopus which Vinnie the dive guide was pointing at but it was really well camouflaged and I couldn't see it.
Back on the boat for a snack and drinks and then off to the next site - Kaloko. Had less weight this time so felt much better, buoyancy under control. An excellent dive with lots of fish. We saw a few rare ones - a male Whiteley's boxfish which is blue. Everyone got very excited about it. Also a flame angelfish and the strangest fish I have ever seen - a juvenile dragon wrasse (also known as a rock mover). It doesn't look like a fish at all.
As we came up there were humpback whales breaching to the south. One of the other divers said he could hear them underwater. The boat has a hot shower and even hair conditioner! For female divers this is quite something.
Very relaxed on the way back. Picked up a fish id book from the dive center and spent part of the afternoon trying to match our photos to those in the book.
Have booked ourselves on the night time manta ray dive plus a twilight dive to the same place just before so we know where we are when it is dark. There will be a circle of lights and we will be kneeling next to them and the mantas should be attracted to the lights and feed on the plankton. Fingers crossed that we see one.
Thursday 4th February
Spoke with Divina and the children via Skype after breakfast.
A day of errands today. Need stamps and packaging to send some stuff we no longer need back to England. We also want to book some diving.
Post office very friendly and efficient.
Big Island Divers - eventually worked out the phone code and called them to find out where they were. The guidebook has lots of local phone numbers but no addresses. Visited dive centre and booked diving for tomorrow - an 8am start at the dive center so we will need to get up early.
Drove down to Place of Refuge again and went snorkelling off Two Step. A bit rough but saw lots of fish.
More snorkelling at Kahalu'u Beach again quite rough but lots of fish.
A day of errands today. Need stamps and packaging to send some stuff we no longer need back to England. We also want to book some diving.
Post office very friendly and efficient.
Big Island Divers - eventually worked out the phone code and called them to find out where they were. The guidebook has lots of local phone numbers but no addresses. Visited dive centre and booked diving for tomorrow - an 8am start at the dive center so we will need to get up early.
Drove down to Place of Refuge again and went snorkelling off Two Step. A bit rough but saw lots of fish.
More snorkelling at Kahalu'u Beach again quite rough but lots of fish.
Wednesday 3rd February - Mauna Kea and the summit
A lazy start again today with breakfast on deck with Gigi the cat. It feels like it will be a hot day.
Off to Mauna Kea today so need jeans, fleeces, trainers etc.
The temperature was in the high 60s when we left. The road going up to the mountains is beautiful. We passed a hill known as the Jello Mold due to its shape. There seem to be a lot of them of similar shapes.
The Saddle Road runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and is over 6000 feet itself. It feels very familiar - like driving through the mediterranean alps. Lovely views along the way. We spotted some telescopes from quite low down. The road is very up and down and sometimes made my stomach go funny - like when you over a hill and it drops suddenly in front of you. The road is very bumpy and not well maintained from the Kona side then suddenly it is a massive highway as there is a military base. Signs around warn of tanks and low flying aircraft.
The crest of the road is 6,578 feet just before the turning to the Mauna Kea visitors centre. The road up became much steeper and by the time we got to the visitors centre it was 50 degrees and felt very cold and there was a strong breeze. We realised why we needed the extra clothing. After 30 minutes or so to acclimatise and put on sunscreen, sunglasses etc Chris drove us up to the summit.
I don't really know how to describe it. It is a moonscape or even looks like mars. There is bare soil with rocks on it and spectacular views. We can see across to Mauna Loa above the clouds . Partly a dirt track and partly paved. The jeep coped pretty well with it - the back end moves quite a lot on gravel and there are permanent ruts in the ground which are very hard and bumpy to drive over. There are at least a dozen telescopes up at the summit. It is very windy and even colder (48 degrees) so put on more clothes - hat etc and took a few photos and then headed back down again.
Stopped at the visitors centre and took off one of my two fleeces. Bought some souvenirs so can now say been there, done that and got the t-shirt!
Off to Mauna Kea today so need jeans, fleeces, trainers etc.
The temperature was in the high 60s when we left. The road going up to the mountains is beautiful. We passed a hill known as the Jello Mold due to its shape. There seem to be a lot of them of similar shapes.
The Saddle Road runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and is over 6000 feet itself. It feels very familiar - like driving through the mediterranean alps. Lovely views along the way. We spotted some telescopes from quite low down. The road is very up and down and sometimes made my stomach go funny - like when you over a hill and it drops suddenly in front of you. The road is very bumpy and not well maintained from the Kona side then suddenly it is a massive highway as there is a military base. Signs around warn of tanks and low flying aircraft.
The crest of the road is 6,578 feet just before the turning to the Mauna Kea visitors centre. The road up became much steeper and by the time we got to the visitors centre it was 50 degrees and felt very cold and there was a strong breeze. We realised why we needed the extra clothing. After 30 minutes or so to acclimatise and put on sunscreen, sunglasses etc Chris drove us up to the summit.
I don't really know how to describe it. It is a moonscape or even looks like mars. There is bare soil with rocks on it and spectacular views. We can see across to Mauna Loa above the clouds . Partly a dirt track and partly paved. The jeep coped pretty well with it - the back end moves quite a lot on gravel and there are permanent ruts in the ground which are very hard and bumpy to drive over. There are at least a dozen telescopes up at the summit. It is very windy and even colder (48 degrees) so put on more clothes - hat etc and took a few photos and then headed back down again.
Stopped at the visitors centre and took off one of my two fleeces. Bought some souvenirs so can now say been there, done that and got the t-shirt!
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Tuesday 2nd February
Another lazy start - we could get used to living like this...
Spoke with Patrick and Divina in England via Skype. Gave them the grand tour of where we are staying.
Lunch on our deck and then off to the seahorse farm just outside Kailua-Kona which is the main town on this side of the island. They have over 20,000 of them and breed them to sell to people who have an aquarium to stop people taking them from the wild. Apparently people used to take 1+million of them each year and this has been reduced to 25,000. The farm used deep water from the ocean nearby to raise them. They are tiny to start with - less than an inch long and some get quite large. They ask you to wash in iodine to help preserve their biosecurity and also treat on mats covered with it.
I became a coral reef for a while. One of the seahorses was put onto my fingers and stayed there for a couple of minutes. We also saw the weedy sea dragon (which we saw off Sydney on our last trip) and they had four leafy sea dragons which they are trying to breed as well. And an extremely ugly bright yellow frog fish.
We thought we'd do a bit more snorkelling today so found a beach which had a 4wd road going to it. The description of it was 'nasty' but we've done a bit of off roading in the UK and we have a jeep and how hard can it be?
Nasty was an understatement - think large rocks, potholes and lots of them. It took us over 30 minutes to inch our way down to the beach and then drive a bit further along it. The beach was worth it - Makalawena. Hardly anyone around. Beautiful sand, palm trees, lots of fish (some quite big) and a couple more turtles just hanging around.
We then had to lurch/climb/inch back up the road again. I will post a couple of photos so you can see what I mean. A beautiful sunset on the way. The coastline faces west here so is known for its sunsets.
Spoke with Patrick and Divina in England via Skype. Gave them the grand tour of where we are staying.
Lunch on our deck and then off to the seahorse farm just outside Kailua-Kona which is the main town on this side of the island. They have over 20,000 of them and breed them to sell to people who have an aquarium to stop people taking them from the wild. Apparently people used to take 1+million of them each year and this has been reduced to 25,000. The farm used deep water from the ocean nearby to raise them. They are tiny to start with - less than an inch long and some get quite large. They ask you to wash in iodine to help preserve their biosecurity and also treat on mats covered with it.
I became a coral reef for a while. One of the seahorses was put onto my fingers and stayed there for a couple of minutes. We also saw the weedy sea dragon (which we saw off Sydney on our last trip) and they had four leafy sea dragons which they are trying to breed as well. And an extremely ugly bright yellow frog fish.
We thought we'd do a bit more snorkelling today so found a beach which had a 4wd road going to it. The description of it was 'nasty' but we've done a bit of off roading in the UK and we have a jeep and how hard can it be?
Nasty was an understatement - think large rocks, potholes and lots of them. It took us over 30 minutes to inch our way down to the beach and then drive a bit further along it. The beach was worth it - Makalawena. Hardly anyone around. Beautiful sand, palm trees, lots of fish (some quite big) and a couple more turtles just hanging around.
We then had to lurch/climb/inch back up the road again. I will post a couple of photos so you can see what I mean. A beautiful sunset on the way. The coastline faces west here so is known for its sunsets.
Monday 1st February
Another lazy breakfast with Gigi the cat for company. She is very vocal and rules the roost here.
Drove down to Volcanoes National Park on the south of the island. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the size of the Big Island but big is appropriate. it's double the size of all the other hawaiian islands put together. It took 2.5 hours to get there via a long, winding coast road to start with then it headed inland and climbed up to 4000 feet.
Kilauea is massive. The Halema`uma`u crater is just a small part of it. No lava but a gas plume is visible. A fantastic and impressive landscape. Lots of steam vents alongside the roads as we drove around Crater Rim Drive. You can't go all the way around due to sulphur dioxide gas but what you can see is amazing.
The Thurston Lava Tube was also recommended to us. A bit creepy to think that molten magma used to flow through it and now people can walk in it. There's also another bit you can explore if you have a torch and suitable shoes (we didn't).
The drive continues along to the coast passing lava fields from various different eruptions. There's no lava going into the ocean at the moment. We took a short walk through some from 1971. It is already being colonised by plants and flowers. A pretty desolate landscape in all. There are two different types of lava - pahoehoe which is smoother and a'a which is spiky and difficult to walk on. The hawaiian names have been adopted as names for lava across the world.
The USGS site has loads of information about the volcano http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/
A long drive home partly in the dark which was 'interesting' (read slightly scary) on these roads.
Drove down to Volcanoes National Park on the south of the island. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the size of the Big Island but big is appropriate. it's double the size of all the other hawaiian islands put together. It took 2.5 hours to get there via a long, winding coast road to start with then it headed inland and climbed up to 4000 feet.
Kilauea is massive. The Halema`uma`u crater is just a small part of it. No lava but a gas plume is visible. A fantastic and impressive landscape. Lots of steam vents alongside the roads as we drove around Crater Rim Drive. You can't go all the way around due to sulphur dioxide gas but what you can see is amazing.
The Thurston Lava Tube was also recommended to us. A bit creepy to think that molten magma used to flow through it and now people can walk in it. There's also another bit you can explore if you have a torch and suitable shoes (we didn't).
The drive continues along to the coast passing lava fields from various different eruptions. There's no lava going into the ocean at the moment. We took a short walk through some from 1971. It is already being colonised by plants and flowers. A pretty desolate landscape in all. There are two different types of lava - pahoehoe which is smoother and a'a which is spiky and difficult to walk on. The hawaiian names have been adopted as names for lava across the world.
The USGS site has loads of information about the volcano http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/
A long drive home partly in the dark which was 'interesting' (read slightly scary) on these roads.
Sunday 31st January
A lazy start to the day with breakfast on our deck overlooking the pacific ocean. It rained hard overnight.
Rick and Amy Decker are so well organised here. There is virtually everthing you can think of. We had loads of food waiting when we arrived. We can borrow fins and snorkelling gear, beach mats, rucksacks etc. There is a store of paperback books left by previous visitors if we need something to read. They even provide a computer to use.
Rick is a former president of the Hawaii Underwater Photography Society and his photographs adorn the walls. Adorn being the correct word as they are fantastic. A link to his website is here http://www.lightreflection.com/. He was also happy to help us with any questions on photography.
He recommended snorkelling at Kahalu'u beach for our first expedition. Also a place called Two Step near the Place of Refuge. (Melissa also mentioned this one)
Kahalu'u beach is about a 40 minute drive away. It was packed on a sunday afternoon but there was still space for us. Factor 50 sunscreen is pretty essential here as the sun is very strong. We saw loads of fish including some really large ones - parrotfish, moorish idols, butterfly fish and bright yellow tangs. And three green turtles - or else it was the same one three times. Not sure as we saw it in different areas. I've never seen a turtle in the wild before so that was pretty impressive and it was quite close - no more than a couple of metres away.
Place of Refuge or to give it the Hawaiian name 'Pu'uhonua o Honaunau' is sacred to the Hawaiians. No snorkelling in the park itself. We opted for a tour and glad we did as it is beautiful. Palm trees, sand and lava by the ocean. And I saw a couple more turtles as well. There was also an endangered monk seal - one of only 5 found on the Big Island so we were priviledged to see it. Chris picked up a coconut and shook it and it still had milk inside it. No snorkelling here today will have to return later in the week.
Rick and Amy Decker are so well organised here. There is virtually everthing you can think of. We had loads of food waiting when we arrived. We can borrow fins and snorkelling gear, beach mats, rucksacks etc. There is a store of paperback books left by previous visitors if we need something to read. They even provide a computer to use.
Rick is a former president of the Hawaii Underwater Photography Society and his photographs adorn the walls. Adorn being the correct word as they are fantastic. A link to his website is here http://www.lightreflection.com/. He was also happy to help us with any questions on photography.
He recommended snorkelling at Kahalu'u beach for our first expedition. Also a place called Two Step near the Place of Refuge. (Melissa also mentioned this one)
Kahalu'u beach is about a 40 minute drive away. It was packed on a sunday afternoon but there was still space for us. Factor 50 sunscreen is pretty essential here as the sun is very strong. We saw loads of fish including some really large ones - parrotfish, moorish idols, butterfly fish and bright yellow tangs. And three green turtles - or else it was the same one three times. Not sure as we saw it in different areas. I've never seen a turtle in the wild before so that was pretty impressive and it was quite close - no more than a couple of metres away.
Place of Refuge or to give it the Hawaiian name 'Pu'uhonua o Honaunau' is sacred to the Hawaiians. No snorkelling in the park itself. We opted for a tour and glad we did as it is beautiful. Palm trees, sand and lava by the ocean. And I saw a couple more turtles as well. There was also an endangered monk seal - one of only 5 found on the Big Island so we were priviledged to see it. Chris picked up a coconut and shook it and it still had milk inside it. No snorkelling here today will have to return later in the week.
A narrow road took us to a place where you can see the monument to Captain Cook. Apparently this is one of the best places to dive/snorkel as there are lots of fish and resident dolphins and the possibility of whale sharks and manta rays. We'll have to come back another day...
Monday, 1 February 2010
Day 6 - Big Island, Hawaii
Breakfast outside the hotel with sparrows for company and a brief walk alongside the local canal. Another taxi back to the airport. Very chatty driver from Vietnam.
Easy checkin - very relaxed here. Sat and watched a few planes land and depart before ours. Some are tiny - 12 seaters, others maybe hold 40 people.
See our bags going on a cart to the plane. We walked out to the plane and only around 25 of us travelling. Best seats are on left side of plane as you can see the island as you leave and also when you land.
Collected our jeep and headed up towards Silver Oaks Ranch.
Landscape here is very strange - lots of black lava fields, brightly coloured bouganvilleas - red, pink, white etc, nothing very green on this side of the island. Silver Oaks is at about 1500 feet and cooler than lower down. It stays in the 70s here most of the time.
Rick Decker greeted us as we arrived and upgraded us to the (much) bigger Ranch View Cottage. We have a massive bedroom with ensuite. Big sitting room with dining area and kitchen and a large deck/porch where we can look down on the coast. There's a pool and a hot tub which we can use as well. Luxury!
The queen of the ranch is 'Gigi' an extremely vocal black cat who likes to come and get lots of attention from guests. There are goats - several of which are pregnant and may give birth whilst we are here. Also a donkey and a horse which are both partial to papayas.
It has been very dry here for the last four months and it has just started raining today.
Supper at a local pizza restaurant. Parked our jeep under cover and went inside and the heavens opened. Everything they say about tropical 'showers' is true.
Easy checkin - very relaxed here. Sat and watched a few planes land and depart before ours. Some are tiny - 12 seaters, others maybe hold 40 people.
See our bags going on a cart to the plane. We walked out to the plane and only around 25 of us travelling. Best seats are on left side of plane as you can see the island as you leave and also when you land.
Collected our jeep and headed up towards Silver Oaks Ranch.
Landscape here is very strange - lots of black lava fields, brightly coloured bouganvilleas - red, pink, white etc, nothing very green on this side of the island. Silver Oaks is at about 1500 feet and cooler than lower down. It stays in the 70s here most of the time.
Rick Decker greeted us as we arrived and upgraded us to the (much) bigger Ranch View Cottage. We have a massive bedroom with ensuite. Big sitting room with dining area and kitchen and a large deck/porch where we can look down on the coast. There's a pool and a hot tub which we can use as well. Luxury!
The queen of the ranch is 'Gigi' an extremely vocal black cat who likes to come and get lots of attention from guests. There are goats - several of which are pregnant and may give birth whilst we are here. Also a donkey and a horse which are both partial to papayas.
It has been very dry here for the last four months and it has just started raining today.
Supper at a local pizza restaurant. Parked our jeep under cover and went inside and the heavens opened. Everything they say about tropical 'showers' is true.
Day 5 - Honolulu, Hawaii
Left California for Hawaii. The Americans are very well organised when it comes to rental cars. Signs on the freeways, special lanes at the airport and people to meet you and take the car when you arrive. Very easy.
Checked in for our United Airlines flight to Hawaii - opted to upgrade this time to Premium Economy and glad we did. Much roomier seats and we had three to ourselves so could relax more. Flight 5.5 hours - we went through a couple of 'cells' as we descended towards Honolulu. Not too bad but the plane seemed to accelerate forwards a couple of times rather than going down.
Honolulu cloudy as we arrived. Taxi to hotel in Waikeke at the end of their rush hour at 6pm. Small room with noisy air conditioner. Went out for a Thai meal for supper - very good. Had an early night as it was a tiring day and off to the Big Island tomorrow.
Checked in for our United Airlines flight to Hawaii - opted to upgrade this time to Premium Economy and glad we did. Much roomier seats and we had three to ourselves so could relax more. Flight 5.5 hours - we went through a couple of 'cells' as we descended towards Honolulu. Not too bad but the plane seemed to accelerate forwards a couple of times rather than going down.
Honolulu cloudy as we arrived. Taxi to hotel in Waikeke at the end of their rush hour at 6pm. Small room with noisy air conditioner. Went out for a Thai meal for supper - very good. Had an early night as it was a tiring day and off to the Big Island tomorrow.
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