Today we arrived at the Big Island of Hawaii, in the city of Hilo. We were awake about 5:30 am and so we had plenty of time to get breakfast from the Lido Buffet before the Sail in Commentary began at 7 am in the Crowsnest.
We had booked an excursion with Holland America to visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We were in a relatively small group - travelling with 14 others in a mercedes van. Our guide Derek was excellent.
Hilo, Hawaii receives the most rain of any city in the USA - more than 145 inches per year (that is more than 12 feet!). So we felt blessed indeed that we had sunshine at the top of the Kilauea Caldera! The Kilauea Volcano is the youngest and most active volcano on the island of Hawaii. This volcano had a signficant eruption in 2018, beginning in May and seeping lava down the mountain until July. Seven hundred homes were destroyed in the process and more than 800 acres of land was formed with the spilling of lava into the ocean.
We got the thrill of walking through the Thurston Lava Tube where lava once flowed!
The tour was operated by Kailani Tours Hawaii, which is actually based out of Kona, a two hour drive away. We visited Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut “Farm” - where we received samples to try, as there were different flavours to enjoy. I bought container to enjoy during the rest of the cruise!
For lunch we stopped at a winery where the wine drinkers were given 4 types of wine and two types of mead. We got to try samples of chilled white tea, and hot black tea - and for the non-drinkers, we got to enjoy a full size cup of whatever tea we liked best! We then were served a family style picnic lunch outside, underneath tents - to protect you from the sun or the rain, should that have been an issue!
We then stopped at Rainbow Falls, which was very brown in colour, but certainly easy to access. Our second last stop included a stop at the market downtown where I bought a couple of avocadoes and Aloha ‘Love’ Flowers, properly called Anthuriums. I used these flowers to augment the bouquet we have had in our stateroom since the beginning of the trip (and the dying flowers were replaced!). Our very last stop was at Big Island Candies, which was all about cookies and macademia nuts! (though they did have coffee and ice cream for sale too!)
Tomorrow we arrive in Honolulu, Oahu and have early morning tickets for Pearl Harbour!
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