A week (almost) in Hawaii.







“I’m leaving on a jet plane”, that loses my luggage and won’t let me complain…




                We got up early and ate breakfast while repacking all of the things that had gotten strewn around the room over the past few days.  After everything was stowed we said goodbye to Mack, grabbed some food at the grocery store and headed out to the airport.  Then it was goodbye to Elaine.  At the airport they had this idiotic system where instead of having the ticketing officer throw your bag onto a conveyor belt they make you stand in a huge 30-minute line to hand your bag to a guy who puts it on a conveyor belt.  Brilliant.  While waiting at the gate Meg was frantically writing postcards and waiting on hold for 30 minutes to cancel her Solo cellphone plan.  I was trying to use up my Starbucks gift card and she ended up getting cut off the phone line.  The consolation was that the guy at the gate was willing to post her postcards for her, as the gate itself was officially US territory and was not under Canada Post’s jurisdiction. 

                We flew to LA on a tiny plane with graffiti on the headrests and broken springs on the seat pockets.  If our carry- on baggage could fit on that plane, it would fit anywhere!  Then we flew on to Hilo after a 1 ½ hour stopover.  We were glad for our store- bought munchies and books as food and entertainment weren’t complimentary. 

You take the low road and I’ll take the Hilo….

                We landed in Hilo (pronounced Heel-oh) after dark (about 7 pm) at an airport with open spaces, light rain and the sounds of tree-frogs filling the air.  They were apparently imported accidentally from Costa Rica, quarter-sized beasties who can crank out 90 decibels of croak and who are devastating the local insects.  My backpack was fine, Meg was glad that she put a change of clothes and swimsuit into the carry on as hers was not there and the baggage lady from Continental wasn’t hugely helpful. 

                After a long wait we got our rental car and made for our hotel with the bags we had.  After a fair bit of knocking we got into the Wild Ginger Inn and were shown to our simple room in a former sugar harvested dorm.  Meg saw a single cockroach perched on the bedspread but to be honest, we were so tired we didn’t care - it was after midnight our time and we didn’t see any others.  Just to be safe, the spread was folded up and put in the closet. The frogs in the bamboo glade just outside our window `provided a nice white noise to sleep by and we stayed awake until between 10 and 10:30 to readjust to another 3 hour time zone change.  Both of us slept oddly, waking up at least once an hour but always getting back to sleep.

                The next morning we got up after sleeping through the night quite nicely in spite of the time change.  There was an odd mix of people around, with the owners’ family but also some loud Americans congregating around the computer, some younger people who were always in their pajamas and a few people around the fringes that seemed little removed from being homeless.  We grabbed our toast,  coffee and fruit and found a table in the corner.  The owner soon offered us a special treat, some Hawaiian porridge, similar to Chinese sticky rice but with fruit folded into it.  His wife was sweeping around us and we found out she was a hula dancer who placed #2 in her age category at the world championships of hula.  Everyone was very friendly and the breakfast was fine. 

On to Spock’s home planet - was Vulcan Volcanic?

                We headed out from Hilo along the highway to Volcano National Park.  First we stopped at an orchid farm which specialized in shipping special types around the world (no guarantees to Canada without pre-approval form the authorities).  After that we were off to the park, which had half of its main loop road closed due to deadly gas from the volcano.  We talked to a ranger about our hiking options and then saw two short films, one about invasive species and the other about how the island was completely created by volcanic action (the second one really filled the theatre).   

                Our first path took us through a sulphour field, with steaming cracks lined with yellow crystals and hot, stinky air at various spots throughout a large field.  The signs sternly warned people to stay on the path- there was a story of a boy who strayed and fell into a crack, receiving bad burns and quite a scare.  Of course it would be almost death to fall into those cracks, if you couldn’t get out, you could be scalded right to the bone, so we of course, stayed on the path! We meandered by some steam spouts, with bigger cracks and less stink.  We were then treated to a glimpse of the main caldera, which was a huge crater containing the smaller, active crated that was spewing the dangerous gas that had shut down access to half of the park.  The crater was mainly black with a few small scrubby plants, but the size of it really impressed us, bigger than 10 football fields!  We took a loop path through the woods and saw valleys full of the invasive species  

Steaming sulfurous rocks.

(Japanese Ginger) they were mentioning, along with many other plants enjoying the rainy side of the island.  In spite of the plethora of foliage, we spotted very few animals, other than a handful of birds.  This pattern continued throughout our stay on the big island, lotsa flora, little fauna.  We had the path all to ourselves until it looped back to the parking lot, where we tucked into some of our leftover airplane food (nuts, crackers, humus- not actual plane food) for lunch.

We drove along to another outlook that was closer to the active crater to have a better look.   This place was closer to the action and we were trying to make out the trails that led to the caldera but couldn’t.  Driving the other way, Meg had a power nap while I went through the lava tube within the park.  These are tubes that lava flowed out from and then retreats through during eruptions.  It was a huge,  

The view from the lava tube.

smooth cave but I was disappointed that the section after the main exit was closed, as that used to be a free explore area.  A guide (who seemed bored with his uninquisitive group, commenting that they went through the tube quicker than any group he’d had before) told me that they jam nails into the cracks in the tube and then regularly test them.  If a nail feels loose, then the crack is widening and the tube might not be so safe anymore.

Happy not to be in the volcano.



                Back at our car, I woke Meg up and we went on a loop hike around the Iki crater.  The first half follows the rim so that you can peer down into the crater and see the little coloured dots moving through it, which are actually hikers along the rest of the trail.  Everything was very well blazed and many people of all ages and abilities were strolling along.  We took a short side trail that the guide book said has great views, but it didn’t--oops. Back on the main trail, we quickly descended to the bottom and saw this incredibly bleak moonscape looming as far as the eye could see.  The trail was slightly lighter due to 

A view of the caldera crater.

crushed lava stone but the crater was covered with glassy rocks (there’s a tech term for these- lava glass maybe?).  Sometimes they were in little chunks, other times huge swirls and cracks and jagged juts all over the place.  Most people stayed on the trail but a few wandered off on their own, we didn’t see any get swallowed up by the earth, though (too bad).  About halfway across the crater the ground flattened out and many steam holes were visible.  If you watched one, you could see the steam make  

Meg hikes over the black rock.

patterns on the rock similar to the shadow of clouds passing overhead.   Getting too close meant getting burned and one group said that they were hot enough to cook eggs, but alas no one had brought any. (If only Spock were here, he could get a tricorder reading…)

The trip back up was steep but we’re tough and did it in no time, which left us both drenched in sweat.  We got into the car and headed back to Hilo, stopping at the airport to check on the status of Meg’s bag (still no clue where it was.)  We dumped our stuff back at the hotel and then we left looking for food.

         Ken’s house of pancakes is a 24 hour joint serving all meals.  Their (really bland!) food is served with 2 scoops – one of instant mashed potatoes and the other of half macaroni/half sweet mayonnaise salad.  The macademia nut pie was yummy, but the weak coffee that came with it made us wonder what kind of a breakfast place this was. And the overpriced POG was tasteless and sugary (how can one mess up papaya,orange and guava?).

Fun with thermal heat.

       

Killing Cockroaches, Calling Continental, coming to Kona, cool, a Kitchenette!    

Back at the hotel we surprised a family of roaches and the death toll hit 12 when I surprised a bunch of babies hiding under Meg’s hiking boot. Another was lurking under the soap dish and was finally squished in a washcloth.  Much gishing and revulsion.  We got very carefully into bed and keptnthe bathroom light on all night as a quick anti-cockroach deterrant. But hey, with all that exercise we slept pretty well, given the circumstances.

That morning we had a quick breakfast and spoke to the owners about us not returning for the days we said we would because of the wildlife.  They were very understanding, which was important as their address was the one my credit card and Meg’s bag were both going to.  We then had to find somewhere else to stay upon our return to Hilo.  Fortunately, the first place we went to at 9 am had space for one night and they called another place for the other night, so we were set for a bed and breakfast experience when we got back.  Before leaving we visited the huge, perfectly shaped trees that lined the boulevard through the city.  One more trip to the airport was made and we had to tell the people at Hawaiian Airlines to tell Continental that we were now going to Kona and provided them the address of that hotel should the bag perchance be found!  

An artsy look at Hilo trees.



                The road across big island is called the saddle road and it used to be so riddled with potholes and other dangers that rental companies refused to let people drive it.  The first part that we drove was under construction, which made it tricky as it was very twisty and we were going through thick mist and rain.  After about 20 minutes of this it evened out, but with the mist overhead we still had not seen Mauna Loa or Mauna Kea since arriving. 

As we headed down the leeward side of the island the mist cleared and we could see valleys and shore and even a few mountains. We passed through a military base with signs warning people not to stop their cars- this coincided with a call of nature so it was not a fun 30 minute drive for me (Meg) and we were relieved to get to the other side where we could stop by some trees.  After a few one-way bridges and construction spots we rode into Kona, which had much more of a Disneyland vibe than Hilo. The two towns couldn’t have been more different.   We easily found our hotel, which was actually several buildings full of condos whose owners allow their space to be rented out by the hotel administration.  Our place was bug free and huge, with a kitchenette, patio and grounds that included lush gardens, a pool and hot tub.  We spoke to a woman in the lobby who gave us lots of advice, probably more than we needed.

We changed money at the bank and had lunch at a place similar to Ken’s Pancakes but with excellent pineapple coleslaw.  Next we went clothes shopping and Meg was excited to own a Hello Kitty Hawaii towel, as well as a few more practical items (as she was on day 3 no bag).  We spoke to someone at a travel discount place, but found that you only got the discount if you agreed to spend two hours the next day listening to timeshare presentations.  We booked the night manta ray trip we wanted (at full price) and decided to check out a luau at a local hotel.  After a trip back to the Islander Inn and a quick swim in the pool, we headed off to the luau.

At the Luau, groovy dancing and great chow! Wow!

At the luau you had to be in line by 4:45 unless you were a cruise ship passenger and then you got reserved seating. We were a bit late so got what we got…We were each presented with a pretty seashell lei(sp?), and found some seats and then lined up with 30 other people for our free Mai Tais (danger danger, they were unlimited so you could get smashed if not careful).  We sat with a bunch of Australian women who were a lot of fun and an American woman with her much older husband and newly pregnant but very thin daughter and son who looked like a biker who were not hugely social and had sort of an Adam’s Family vibe to them.  The Mai Tais were self serve from huge bowls, but were weak until you lined up a little longer for a bartender who tipped fresh rum into them.  The show started with a hula-lite presentation while people drank and listened to the very tight (that means excellent professionally) band that was playing.  Next, they had feasters gather around while they unearthed the pigs and vegetables that had been cooking underground on hot stones since earlier in the day.  They unwrapped several layers of leaves and fabric before bringing out the food.  After that was done we were called up table by table for the buffet.  We were one of the last ones called, but there was still tons of food.  The selection was huge and it tasted better than it should have, with the smoky roast pork definitely being a highlight. There was a lovely little purple vegetable, (potato family) and salads and generic cake for desert- but tons of fresh fruit. You could eat as much as you wanted. 

The luau show.



After emptying our plates and getting another round of drinks and pork the show got ready to start.  The dancers were quite skilled and the tour of the Polynesian islands was campy fun with our MC.  The band was great, and the show ended with a Maori Haka and then a long fire dance show by one guy who was obviously the most skilled of the lot.  The low point was when the MC got us to sing happy birthday to a bunch of people and one couple who had gotten married that day got up and had a dance to a rather unromantic song. It was rather pathetic and I (Meg)kept thinking I’ve got to warn my friend who is getting married NOT to come here for a honeymoon. 

The luau feast!



After it broke up we poked about the luxury luau hotel, noting that their local travel booker had a big sign stating that he was not there to sell timeshares (big joke in Hawaii wherever you go).  We staggered back to our hotel, stopping in to the woman who booked things for us to say that the luau was fun.  Our book had warned it was cheesy but we were actually really delighted that we went as it was culturally interesting and informative and professional. Where else would we see this kind of dancing (little did we know we would see a lot of it in New Zealand- almost exactly the same thing but not quite as slick or professional). We had the hot tub to ourselves back at the hotel and then headed off to our bug-free room for an excellent night’s sleep.

Aug. 16  Sunny Days with Tiny Tropical Fish and Manta Rays at Midnight

The next morning we headed out to a local internet café to have an overpriced breakfast (hey it’s Kona, get used to it!) and get caught up in our communications.  We then went to a local mall to look for our snorkeling company and pick up a few supplies.  Meg called Continental and found that her bag was somewhere on the island, but they couldn’t tell her where.  Typical, unfortunately.

On the way back we passed a snorkeling beach which was very well used, we were lucky that someone was leaving or we would have had to park elsewhere.  The beach was small but rocky, but people weren’t there for the sand.  A constant steam of snorkelers going in and out of the water channeled through the main launch area between volcanic rocks.  The bay was very shallow with coral islands surrounded by many varieties of often large tropical fish.  We saw fish that were bright blue with yellow bits and angel fish and sea cucumbers; it was so mesmerizing you could be under for half an hour and think five minutes had passed. It was especially nice if you swam away from where most of the people were, the fish seemed to want to avoid them too.  It was delightful, easy snorkeling. 

Afterwards we were wiped (and sunburned, we found out later but not on our shoulders, fortunately.) At this point were thoroughly sick of unhealthy restaurant food so we went back to our hotel room to have a welcome self-catered lunch of veggies, dips and cheese.  We had been told not to eat too much before our evening trip, so we decided to have a big lunch.  The afternoon was pretty lazy, hanging out at the hotel, getting caught up in our typing, reading and napping.  Just like a real vacation!

We made it just in time to the manta ray place in spite of a surprising traffic jam in Kona.  We paid up, got fitted for wetsuits and drove to the boat launch.  After a short walk to the boat we piled on for a very short boat ride, maybe 300 metres offshore.  Our manta ray expert told us that the Sheraton Hotel used floodlights on the water for the aesthetic pleasure of their patrons, but noticed large shadows floating in the water.  Light attracts krill, manta food, so they learned to come to the area to eat.  The oldest one was Big Bertha, who had been sighted for about 50 years but could be older.  They are huge, up to 20 feet across and we went into the water in pursuit of them.

The rules were that we couldn’t touch them, so they put out a floating platform for us to hold onto with a Styrofoam noodle around our legs to keep us floating at the surface.  Everyone held onto the bar on the platform and looked down to the bottom, aided by the platform lights.  Our manta expert was also diving, filming and shining lights around to attract the krill.  At the start we saw one off to the side, and then nothing for about 30 minutes.  These wiggly worms (known as “fireworks”) kept swimming into the light and we were told that they would sting if you touched them, like jellyfish.  Some divers started screaming when the worms came close, but those who stuck it out were rewarded.  A manta came to our area and flipped around very close to us while eating, staying for a solid 10 minutes.  It was so graceful it appeared to be doing underwater ballet! It could be a really wide ballerina who kept opening her mouth, if her mouth was the size of her abdomen and instead of legs she had wings and instead of a tutu, well you get the drift…  We then saw it (her?) join up with two others and swim off.  Meg was cold and headed to the boat.  She didn’t miss much, as a manta came back for one more pass and 15 minutes later everyone had to get back onto the boat.

As soon as she got onto the boat, Meg felt suddenly really sea sick.  Apparently you can get seasick from lying still on the water (go figure) , you just don’t notice it until you get back to the boat.  We got her home and gave her some ginger ale and recovery was within the hour (Owen was really sweet and took good care of me, going off into the dark night in search of ginger ale).  A little trashy tv and then it was bed time.

Aug. 17  Inadvertantly Naked Body Surfing – Sea turtles, and the Forbidden (to cars) Canyon

We tried to beat the system – see one of the most beautiful beaches in Hawaii before the crowds got there.  We left our place around 7 and got to the park around 7:30 only to find that the place didn’t open until 9 and it was a difficult 45 minute hike from the closed gate.  Back to Kona we headed to the small Magic Sands Beach (named that because the sand often magically disappears in winter), which was open and extremely pleasant.  It’s a very small beach, very sandy, that would get crowded very quickly on a hot summer’s day.  At 8 am, it was fine.  The waves breaking the shore were fairly large, but you could swim out past them and have a fine splash back and forth across the cove.  The real fun was the body surfing.  A few locals were sitting in the waves, waiting for big ones, and would dive sideways to catch them.  I joined in and am more used to PEI waves, as these ones literally turn you head over heels until they’re done with you.  It was actually a lot of fun and I kept going back for more, waiting until the locals looked interested before I jumped into a wave.  At one point while waiting a sea turtle swam by us, which was definitely cool.  I was to pay for all of this later as my 43 year old neck became very unhappy with me.   Meg tried for a bit but her swimsuit wasn’t able to withstand the turbulence even if she was.  As the morning wore on, some guys came out with skimboards and the waves became more cluttered, so it was time to move on.

Bodysurfing par excellence!



Meg had a 10 am massage set up (vacation time-yes!) so I packed up the room and got the laundry done.  After that, we headed back but through a different route that took us further north on the island rather than across the middle.  The driving was fine and we made good time to Waipoo Canyon.  We stopped and had lunch on a steep slope overlooking the viewing platform with the ocean to one side and the mountains to another.  The view downwards was stunning with a valley surrounded by mountains ending in a stream and a long black sand beach.  The road down was for 4 by 4s only, and our rental company expressly forbade us from driving it, so we walked.  It was extremely steep and scenic, with an offering placed on a stone on the way down (to the local deities) and a surprisingly high number of cars going by us.  As the steep, winding road reached its bottom we had two muddy forks to choose from, so we took the beach route.  The road was deep with mud and had frequent deep puddles that covered the entire road.  An East-Indian family that was speaking to us at the top of the road about whether they should drive down passed us and asked us how deep the puddles were.  Since we tended to go around rather than through the puddles, we couldn’t answer them.  We did keep well to the side whenever a vehicle passed so as not to get soaked with filthy water. 

The road ended at the beach, which was long and impressive with large waves crashing onto it and a visible trail leading a zigzag trail up a far mountain.  Camping was forbidden because it was a sacred site to the locals, otherwise it’d be the perfect spot to pitch a tent.  Some people were swimming in the surf but warnings of undertow and rogue waves kept us on land.

The valley  from the lookout.



Back on the road, the other fork led to a view of a waterfall that was the highest on the island.  To reach it would have been a full day’s hike, so we admired it for a minute or so and then turned around.  The hike down took us about 20 minutes and we made it back up in a little over 25 rather than the 40 estimated by the guidebook, so we felt really cool!  Meg felt the walk up was easier as going down you had to be a lot more careful with your footing and on the way up you just had to lean into the mountain and keep going.  We commiserated with another couple we passed on the way up and agreed that we had earned our dinners that day.  One more look at the magnificent view and we were off.

Meg with waterfall.



The Coolest Dude in Hilo, Hawaii…

We went straight to our b and b in Hilo(Holmes’ sweet home), which was run by a very friendly older couple (80and 85?) who welcomed us and showed us our bug-free room (Meg found some insect traps, but I was pretty sure that they were for ants).  We then went to our old hotel and scored big-time- Meg’s backpack was there, my credit card was there and the nightdress that Meg forgot in the room was there.  Good stuff.

For dinner we went to an Italian place called Pescatore.  The waiter there was laid back and his eccentric manner was infectious.  We found out later that he had worked there since the place opened, about 20 years, and also surfed and taught yoga during the day.  When we showed him the restaurant in our guide book he signed the page and when Meg couldn’t decide between two main courses he combined them into a new dish.  If you’re in Hilo, you have to go to Pescatore and meet their Hawaiian Big Lebowski.

After that we wanted to reward ourselves for such a fine day with a movie.  The local place in town show films a bit past their prime at reduced prices, so we saw the latest Johnny Depp Pirates movie for $1.50 each.  It was well worth it, pretty good for a popcorn flick with absolutely no discernible plot.  The mermaids rocked (well, stole the film at least).

Thursday – The Ancient Holy Place of Umbilical Cord Storage and …Bouncy Rangers 

We got up to a fine breakfast with fresh cinnamon muffins and a friendly chat with our hosts.  The other guests must have been shy, as they waited until we left, 30 minutes after they had originally requested breakfast, to come out.  Strange…Not another Adam’s Family?

We repacked our stuff and dropped it off at our next b and b.  Then we went downtown to an optician to straighten my glasses as they got mangled on our manta ray trip (but not by the mantas!).  Then we drove back to the volcano park for another long, tiring, hike.  We drove down a long, twisty road past several volcanic craters until we came out by the water with a view of the coast.  If you looked at the landscape, you could make out the long black fingers of previous volcanic flows that have covered this area over the years.  

A cairn amongst volacnic landscape.



After going down the hill, we took a short walk across a black lava field to look at some petroglyphs.  The textures of the rock kept changing, from frozen liquid to piles of small glassy chunks.  The petroglyphs were in an area surrounded by a circular boardwalk and were mainly stick people and simple  

Some ancient petroglyphs.

animal and plants.  There were also rocks covered in dimples that families put the umbilical cord into after a baby was born to ensure luck for the child.  (How cool is that- what other culture does this? Although we know of current placenta recipes popular with vegans (okay not that popular). Even on this short walk, the hot wind and arid land really made you see how easily you could become dehydrated in this climate.

We then drove partway back to the trailhead for our major hike to a crater view in the woods.  For almost two hours we crossed lava field of varying textures by following stone cairns to keep the trail.  Occasionally you would go through a short wooded area, but most of these were very short.  We tried to find a shady spot to have lunch, but even under a few sad trees very little shelter was available.  The most interesting part of the hike was when we followed the old highway that was closed after being covered with lava in a  

The dead road.

previous eruption.  You could follow the white lines for a while until the road got covered with an ooze of rock or the trees and grass that has grown up through it.  It would be the PERFECT place to film that post-apocalyptic film you’ve always wanted to make. 

After two hours Meg had had enough of black stone and wearily turned back to the car.  I went ahead to see how close I could get to the crater.  At this point the trail had become a fairly standard wooded trail and I ran into a ranger hiking at about 5 times my speed.  He said that through binoculars lava could be seen at the crater at the end of the hike, then asked if I had enough water and where I expected Meg to be.  He then bounced cheerily away with his two hiking poles into the wilderness.

It took another 20 minutes to reach the trail fork, a solid 2 miles from the crater.  Considering it would mean that Meg would have to wait 2+ hours for me and I only had 1/3 of my water, I turned around as well.  The way back was trickier to navigate but we got back to the car, split a beer and enjoyed the view.

Meg napped on the way back and we got our luggage into the b and b.  It was off to the Hilo Bay Café, supposed to be the best place in town.  It was located smack dab in the middle of an ugly strip mall but it was so popular we still had almost a 30 minute wait to get in, enjoying the strip mall ambiance on a bench in front of the place.  Once in, we lucked out with a private booth at the back and a very knowledgeable and attentive waiter.  The food was genuinely haute cuisine and Meg was able to have her much beloved chocolate volcano cake for dessert (following potato/cheddar/bacon bisque, fancy salads and perfectly cooked jumbo scallops).  Another place we are grateful to the Lonely Planet Guide  for sharing with us.

Friday –  Breakfast in the Garden of Eden

 There were 2 tables at breakfast so we were at one and the other lodgers were at the other, creating a European and North American table.  The fresh bread was good but Meg didn’t like her smoothie (luckily Owen had mine as well so nothing was wasted).  The gardens were amazing at this place, with pineapple plants, orange trees and many other green things, covering several acres…, our fruit salad was almost completely from her garden.   We figured that she did the bed and breakfast thing for the money, as she wasn’t around much and didn’t seem to be as chatty as most places we’ve encountered.

LUNCH N’ CRUNCH……..

Check out wasn’t until 11 so we took the time to completely repack before our flight and call to activate my credit card and for Meg to try reaching continental.  We then left our stuff in their garage and headed south of Hilo to snorkel in tide pools.  We wondered if we were in the right place as the road went through some sort of gated community, but the signs pointed us to a very rocky parking lot where we snagged a space only because someone was leaving.  We walked across piles of black rocks to have lunch by one of the pools.  The path looked precarious, but the rocks were cemented together to make for safer walking.  Many of the pools connected and they were all sizes, with white areas too shallow to swim in and blue areas prime for snorkeling.  I started in a near one and you really needed to have footwear while you swam as slippery rocks needed to be navigated and between pools you often had to  

Snorkeling tide pools.

stand up and slosh across shallows.  The pools themselves had some brightly coloured tropical fish and varied coral and urchins along the bottom.  They ranged from about one to eight feet deep and were very bright.  Meg took a turn and then I took a second one where the kids were floating, which proved to be a much deeper and wider pool with schools of fish swimming about, really impressive.

What wasn’t impressive was the lack of a washroom, so we drove a little further down the coast to a natural hot spring to use their facilities.  A woman at a travel desk told us of a friend of hers who cut her foot on some coral and got a bacterial infection on her foot after soaking in the pools and had to have toes amputated.  Our guide book also warned of the bacteria here, so no hot springs for us!

As I was backing out of the parking lot I heard a terrible crunch and found that I had backed into a tree that was sitting in my blind spot.  The damage was restricted to one area but was a pretty noticeable dent.  This event, happening only a few hours before jetting to New Zealand, definitely put a damper on things.  Not to lose our focus, we had one more touristy stop before heading back to Hilo.  There was a park in an area with impressively tall trees that contained lava trees.  There are forms of lava that splattered on trees during eruptions and kept their form long after the wood had burned to nothing.  The park was set up in a loop walk with a few info stations and  

Lava trees!

repeated warnings to stay on the path due to large cracks in the ground.  The lava trees were sometimes quite tree-like and other times like stumpy rocks, but definitely weird and worth seeing.  This was also the first and only place on the island that we encountered mosquitoes.

Back in Hilo, we stopped at a mall and called the 1-800 number to see about auto insurance.  We got them just before their system powered down but Meg took copious notes and so we felt prepared to cope with the rental people.  At our b and b we picked up our stuff and changed out of our beach stuff to be ready for the trip.  We grabbed a pizza and salad downtown which was delicious and quick and provided us with leftovers to add to our airplane foodbag (little did we know they had tons of free food on the airplane to NZ if you like dinner past midnight).  We decided to hit the airport super early as we had so many issues to deal with.  The car rental woman was quite blasé and said that everything would be determined from head office in Arizona.  The paperwork on the accident took forever, but she wasn’t nasty so we were quite relieved.  Hawaiian airlines didn’t have plastic backpack covers for us and a nice lady at the Continental desk let us have some of theirs.  The lady wasn’t so nice when Meg tried to get a note from them about being without her backpack for 4 days and told her she was basically lucky to get her bag at all.   

CONTINENTAL WE LOVE YOU……

…..FLYING TO THE LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD (NZ)

All told, we were plenty early for our flight.  The Hilo airport has one big waiting room with large couches and armchairs that made things reasonably comfortable.  A band of geriatric Hawaiian musicians serenaded the airport from the bar area and some particularly dull museum exhibits were on display.  The flight from Hilo to Honalulu was on a small, beat up plane.  At Honalulu people were lined up outside of the Auckland gate at they could only get in just before the flight. We didn’t understand why there where so many Australians and New Zealanders in Hawaii when their beaches are probably better- we later realized that Hawaii is their equivalent of Florida for Canadians- a winter holiday destination. Which probably explains the great deal we got on the flight.  We had to check in to the gate  early as we didn’t have our boarding passes.  Since New Zealand has a law stating that you can’t get in to the country without proof of an exit flight and a visa for your next destination, they had to check our papers before allowing us to board the flight.  Apparently they have a problem with “overstayers”- people who come in on a short visa and then don’t leave. A little extra bureaucracy, but we made it.

After using cheap North American airlines, Air New Zealand rocked.  Complimentary wine, food and movies improved our morale as we tried to get some shut eye on this overnight flight. 

Goodbye to Hawaii!



Saturday – did not exist as we crossed the International Date Line.