Big Island - Big Volcano!

With still some time left in Hawaii, we decided to organise flights over to one of the other Hawaiian islands. So we flew to Hawaii or Big Island as it's known, the most southern of the islands. There was one main reason to go here....the bloody great big active volcanoes! One in particular, Mauna Loa which is 29,000 feet from the ocean floor and at 19,000 cubic miles is the biggest, single volcanic structure on the planet so pretty cool! It's also "active" but the current lava flow was in a place off limits which was a shame as sometimes you get to see it flow, so the next day after we arrived in the town of Hilo on Big Island we headed off to the Volcanoes National Park aboard our little tour bus.

Soon we were well in the park and looking out across a massive crater, the "Kilauea Caldera" and other craters. They were absolutely massive, I had a hard time trying to fit them in the photos. You could see steam escaping from cracks in the ground in places as we drove by and when we got out to look at another crater (at the Kilauea Iki Overlook) soon enough we were coughing from the fumes in the air that turn slightly acidic in your lungs. We drove through lava flows from past eruptions and even saw where there used to be roads before the lava flows. The whole landscape was barren, with rocks, craters, mounds of the cracked black cooled lava that stretched out over the horizon...it was like the surface on the moon or something. Except that it was raining - darn volcano attracts a lot of cloud!

Our last stop of the day was to walk through the Thurston Lava Tube, made from magma sealed in by rocks that after time of being constantly kept hot, the outside hardens, then when the magma is released, a tube is left behind. It was a rainy trip but pretty good!

Waikiki Beach Life

After Pearl Harbour we spent the remainder of our time in Waikiki on the beach where it was bloody hot thought you'd occasionally get the odd sprinkle of rain out of what appeared to be blue sky! We staying in a grand hostel that has free breakfast and a TV in your room so we're getting well acquainted with US TV. The beach is great, it's like something out of Baywatch, I find myself singing the theme tune in my head whenever I look at the lifeguard hut thing. There's loads of surfer's here and the surf's pretty big so there always cool to watch!

We also saw the changing of the Kings Guard (in tradition with when they used to have royalty here). they take the state flag down (which has the union jack in the corner) and then do lots of displays of gun throwing and spinning of guns...its very cool and so we had our photo taken with the men in uniform!

Pearl Harbour.

With Pearl Harbour being so close to Waikiki we wanted to go see the USS Arizona memorial and the museum there. We set our real early as we had been told you get enormous queues but of course everyone has been told that so everyone goes early and that's when the queues are. We arrived - massive queue, later when we came out there was no queue!

It was well worth it though. Hearing about what happened that day December 7Th 1941 (a date drilled in thanks to the videos, leaflets and museum there...I have no hope of forgetting it). The USS Arizona was one of many battleships that were lined up on Battleship Row at Pearl Harbour that morning but unfortunately was one of those that suffered the worst of the onslaught and fatalities (1,177 crewmen died aboard the Arizona). We went out to the memorial (by boat) that is a white bridge thing over where the USS Arizona is still there underwater sunk. You can see the top of the funnel and some other parts sticking out of the water and there is still oil escaping from the fuel tanks that can be seen on the water which is crazy. The shrine room there had all the names and so I did that weird thing you do when look at a memorial plague and look for those with your surname - with a name like Williams you're always guaranteed at least one!

It was eerie with the boat being under your feet I guess, but nice too as it's a tomb for those who died and those that survived can have their ashes put down there later too. It was really thought-provoking and interesting stuff and we're glad we made the trip out there.

But Afterwards our heads were filled with so much information and so we headed to a diner called Denny's and I tried French Toast (another thing I always hear on US shows)...didn't like it much but it was OK.

When in Rome.....

Well, not in Rome but when in Hawaii you got to go to a Luau and so we did! We came back to Waikiki for about a week and so we hopped on to the coach for Germaine's Luau. On the coach we were the only Brits (very unusual) and were surrounded by Californians everywhere we turned. But eventually (lots of traffic) we arrived and had a great time! The Full moon was out and we all sat on our tables by the beach to watch the show.

The Hula dancing and all the island dancing (Tahiti, Samoa, Fijian and even New Zealand's Haka) they performed were great. Like the Maori meal (as it's all the same sort of culture across the islands) at the beginning of the evening they unveiled the Pig that had been cooking under rocks underground, before we sat down and helped ourselves to the feast. I had learnt my lesson at the Maori evening in New Zealand therefore I only had one medium-sized plate full which was OK. But they also served free soft drinks and three free cocktails. So I thought I'd best get to know the culture a bit and had a Hawaiian Mai Tai, followed by a Margarita and a Melon Ball. I also had a Root Beer as I always hear it on the U.S shows and thought I should try it but I didn't like it. It was a great evening though and we even got free shell Lei to go around your neck! Excellent.

Chilling at Northshore!

So we found ourselves amongst the mass of Americans in Waikiki! The place was gorgeous, the beach lovely but the whole city was a lot more built up than we were expecting (due to tourists). After a few days we left Waikiki for the free shuttle to north shore (well, technically they asked for a tip but then that wouldn't be free so we didn't tip!)

We stayed in a hostel that was situated as little huts in what they called a plantation village. The first day there it rained and we spent the day hopping to and from the beach in between cloud bursts. That night there was a BBQ (nice), later lots of us played cards when some guys (drunk) got into a fight up the road from us and the police were called. It didn't amount to anything, I think one guy got hit on the head with a plant. But as the police rolled up dressed in their cool uniforms and wearing guns, I thought to myself..."Yep I'm in America alright".

Our time In Northshore passed by with us being awoken in the wee hours each morning by the neighbourhood roosters, followed by beach by day and eating Frosties for dinner at night. Though one night we made "Mac N Cheese" that strangely had no cheese in the ingredients. The best thing about the Plantation village was all the chickens and all the cats! There were loads of them and some really friendly, I just used to grab one and put it on my lap. But they seemed to live along side the chickens in peace! That was sweet.

Leaving Fiji...Aloha Hawai'i!

Our last night in Fiji brought a last Fijian dance show with my favourite Fijian tunes, loads of flying-foxes and fruit bats by dusk and plenty more mosquito bites.

I spent the morning around the Lodge lazing by the pool and taking pictures of sweet tiny frogs (that on closer inspection later turned out to be baby ugly cane toads) and the raintree's very cute cat before it was time to get the coach back to Nadi. It was said leaving Fiji. I really hadn't known what to expect having not heard much about it beforehand but it turned out to be so pretty, with beautiful waters and tropical vegetation. The Fijians are so friendly and everything was very relaxing which was great! Also the geckos were sweet. I wouldn't miss the Mozzies though. So the sunset on our time in Fiji and soon we were at the airport waiting for our flight to Honolulu. We later found out that it was the Fijian water (rainwater and tank) we had been drinking and had been told it was safe to drink, that had probably made us feel yuck after the island hop and still a little for the rest of our time in Fiji, but now in Hawaii, it's back on the mineral stuff!

My first impression of Hawaii...a lot of Americans in Hawaiian shirts!

Life in the Rainforest!

After 4 days at the Beach House it was time to move on to Suva (the Capital). We decided to stay at this place we'd heard about called Raintree Lodge.

We got there and boy was it humid! We were staying in a bunk room but soon found it was very quiet at the Lodge. Beside a 110 feet deep murky lake (which has a friendly Eel and you can go swimming in but like hell was I going to) and next to the Colo-I-Suva Rainforest, we soon found out what this all meant...Mozzies. Yes The Mosquito had became my enemy back in Cape Tribulation in Australia and though we'd been united a little on the islands after sunset that was soon to be no comparison. In one night I got 40 bites across my legs. Now it may have partially my fault for not being on an adequate enough of insect repellent but it's also their fault for existing!
Each night I acquired more and more bites that became huge red itchy blotches that everybody tells you not to scratch but find yourself doing it in your sleep. It rained for the first two days at Raintree so we decided to take a trip in to Suva (did some more haggling) and then it got sunnier and so we took a trip into the rainforest next day...very humid, lots of spider webs but nice waterfalls! In the evenings we chatted with an old lady called Helena a Kiwi who lives on one of the very remote islands: Vanua Balava (near both of Arnold Swartzenegger's and Mel Gibson's Islands) and a couple of some pagan hippies that were really nice and who were going off to work for Helena.

Coral Coast: The Beach House

OK, so the sun burn actually made us both a bit sick, we had intended to stay only one night at the hotel but that was soon extended to recover. The extra time allowed us to get ourselves sorted and book up the next hostels and transport. We paid deposits which was a nice way to get around the 3% tax (only paying tax on deposits was much less....mmmwhahahahaha!!!)

It was on to the Coral Coast and we arrived at the pretty, out-of-the-middle-of-nowhere hostel called the Beach House where Last Year's Celebrity Love Island was filmed. I hadn't seen it but from "thanks for voting for me" messages left on the walls in the sitting area (that was the bedroom on the programme) and all the rectangular one-way-mirror-type windows everywhere, I got the idea.

The Beach house was another lovely place to lay in a hammock (I was starting to get permanent imprints from laying the hammock string) and also to have a swing on their very cool giant swing from a palm tree! I also did some very practical coconut jewellery-making and I had a nice horse trek on the beach on a sweet but incredibly sprightly horse called Lola, plus there was free afternoon tea daily with scones! Lovely!

So we had a good time at the Beach House, I watched some palm leave weaving (a pretty impressive Grasshopper) and failed miserably with my own attempt. We even popped into a market in Sigatoka where I had to learn how to Haggle which I am crap at! So I instead formed an anxious-looking-undecided face and that seemed to do the trick OK.

Kuata and Swimming with Sharks

Our last Island hop brought us to the small island of Kuata, where I spent more time lying in hammock and finished the 622 page book that I brought with me at the beginning of the island hop! The next morning I was sharply awoken by some birds in our dorm-hut-thing, they looked a bit like crows but sounded like dinosaurs which is why I was sharply awoken! I spent another day relaxing and watching crabs on the beach dig holes in the sand. It was time for another Bula dance after which we got talking to some guys who went on an snorkeling trip and snorkeled and swam with sharks. We thought this sounded so cool so the next day after waking up at 5.30am to watch the sunrise (very pretty) we set off on the boat trip, snorkel and flippers in hand!

The boat trip out was long, and Kuata got smaller and smaller into the distance. Eventually the boat stopped just in the middle of the ocean and the driver said, "OK, jump out!" I was mildly nervous, as jumping out into to the water where there's no hope of touching the bottom makes me a bit nervous and then with the added choppy water conditions I was a bit freaked. But I did it and after a mild panic I got the hang of the snorkel and off we went. The reef was gorgeous, the best I've seen and so so deep and blue. There was great crevices under us and so many fish, I even saw a trumpet fish! Then we saw the sharks, "White-Tip Sharks": 5ft in length but rather cute and not dangerous (only if you anger them or they're hungry, but these guys were about to be fed by our guide so no worries there - We heard afterwards of two guys being bitten by White Tips but they had had fish tied around they're waists so they were idiots!). They were amazing creatures and it was a fantastic experience being with them.

There was a panic when getting back into the boat I nearly lost my necklace and then another panic when we got back on shore and realised our bags were missing. They'd been put on the boat in the morning but when we learnt we would be reunited with them at 4pm it was OK, that just left time to laze in the sun and get dry then burnt (forgot no sunscreen). So we got back on the Yasawa Flyer (a bit red) and were soon back on main land Viti Levu. We said goodbye to the Japanese girls we'd been travelling around the islands with and other people we met and headed back to Nadi Bay Hotel for a nice shower and to watch a very cool Fijian dance and fire show.

Coconut Bay!

As soon as we got off the water taxi to coconut bay and was greeted by a man playing the guitar, we knew we were going to like Coconut Bay. It turned out to be our favourite resort and Island. The meals (all included on the island resorts) were great, the staff were so friendly and would come and talk to you whenever they passed. After dinner they'd do a show where they'd do the "Bula" dance (like the "Macarena") and then you'd all get up and have to do it (we soon saw a pattern forming as at each resort they did this). We also played musical statues with the staff and I won (even though I was trying to lose by moving they just kept looking the wrong way!) and stayed up playing card games with the staff and other guests as there was only 8 of us. We also attended a sarong tying class and a weaving class (as taught by a very funny gay Fijian man called Britney).

Coconut Bay was a great place to snorkel the coral reef which was really pretty as the waters were so clear but also to lay in a hammock and watch the pretty shield bugs on the tree branch above. It was nice until one would fall unceremoniously on my head! But also from the hammock (I spent the best part of the day in it) I watched the sunset over the sea. It was sad to leave.

Fiji Time and Island Hopping!

"Bula!" The friendly Fijian greeting to every tourist they come across and you reply "Bula!" back. Well, a short while after we arrived in Fiji and got to Nadi Bay Hotel we didn't have a clue where to go and how to get there so we went to the useful hotel travel desk and asked her what we should do. She told us and booked it all and so the next day we were off on a bright yellow Catamaran called the "Yasawa Flyer II" on our way to the top of the Yasawa Island range west of Levu Viti (main Island) for a week of island-hopping to smaller, remote islands. It was a fab journey on through Fiji's deep blue waters, past tiny islands resorts, we even spotted a sea turtle that came up for air.

First stop was near the top of the range, we got off the catamaran and on to a water taxi to arrive at the Island of Nacula. More deep blue-turquoise waters and a white beach greeted us in the bay and soon we were settled into our "Bure" (palm leave roofed hut), lazing in hammocks by the sea. This was to be how we would spend a lot of the week. There's a term called "Fiji Time" that the Fijians use a lot to tourists when explaining that the activity times and bus times they give you are not accurate, it's Fiji time therefore the bus may come...or it may not! It's something you have to get use to when you pretty much live your life by a watch. When there's something like meal times at the island resorts that's a true time they say, "Not Fiji Time".

We spent our two days at Nacula visiting the Blue Lagoon (very blue) and finding coconuts to drink from and smash on rocks to get to the flesh (out of view to avoid embarrassment) and we visited teh nearby village where we met the Chief's wife and the Kindergartan children sang to us "Humpty Dumpty". But most of the time was in a hammock, even at night when the electric generator stopped and the lights went out, you could just lay in a hammock under the stars and see the milky-way freakishly close, I even feel asleep in one one night and got a bit confused when I woke up to mosquitos biting the hell out of me! The little beasties!