Today was a day of flowers, rainbows, and lots of fun.  We started the day’s adventures with a trip to Akaka Falls.

The hike was short and the views spectacular!

 

After a quick but delicious lunch in Honomu we headed to  Botanical World Adventures

and Zip Lining!!!! 

 

Chris Zipping

Guido Zipping

Tom Zipping

Charli Zipping

The Suspension Bridge

    The zip lining was awesome and the team – Preston, Red, and Jen were terrific – funny, knowledgeable, and great.  They pointed out plants,

Painted Eucalyptus

200 Year Old Mango Tree

  items of interest, and kept us entertained and safe. The experience lived up to the expectations and more.

After the zip lining, we headed off for a hike through the rainforest and then the gardens. Before we went, I asked Red about the turquoise flowers in our yard. He said that they were Blue Jade – rare, elusive and beautiful. He also said that there were some growing in the rainforest part of the gardens and sure enough we found them right where he said.

 

 

The rainforest and the gardens were beautiful!

   

The gardens ended in with a hedge maze that was fun. We all ended getting back out the way we went in and then Tom and Guido spent another 45 minutes trying to find the real exit. They were eventually successful. The day ended on another triumphant  note and we four weary adventurers headed for home.

On Monday it was off to Volcanoes National Park. This park is 333,000 acres and growing. The island of Hawaii is growing at an estimated rate of just under 17 acres a year due to the continuous volcanic eruption (since 1983).  After visiting the Visitors Center, we hiked the beautiful Kilauea Iki trail. It is a five mile trail down the side of the crater, across the crater bed and back up again. A great workout and well worth the effort with breathtaking – both figuratively and literally speaking – sights.

This is the view from the top of the trail.

One of the more level parts of the  the floor of the crater.

I find it amazing to find the delicate plants and trees taking root in the rock and thriving on the floor of the crater  

 and the incredible colors of the lava.   

more of the trail 

And up again

The guide book, Hawaii The Big Island Revealed, claims it as a must for hikers and we agree.

After lunch we took a short 2 mile hike down to and through the Thurston Lava Tube.

Another great day!

We quickly found that Chris and Guido – our friends from Belgium – were the perfect houseguests. They enjoyed all the same things we liked – hiking, sightseeing, eating, adventure – and so we quickly fell into a routine of a new adventure every day.

It was rainy and chilly on Saturday so we hit the farmers market to stock up on groceries and then just spent time checking out the town of Hilo.

Sunday Tom and I took Chris and Guido on the “Adventures Tour” in our house rental book. We went back to the Lava Tree State Park

and then on to Isaac Hale State Park again. This time the hot springs were not occupied so we got to spend some time relaxing in the warm water and beautiful surroundings

while 200 yards away the surf crashed against the shore. We drove further down the coast stopping to explore some of the numerous parks all along the coast. Every-so-often we saw signs indicating that there was a “scenic view” which I found pretty funny since everywhere you looked there were scenic views.

The book then guided us to a small church called The Painted Church. It is a very old church and has been literally picked up and moved twice over the years to keep it from being covered by the lava flows.

We ended our days adventure back at the Black Sands Park and then home for an authentic Belgium meal.

Today our friends from Antwerp, Belgium (the ones we met on the cruise) arrived to spend the week with us

and we have gone nonstop since they got here. The weather has not been good – lots of rain – but we have managed to have a great time despite the downpours.

We started by walking the Liliuokalani Garden park near the airport

– quiet, tranquil and lovely with its Japanese style bridges, pagodas, and design.

The weather cooperated and we took in the sights as we strolled and talked.

Later we went out to dinner at the Seaside Restaurant in Hilo. Dinner was delicious and the company was great. What a lovely way to spend a birthday.