Our time in Honolulu is all too short but we had to transfer to our vacation home on the biggest of the Hawaiian Islands - Hawaii, the Big Island. Like all the other islands in the 50th State of the US it has been formed by volcanic activity, and is the youngest of all the islands. It sits over a hot spot in the Earth’s crust, resulting two of the world’s most active volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Kilauwea being in the confines of this island. Kilauwea the most active of the volcanoes in Hawaii continues to pour molten lava into the sea, where it hardens and continues to extend the sea shore of this amazing island.
The flight brings us into the 2nd largest town on the Island Hilo, which is situated on the east coast of the Big Island. Here it is buffeted by the Trade Winds. Like Oahu’s windward side rain is more than plentiful here giving this area a lush covering of vegetation of grasses, ferns, palms and trees. Also like Oahu most people seem to prefer to live on the leeward side of the Island so we are relatively isolated here – if you can put up with the rain it is blissful. We are in a remote area called Kapaho about 30 miles south and east of Hilo. You can’t call Kapaho a town of village because there is nothing here except a few houses; the nearest village of any sorts is 10 miles away.
Our beach house is wonderful we are just a few feet from the ocean – although our view is blocked by the house opposite, but tantalisingly you can hear the waves crashing on the reef just beyond. The house itself is built on stilts with an open layout – it is decorated just like you would imagine a house in paradise should be. We have a small backyard which is completely enclosed by palms and other tropical foliage- it also has a hot tub. It is great to sit out in the hot tub at night and watch the moon through the palms and have uninterrupted views of the night sky. Heaven!!! There is no beach here but we are down on the Wai ‘Opae Tidepools which is a wonderful place 
for snorkelling. These tidal pools vary in size and depth from shallow to many feet deep, and range widely in area as well. A lava reef barrier protects the pools from the sea, so it's a safe place for all of us to snorkel. The main danger here are the very sharp rocks, but the risk is more than made up for by the wonderful corals and abundant fish; just like being in a fish tank of tropical fish.On a trip into Hilo we decided to visit the Pacific Tsunami Museum. The position of Hawaii makes it prone to the effects of tsunamis. The islands sit in the centre of the “ring of fire”, an arc stretching from New Zealand, along the eastern edge of Asia, north across the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and south along the coast of North and South America. The Ring of Fire is composed over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes and is a source of many damaging earthquakes, which can result in the generation of major tsunamis. In fact Hilo, where we are standing, has suffered significantly from tsunamis; in particular the devastating impact of the tsunamis of 1947 and 1960 which killed around 250 people in the area. Obviously this raised some concerns, especially for Karen, as we were staying in a beach house feet from the sea. So off she went to speak to a member of staff to find out how much risk we were in if there should be an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami. As is turned out we were in about the highest risk area on the island – most disconcerting. So from here on in we’re taking safety precautions!!!!
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