DAY 194 SATURDAY 22nd MARCH 2008

Kealakekua Bay Hawaii, Hawaii (Big Island), Hawaii (Miles to Date: 19700)

Captain James Cook was the first westerner to visit the Hawaiian islands when in 1778 he landed there to replenish and repair his ships. He named this group of islands "The Sandwich Isles" after a friend and supporter, John Montague, the Earl of Sandwich. Searching for a safe harbor, Cook eventually moored in Kealakekua Bay on the Kona coast of the Big Island. Initially Cook was treated like a god, with natives lavishing him with gifts and holding ceremonies in his honour, but when he left and returned with his ship the Resolution a huge storm damaged the islands and the natives could not understand how a god could have allowed this to happen. Their respect for Cook waned, and relations between the Hawaiians and the foreigners grew tense. A misunderstanding led to a fierce battle, and Cook was killed by angry natives.

Following in the footsteps of this great British explorer the Hoblets visited Kealakekua Bay, hoping to meet some friendly natives. The monument to Captain Cook is on a secluded peninsular which is only accessible by boat (or by swimming). We opted for sea kayak. The kayak rental place was sited high up on the hills above the bay – so we carefully strapped two double kayaks and a single kayak to the roof of our hire car, which was no mean feat. We then had to negotiate our way down the steep, curving road to the dock area. This proved to be the easy bit – getting the kayaks off, into the water and the getting down the 3 feet from the dockside into the kayaks was the hard part! Somehow we managed to do this without disaster (or even falling in).

For the dockside it is a 30 minute paddle across the bay to the monument. Fortunately today the sea is relatively smooth so it is a fairly easy ride across. Emily is very nervous in sea kayaks since her accident last year in La Jolla where she and Mark we hit and capsized by another kayak and she landed upside down in the water with a kayak on her head. So we have a few episodes on the way across as the kayak rises and falls on the swell. Laura travelling with Karen in the other double does really well, once Karen gets her paddling in time. On the way across a group of about 10 spinner dolphins come into the bay and pass about 50 feet from our kayaks. These small dolphins are renowned for their acrobatic skills and we are treated to a display of them leaping out of the water and spinning through the air before falling back down into the waves. Even this was not enough of a distraction to get Emily’s mind off the kayaking.

After a half an hour we do finally reach the beach landing area just down from the Captain James Cook monument. We pull the kayaks up on the rocky cove so we don’t lose our mode of transport back. It is almost idyllic here and if it were not for all the other people here (this is Easter weekend and Spring Break on the West Coast of the US) it would be perfect. The other great thing about this area is the snorkelling, so we unpack our gear and take to the waters. Even just a few feet from shore there are dozens of tropical fish, and as we go out further there is the most amazing coral reefs and varieties of fish. We have been so lucky since December to have these opportunities for snorkelling in some amazing places. Just before we leave we take the short trail through the woods to the monument to Captain James Cook. This white obelisk has most definitely seen better days, it is closed off to the public, probably because it is a not safe now to go up on the plinth structure. Also the paint is now flaking off, so the whole edifice is now in need of some loving care and attention. We sadly have to leave this lovely little part of paradise and return across the bay to dock area. By now we are experts at getting in and out of the kayaks, well.... sort of … Mark does manage to capsize the kayak with Laura in it! The journey back is uneventful at least until we get to the dock, but with some help from the locals we manage to get ourselves and the kayaks back on dry land and on top of the car.

After dropping off the kayaks we have to make the 90 mile journey back to our holiday home. Fortunately the scenery makes the onerous journey bearable. We have a little stop at a bakery on the way back where Mark continues his nationwide survey of bread pudding. This actually proves to be the best yet. We make one more stop at a black sand beach on the east side of the island, which is a most unusual sight. None of us are quite sure that we like the look or feel of black sand; it is very coarse and very black!! We have seen a similar beach in Sicily, but Jack and Emily were too young to remember this.

DAY 193 FRIDAY 21st MARCH 2008

Volcano National Park, Hawaii (Big Island), Hawaii (Miles to Date: 19700)

Today we took a trip up to the Volcano National Park, a true geological hot spot containing two of the world’s most active volcanoes. Measured from the seafloor, broad Mauna Loa is the tallest mountain on Earth, and Kilauea continues to spew and spit, constantly reforming the landscape around it. Magma vents on the seafloor send lava shooting to the surface, erupting into molten streams that flow straight into the Pacific, forming new land as they cool.

Unfortunately the weather like most of the windward sides of the Hawaiian Islands is somewhat unpredictable, and today is no different. Low clouds have wrapped themselves around the park and intermittently deposit gentle droplets of rain upon us. We hide inside the visitor centre and watch a film about the volcanoes and the natural environment within the park. In between the showers we brave a walk out onto the crater rim of Kilauea, not that there is much to see in the mists. This is still very much an active volcano as can be seen by the gases being emitted from vents in the Kilauea crater. There are also scenic trails around the rim, but the views are not too good today, Even so we walked out to the steam vents that line the crater rim and then out to the sulphur banks. We smell the banks before we see the bright yellow mineral deposits - this is one of the few places on Kilauea where the vents give off the foul, rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulphide.

There is an active vent on Kilauea that erupted back in 1983 and has wiped out numerous houses and road on its way to the sea. Today it still spews red hot lava down into the sea, resulting in super heated water and plumes of steam high into the sky. The area where the action is taking place is not on the National Park and is only about 15 miles from where we are staying. We learn the best time to do the viewing is at night. The National Park Service has set up car parking about ½ a mile from the lava flows, but to get from the car park you have to cross rough lava rock deposits in the dark. This does not deter people in the thousands making this trip – and of course we have to make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity. By the time we arrive the car parks are more or less full so we park on the road, which makes our walk about 2 miles each way, but only the last ½ mile is across a rough surface. At the end of the car park we can look down the road at what used to be park of the coastal highway and is now being crossed by the lava flow, the road surface now a burning mass. Further up into the hills rivers of red lava are clearly visible, flowing relentlessly seaward. Armed with torches(flashlights!!) we carefully make our way across the rocks following the dozens of other people on the trail, to the sea cliffs. The dangerous walk across the rough cliffs is more than worth it, for when we get there the sight is stunning. Several rivers of lava trail down to the cliffs edge and tumble into the sea. The bright red of the lava lights up the sky and the clouds of steam thrown up by the lava hitting the sea. We marvel at this and get very excited by the occasional sputtering of globules of lava in the air as the lava pooled on the edge of cliff. This is truly a unique site – only Jack is disappointed as he hoped to get a close up view of rivers of lava and didn’t really want to hear how dangerous this would have been.

DAY 192 THURSDAY 20th MARCH 2008

Kapoho, Hawaii (Big Island), Hawaii (Miles to Date: 19600)

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!!!!