Hilo, Big Island, HAWAII Monday April 29th

Laz and Rebecca a couple from Texas kindly invited us to join them today in their hire car.

After a shuttle ride to the airport to collect the car, we were on our way to Rainbow Falls. The rainbow was visible, so we were able to take some shots of it.

Next stop, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. There was an admission of $20 pp here. The ship sold this as a 2.5 hr tour for $80 pp. We spend the best part of 2 hours wandering the gardens which cover a 40 acre valley. There are 2000 species of plants that thrive in the rich volcanic soil. 

Before returning the car we stopped for a fabulous fruit smoothie. It cooled the body and filled the belly.

Honolulu, HAWAII Sunday April 28th.

Our first stop in the USA meant today we needed to do a face to face with immigration official. We were allotted a 9 am time slot and although the line was long the process was easy and we were heading off the ship by 9.30 am.

We bought a day pass for $5.50 each so we could use the local transport and headed for Diamond Head. The bus took us thru Waikiki area. This is offered by Princess as a 3 hr tour for $90 each. 

Once off the bus we did need to walk 2 maybe 3 Km to the inside of the crater. We made the decision not to climb the outer rim, as our knees would not have appreciated the 1.5 mile hike with a rise of 560 feet which included 2 sets of stairways..of 77 steps and 99 steps...

We must have just missed a bus and being a Sunday with limited services, we waited about an hour for a bus back to Ala Moana Shopping Centre. This bus route took us thru the education area. Many schools and Universities.

We had a list for Wal-Mart. Tony needed a pair of sunnies to replace the ones he list in Papeete, and we needed some bottled water. The water on this voyage has been horrid.

Before returning to the ship we tried an apparently popular and infamous cinnamon bun. Very Yummy and very filling. One to share would have been enough.

We sailed before sundown on past visits we stayed til 11 pm.