Melsea's Adventures of South America & Pacific Adventures Part 23

#1

Melsea's Adventures of South America & Pacific Adventures Part 23

Day 77. Hilo, Hawaii the Big Island. Volcano Island. 8.30am - 6pm.
25th March. Evening casual.

Kilauea Volcano Hiking Adventure.
Got up early 7am. We were still sailing into Hilo at this time. I had my shower & then went to breakfast upstairs in the Horizon Buffet Restaurant. Before I went upstairs I looked outside the back where a couple said they had seen Whales a good number of them. I was a little envious of them. When I got my breakfast which consisted of scrambled egg, two sausages & baked beans I managed to find a table by the window so I could lookout for Whales. We were still parallel to the sea as we had not yet docked which was good for me so I watched the Whales at sea while eating my breakfast. One of them was continuously breaching into the water it was a brilliant sight and a great start to my day.

Having got my tour ticket and we were told we could go ashore we filed out in search of someone with our tour name. Before doing that as I got down the gang plank and as usual the photographers were seeking us out to take our port photo. I rarely have my photo taken but having got to know the photographers well on this cruise I relented on this occasion as Coral was wearing a great tropical shirt so I said to her since she was wearing a great shirt I felt duty bound for her to take my photo. Soon after I found the tour group and we were met by a young lady who was super enthusiastic about taking us on this tour. There were I think about 12 of us and our transport was a small mini bus type vehicle. While on our journey the young lady whose name I think was Chelsey got us to introduce ourselves to everyone on the bus which was a bit nervy but it broke the ice. At around 9.30 we arrived at the start of our tour. The first thing she did was to hand out to us bottles of water, energy snacks, waterproofs in case it rained, although all of us had our own waterproofs. Also offered were hiking sticks and two people wanted these. I for one felt very secure and confident that guide was very professional and thoughtful to our needs for the day. Before our hiking began she took us to our first place to visit which was the Nahuku (Thurston Lava Tube).
a 500-year old lava cave. Lava caves like this are formed when a river of lava gradually builds solid walls and a ceiling. It's very dark and they only have a few lights on and its also not level and so you have to watch your step. We were very lucky that we were the only ones there as it can get busy out tour lady said. With that little walk we were taken to the main event to go on our hiking on the floor of Kīlauea Iki. It's a 4 mile loop that takes 2 to 3 hours. So there we were in what looked like a prehistoric land descending through a lush rain forest to the floor of what looks lava that has hardened. The lava crater lake as it is called still has steam coming out of the cracks. There are Ahu (stacked rocks) that mark the trail across the crater floor. Our guide informed that people must not disturb them or build new ones. As we neared the end of our trail of the floor of this amazing place we looked back and saw we were joined by many more people doing the same thing, again we were lucky to have the place initially to ourselves and the trail became busier later. Athough it looks like a barren place there were in fact some amazing flowers and bushes. It was an amazing place to visit. We had at the other end the walk going up to get back towards where we started, well not far from our vehicle. The weather was perfect for our hike. If you want to see where we hiked this is the link to a webpage that tells you all about it, http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/h ... ueaiki.htm When we had all gathered together at the top our final stop was at the Jagger Mueseum which is located near the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, from here you get an amazing Panoramic views of Kilauea Caldera and Halerma'uma'u Crater. At the museum you can see the real-time seismographs, eruption footage and displays of lava and Hawaiian geography. These are seen on tv screens and graphs showing the actual activity of the volcano. You can see the smoke/steam coming from it from where we were standing. It was here that our tour guide had given us lunch it was a huge Turkey baguette which was very heavy and had just about everything in it, it was delicious, with it we had a drink and crisps. I couldn't actually finish it and it was certainly more than enough for me to eat. So we were on our way back to the ship having had a most brilliant tour and of which there were not many of us just two sets of us doing this tour. It was a new one for P&O and last time I came here I did the walk around the rim of where we had just hiked and I remember seeing, well just about saw as its a long way down, people walking and I said to myself I want to be down there. So when this one came up and went live on the cruise personaliser I booked it straight away. I am pleased I did as it got booked up very quickly apparently.
At around 3pm I got back from my brilliant tour & I found Bill outside upstairs just outside of the Horizon where he had been watching the whales while using his iPad with the new keyboard he bought in Honolulu since 10.30 this morning! I spent the next couple hours watching lots of Whales putting on quite a show for us. I saw three tails out of the water, just made my day for what had already been a great day.
Had a snooze before getting ready for dinner, I was really tired after two rather full long days.

Day 78. At sea. 1 of 4 heading towards San Francisco.
Clocks go forward at midday. -9 GMT
26th March. Black Tie - Black & White night

We had breakfast in the Glass House this morning. I had a fruit platter & Bill had the eggs Benedict, unfortunately he had to send back 2 lots as the first one was like a boiled egg, the second was stone cold, the third was perfect. They seem unable to produce consistent poach eggs!
After breakfast I went to the photo gallery to choose which photos to put into the competition. Once I had checked and sorted out which ones I may put in. I got Chesney to help me to finalise which ones to put in. It came down to just five. I have absolutely no idea if I have managed to complete the guidelines of what they are looking for as it seems to be a bit of a lottery of what they like and who will win. Challenges for this sector are 1.Portraits, 2. Night Photography, 3.Cityscapes
I went back to the room expecting to see Bill but he was not there so I went upstairs to the buffet area to see if he was there. As I had gone out the back door outside and walked up to the Pennant Bar, Bill was sat at one of the tables just as he was yesterday. I sat with him a brief while and then decided to get my art pad & iPad. I went back to the cabin only to find I could not open the door, my key would not work. Eventually I got back upstairs and join Bill. I had some lunch while there.
Later in the afternoon I went sunbathing out on the back on deck 11 I stayed there until 5.15pm.

Day 79. At sea. 2 of 4 sailing in the windy air onwards to San Francisco
27th March Evening casual.

Clocks put forward -8 GMT at noon

It has been somewhat windy today and decidedly cooler in temperature. I started my day by going to the Spa and having a facial.

Day 80. At sea. 3 of 4 with temperatures falling as we head north towards San Francisco.
28th March. Smart, Jacket Required

We awoke late at 10.15. Bill got straight up and went to the Glass House to get breakfast. I got up a little bit afterwards. Showered and headed up to the Horizon to have breakfast before they started to take things away. I had one sausage, one small piece of bacon, beans and scrambled eggs. Orange juice & tea.
I visited the photographers gallery where they had on display passengers photos for the competition. At 12.15 I went to the playhouse to see more of the entries and to hear the comments made by the photography team for this sectors Camera Club Photography Competition. They started with the beginners and quite a few should really be in the intermediate section. Then it was onwards to the intermediate and again there were a few photos that should really appear in the advanced section. The final section was the one I was in, having listened to the photographers on previous sectors I had entered into the advance section twice now this being the second time. There were only two of us that actually entered so it was going to be interesting, who won what. They spoke about 4 photos from both of us, mine were 1. The reflection of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the glass panels on the ship aligning them perfectly, 2. The close up of the apartment building in Honolulu, 3. The city scape through a panel of windows in Sydney also (taken in the Art Gallery) & finally the Sydney Opera House with a sea plane fly high up above it.
They then announced the runners up & winners from each section starting with the Beginners, onwards to Intermediates & finally the Advanced.
With baited breath I heard the portrait photo of the other lady who happens be called Mel as well had been given the Highly Commended. The winner was none other than me, the photo they chose was the one taken from inside the Art Gallery in Sydney!! Yippee, I was happy to have advanced from runner up last time to being a winner this time!.
I had lunch up in the buffet as I was too late for lunch in the Medina.
Later I saw our friends Lorraine & Brian and had a long chat with them.
Saw two shows tonight a lady singer who got people up dancing.The second show was a pianist come comedian, Colin Henry 'Fingers' both were good.

#2

Eureka !!! at last your perseverance has paid off and you won the photography competition, well done

Your hiking tour sounds amazing.

#3

Thank you Jo, I was secretly dancing & jumping for joy inside.

The hiking tour was a unanimous success for all of us and no complaints at all. I would recommend it thats for sure

#4

I was waiting to see if you won the photography competition too. I had a sneaky feeling you might have. Well done you.

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