our honeymoon started with brunch with friends and then we headed off to for a helicopter ride around the island which was absolutely stunning!! another thing to tick of my bucket list :) from there, we had a final dinner with some friends and caught our flights the next day to the big island.
we landed and drove straight to the area where we'd read we'd be able to see flowing lava! much to our disappointment, the lava was miles away and could have been anything to the naked eye that was red and glowing!! we headed back to the commune where we were staying for the night (a rare find where clothing was optional after 5pm ;), settled into our robinson crusoe-like room and snuggled into a narrow but super long (over 7 feet long!!) bed for the night!! the next morning, we were up early as i was super excited that we might see some lava during the day at volcano national park however i was foiled again!! the park was beautiful and cold and wet but the most volcanic-like activity that we saw was steam seeping out of holes in the earth. i was not overly impressed!!
we headed over to kona which is on the other side of the island for a change of scenery!! we secured a room near the ocean and had a stroll along the sea before a fabulous ocean view dinner!! the next morning, we spent a couple of hours snorkeling in cove where the water was so crystal clear and the fish, coral and turtles were in such an abundance that i was in awe!! it was heaps better than the great barrier reef or anywhere else that i've been snorkeling!! we piled back in the car and headed back to hilo so we could hike out to the lava flows with a group and actually see red, hot lava!! it was a 4hr hike (return) over hard, shale-like lava and i burned the bottoms of my feet through my shoes however it was absolutely worth it to see the lava!! another thing over my bucket list ;)
we missed our flights the next morning to oahu (honolulu) as i thought they were an hour after their actual departure time!! oops!! the nice lady at hawaiian air got us on the next flight for very little additional costs which we both appreciated immensely!! in honolulu, we went para-sailing (another thing off the bucket list), shopping, visited pearl harbour, hiked, swam in waikiki beach and went for a drive along the coast with more snorkeling/relaxing! we also had dinner with dad & gail a couple of times which was nice since i don't get to see them very often!!
overall, it was a great honeymoon and truly, we both commented on the way back that we felt like we'd be gone for longer than 2 weeks so i guess that means we had a good break!!
i'm not sure when we'll have our next overseas holiday as our next project is a 3 bedroom house with a garden but we'll try and enjoy a regular weekend away here and there!!
hugs to all!!
s
