Family Luau Night

Jen, Rick and the kids have arrived on the Big Island and they treated us to the ocean front luau at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel last night.  

We were all presented with leis

  After an authentic Hawaiian buffet we saw the sun went down and the entertainment portion of the luau began.

View from our table



Keiki hula was first on the agenda and our two grandkids were up there in no time!

Once the official conch was blown, the Hawaiian dancers made their way on stage and a variety of the Islands were represented by their dancers.

Towards the end of the evening the hula girls came out into the audience and selected some participants to learn the hula - Barry was one of the lucky ones to be chosen.  

He was a good sport, it'll be one of the memorable highlights of our family vacation here in Hawaii.

Aloha!

Golf & Star Gazing - on the same day

Golf Day

The guys decided they would golf at least once, so this was the day - they headed to the Hapuna Prince Golf Course for a mid-morning tee-time.

Ocean view from the fairway

After the golf game late in the afternoon Barry and I headed up to the Maunakea Observatory Visitor Information Station.  It's a little over an hours drive from Waikoloa Village, six miles up off the highway to approximately 9,300 feet.  They host a star gazing information session every night of the week from 6-10pm which includes a video inside the building there, and then they set up multiple telescopes to view the night sky.

We arrived around 5:30, people were beginning to congregate and then at 6pm we went inside to watch an informative video, and then at 6:15 we began the hike up even farther to watch the sunset.

That's where we're headed - all the way to the top to watch the sunset.

The staff there were setting up and calibrating the telescopes while most of the crowd headed off up the mountain for the sunset.

We stopped part way up to take a photo and catch our breath.

Looking back down on where we parked at the Visitor Information Station

We were higher than the clouds, here you see the sun slowly sinking into them.  It was quite cold up there, I had to put my cowl sweatshirt up around my ears to keep them warm.   Now it was time to go back down to the Station where we got an informative talk about the various constellations, it was an amazing clear night to see everything as there we no moon.  We picked a good night to go!

A Trip to the Volcano

Approximately two hours from Waikoloa Resort area where we stay there is an active volcano, and it's definitely worth the drive over there to see what it's all about.

We began with a walk through the steam vent area, then proceeded over to walk around the crater rim.

The smell of sulphur was all around as we walked through the area.

From there we walked across to the crater rim, seeing a lot of dead vegetation everywhere.  

Steam coming from the centre of the crater

Kinda creepy

We took a long hike down to the floor of the crater, which together with all the dead trees/bushes and the fact that we only saw one other person - felt weird.

Sign advising the area was closed due to dangerous gases

We didn't spend too much time hanging around there

Ted found a piece of grass that he felt safer on!

 Then we headed back up to the crater rim off the volcano floor, headed for the Thurston lava tube.

Lava tube entrance

Inside the tube it was very moist, I wondered if we'd see some bats.

On the crater rim there is a historic site called Volcano House, which although was rebuilt after a fire is still quite rustic and is a great place to see the volcano at night once dusk falls.  Years ago Mark Twain stayed here. 

Here's a picture I took of Volcano House from across the crater rim. The large picture windows from the restaurant and sitting area are a great viewing point.  Unfortunately the weather became foggy and misty; we waited until dusk to see the red glow of the volcano at night but it wasn't visible. Next time!

Growlers

Kona Brewing Company

This small brewery is right in Kona, and it's where they brew all their draft beers for sale in Hawaii.  It's tucked away in an area called 'Brewery Block'.

 Growlers come in a variety of sizes and materials, this was all new to me.

Inside the brewery we saw the large production area, as well as the large cooler with the filled kegs ready for pick up.

Tasting room after the tour

 

 On-site restaurant with great pizza!

And this is what you find in the fridge after an informative brewery tour!

The Hilton, and Hapuna Beach

The Hilton property is huge, and there's lots of stuff to see and do.  There's a dolphin lagoon....

The dolphins knew right away that they were going to be fed once the trainers showed up with the red coolers.

.... and then nearby there's another lagoon that you can swim and snorkel in.

Gary and Ted both bought snorkel outfits from their good friend 'Snorkel Bob's' - with the upgrade of course. 

Lots of colourful fish in the lagoon, plus a couple of turtles were laying on the sand
.

While relaxing playing chess, some ominous looking clouds rolled in.  As we watched it a water spout appeared coming down from the cloud to the ocean.  It was pretty interesting to watch, but a bit scary as we weren't sure which way it was going to go - or how large it would get, but it soon moved away from land.

Next day - Hapuna Beach:

Beautiful sugary sand

Walking the beach

And it wouldn't be a day at Hapuna beach without boogie boarding!