Chris woke us early after a fantastic nights sleep. The sun was rising over the mountain and just peeping into our windows. The beach and sea outside looked very inviting so we all headed straight out for a run along the beach towards Kihei. We ran east and then south along Sugar beach. The beach itself was marrow and the sand was soft, making it hard work. On the return run we followed a board walk at the back of the beach that passed next to a series of nature ...

Another early start - 4.15 - to pack and head up to the airport for our 5.15 check in. The rain seemed to finally have stopped as we left Hilo! There were great views over Big Island as we took off and interesting to see the brown colour of the sea close to land where the rain-soaked land spilled freshwater into the sea. Flying in over to land on Maui island 30 minutes later we were surprised to see how mountainous it looked. We collected our car from a desert...

Day 13 We woke today to the sound of heavy rain on the roof which actually eased over breakfast. The sun came out and suddenly we saw the beaches opposite the house in a new light! Blue sky, blue sea, welcoming looking snorkelling coves. Ideal for us to be able to make use of all the water sports kit in the basement - a kayak, SUP, boogie boards and snorkelling kit. Meanwhile, Rainbow falls called - best seen early morning with the sun on your back for the best v...

Day 12. The day started super early today... Having missed seeing the red glow of the caldera last night, we made an early morning visit. Bill, awake with his cough, did a recce at 4.30am and returned with a thumbs up. Thus at 5am we were all up and dressed and walking across the Jaggar Centre car park to the Crater Overlook. This time the skies were clear, the stars were bright and the crater was clearly visible with its steep sides and red glow with steam drift...

Day Awoke gently to the sound of birdsong - no surf! Warm sunlight poured through the shuttered windows onto our large four poster bed with lovely cool cotton sheets. We enjoyed morning tea and the boys bundled in, happy and excited 'like centre parcs'! We made a plan for the day and then headed over to the lodge for breakfast - half a papaya with lime, followed by a selection of omelettes, eggs & bacon, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes and banana pancakes w...