Day 11. Our last day in Kona and our last day with Sharky. One last morning waking up to the sound of surf.... Mike and Chris appeared early and headed out into the surf break, painted pink by the dawn light off Banyans. Bill acted as photographer on the balcony and Kathy followed them out for a spot of early morning boogie boarding. On return it was full steam ahead with breakfast and packing, and then the boys headed off to the airport to arrange transport ho...

Day 10. A very slow start today. B and K were up with the lark, well earlyish, anyway, but after a very late return last night there was no sign of life from the boys. Bill surfed the Banyans break and Kathy snorkelled the reefs around the Banyan headland. We returned to the apartment just before ten and find Chris awake but feeling weary with painful blistered feet and Mike and Sharky waking with distant memories of evening in Humpys, an Ironman after-party w...

Day 9. A big day of rest today! Or so we had planned. Chris woke to the sound of waves and a sea breeze seemingly unaffected by his exertions other than blisters on the soles of his feet. We watched the spinner dolphins from the balcony. After a good lie in and leisurely breakfast we took the surf boards and snorkel gear to Kahalu'u beach a few miles south of Kona. A short walk to the ocean, a good surf break just off shore from the Little Blue Church and un...

Saturday 10/10/15 Ironman World championships Very early start today. Up at 4am to prepare Chris's pre-race breakfast of porridge, maple syrup and banana. Chris seemed calm and focussed, this being his fourth Ironman event, and he followed a well practiced ritual of preparation - food / sunscreen / kit check and timely arrival at the start. We left home at 5am. Downstairs in the BanyanTree parking area we were surprised that there were very few cars. Most of t...

Day 6. Another early start followed by much discussion about the plans for the day. Bill went for a run to White sands beach and returned very sweaty despite the early hour! All agreed that today was the ideal day for the Volcano driving tour. Chris needed a rest day before his race and so this seemed a good opportunity to make the 4 hour round trip to the Hawaii Volcano National Park. After a substantial breakfast of smoked bacon and gourmet fried eggs we set o...