Aloha!

So today is my last day in Hawaii, so thought I should fill you all in on what I've been up too before I leave!

My flight from Hilo wasn't until the evening, so I had some time to kill before leaving for the airport. I bumped into a group arriving at the hostel and we all went out for some lunch, I had a Hawaiian Katsu curry (for the 2nd time I was there, don't judge..) which was awesome. We then wondered round Hilo for a while; it was really sunny which was unusual for there!

Back at the hostel one of the guys Dan took me out to a kava bar. Now this isn't the cava you get in tesco for 4.95 a bottle, it is a drink made from the roots of the kava plant and is very traditional and is meant to have medicinal properties etc. It looks like muddy water, and quite frankly tasted like it too. Dan being Dan got a whole bowl of it for us to share and after a while it starts making you feel like you're stoned. So off to the airport I went feeling a bit out of it... might be why I got searched ;)

I arrived back in Honolulu and headed back to the hostel I was in before. I ended up in the same room which was cool as things I had to leave behind in the fridge were still there! I met one of my roommates Desiree and we made plans to go hiking up Diamond Head (a volcano crater) the next morning.

So after an old man debated the death penalty with us pre 9am at the bus stop we arrived at Diamond Head and it was already baking hot. This was going to be interesting... but as Desiree says, 'it's not sweat; it's your fat crying'. So we hiked to the top, including about a million steps (slight exaggeration maybe) and it was worth it when we got there as the views were spectacular, even if we were sweaty messes by the time we reached it!

After the hike we decided we deserved a good brunch, so headed to eggs n things, which seems to be a favourite as there is always a queue going round the block. We thought we'd be brave and go for a traditional Hawaiian breakfast called 'Loco Moco'. This is rice made with sausage, mushroom and onion, with a beef burger on top with a fried egg on, and all covered in gravy. Was sooo good. Need to recreate this at home!! After eating all that we crossed the road and had a food coma under some coconut trees for a while.

We then decided it would be rude to not hit happy hour so went for a mai tai, which turned into about 5. After a shower and a change we went and watched the fireworks at the hilton from Waikiki beach and the sunset which was very awesome. Was time to eat again and we hit a burger place that had good reviews.. Was one of the best burgers I've had! Fergburger in Queenstown is going to have some stiff competition... We headed home with some beers as we decided to be sociable but there was no one about apart from one crazy woman who turned out to be our new roommate. Standard.

The next day Desiree and I thought we would go on an adventure to the north shore of the Island. We knew the bus took about 2 hours but we were up for the mission as we'd heard good things. Unfortunately due to a traffic accident and us possibly getting the bus in the wrong direction, it ended up taking 5 hours. By the time we got there we just wanted to eat and go to the bathroom! We wandered into a beautiful valley but didn't have time to explore it properly so headed to the beach. Waimea bay is famous for cliff jumping, and it didn't disappoint, we got to watch a lot of crazy people throw themselves off the cliffs. I actually ended up falling asleep on the beach, with the sound of boys playing the ukele next to us. Was all very Hawaiian!

Considering how long it took us to get there we thought it best not to leave too late so after a few hours got the bus back, which took the 2 hours it was meant to! We met up with Marie who was in the dorm with Desiree before I came back and we went out for noodles and a beer before having an earlyish night as the girls we're flying to Maui and San Francisco the next morning.

I too had to get up early (before 6 is def early in my book!) as the day had arrived for me to go to JURRASIC PARK. Oh yes, I was heading to Kualoa ranch where a lot of the movie was filmed, as well as every episode of lost. After a mix up with my ticket booking (not surprised) I finally got my vouchers for activities. My first one was an ATV tour, where we rode ATV vehicles around the ranch, with quite literally the most breath-taking scenery I've seen. Was well worth doing, I don't think my pictures do it justice on how amazing it really was.

My second activity was a movie tour where we went around and saw all the locations of different films and shows that were filmed on the ranch. If film makers want to have the place exclusively without any tourists, they have to buy out every tour which equates to $60k a day. The film windtalkers did this for 3 weeks for a part of the film that was 7 mins long. Haven't seen it but that's crazy! All in all a good experience, and let me get my Jurassic Park geek on. Once I got back I hit the beach for a bit and had a nice swim in the sea before having another early night as was shattered from getting up so early (turning into a grandma!)

Today I'm doing exciting things like washing and packing, and I might have one last swim in the sea before I leave. I'm sure I'm going to get attached to places on this trip, but I really do love Hawaii, and am going to miss it. I don't think I've ever been somewhere so beautiful before!!

I'm not sure how much internet I will get in Fiji but I will try and update you as much as I can on what I'm up too.

Miss you all dearly!! lovelovelove x