Spent the last two nights at Yosemite National Park and I was veryimpressed. The first night we drove through and umed and arred at the beauty of valley and the contrast between the dark green of sequoia (giant trees) and the pines against the grey granite of exposed rock faces, its not surprise that Yosemite is world heritage listed! The second day when we went hiking that was most impressive. A group of four of us decided to do a steep 9-mile (return) trail up...

Driving on the wrong side of the road (the right hand side) hasn't proved too bad but one thing that is a pain when driving in Hawaii is navigation. On the Big Island Hilo was relatively small, Kaua'i really had only one road, however O'hau is a different matter all together. In the Honalulu and Waikiki area the population is a lot higher and one has to make sure that you're in the right lane for where you want to turn. This is not unlike any other major city whe...

Last night I went to a lauau woth Jamie and her two friends. It was billed to me as the cheesiest event ever ad it featured the Hawaiian crooner Glen Mederos, a one hit wonder from the late eighties. It was hosted in a big garden at one of the flash resorts on Waikki Beach. It started looking up with a fantastic meal of traditional Hawaiian/Polynesian foods Poi (pureed taro), Kileua pig, fish, roast chook etc which was actually very good and as the night progre...

Backing up after the sea kayaking on Sunday I was going to head off to hike the Kalalau Trial on the Na Pali coast. I'd already organised a camping permit the previous day and had brought a $20 tent at Wal Mart (label say's idea for children!). Little did I know at this stage that the hike would turn out to be memorable not only for the breath taking scenery and physical difficulty but as probably the most expensive overnight hike I've ever been on. The Kalalau ...

Today I knocked off one of the activities I wanted to do while I am here in Kaua'i. The Na Pali coast is a rugged (but beautiful) section of the northern coast of Kaua'i. The guided Kayak trip along it was rated by National Geographic as the second best adventure tour in the world - this I had to attempt. The trip along the Na Pali coast is a 17-mile paddle and not for the feint hearted. From the moment I turned up at the outfittert to book the trip they emphasis...