Despite the early hour, our taxi driver is full of fun & energy - we have another live one here !He keeps us entertained during our 40 minute drive to the airport with recommendations of places to visit (& he speaks from experience having never left the Islands in his 44 years to date !) and jokes.The customary safety talks, life-jacket demo & handing out of sick bags are completed & we are ready to begin our flight.We are extremely fortunate to have been upgraded to preferred seating (5 out of the 6 passenger seats on the helicopter are window seats anyhow).

This was my first experience of a helicopter flight & the sensation of getting airbourne was a treat in itself.The take-off was incredibly smooth & as we glide around the airfield it is difficult to believe that we are actually off the ground, there are no signs of turbulence whatsoever.We are fortunate enough to have a 2 hour trip, covering all 4 volcanos on the Island, taking a trip to see the lava flows meeting the Ocean, travelling along the fantastic coasline, flying over the Tropical Rainforests & into a Valley within the rainforest itself.Jessie is our Pilot and he has been born & bred in the Islands and again has a fantastic local knowledge & plenty of "tales to tell".

My head is constantly bobbing from side-to-side in an attempt to take in every sight on offer - I don't want to miss a thing.Below us the ground is a mixture of blacks, greys & browns - these being the lava which has been deposited on the sides of the Volcano following it's last eruption in 1984.The devastation caused by the last eruption is vast, however we notice a single property (it's a nice one too) which the lava has missed.It is a peculiar sight, to the left & to the right the roads are covered for miles by lava flows, however untouched is a beatifully maintained house & garden.Despite the fact that this Volcano is still (very) active, the homeowner continues to live here.This is not an easily accessible location, aparently to homeowner has to walk for 2 ½ hours in order to reach any civilisation & the "local" stores.Jessie tells us that this guy considers his footwear to be disposable, as they "melt" once he has completed the journey to the shops !The next sight is a 'sulphur spot', with plumes of smoke escaping from a crater.But that was nothing compared to the next sight - we follow the direction of the magma flow to the coast and see the lava exiting the land & flowing into the Ocean.(The 'volcano juice' is called magma when it's below ground & lava when it is exposed to the surface - get it !?).This is a truly dramatic sight, the colours of the lava are a flourescent orange / red / yellow which is incredibly bright & it is accompanied by huge smoke & steam clouds where it meets the Ocean. Added to this is the bright white spray which rises high above the coast where the waves cascade into the shore.

We are amazed to notice a couple of guys walking on the lava rocks aparently a matter of feet from the cliff edge - the magma flows below the surface at temperatures in excess of 2,000 degrees and could penetrate the surface at any point.This area is not easily accessible & to reach the coast, it is necessary to undertake a 3 hour hike - they must be mad.............you'll find out later !

The helicopter then takes a sweeping turn to change direction & head over the coffee & macadamia nut plantations as we approach the rainforests.There are a multitude of rivers within the rainforest, all of them housing beatiful waterfalls - we are also fortunate to have a view of all 4 volcanos during our flight (including a snow-topped peak !).Jessie tells us that we are extremely fortunate & that the visibility today is "ridiculously good" - I certainly feel fortunate.We fly directly into one of the valleys for close-up views of the waterfalls, they too are spectacular.

Following the conclusion of our flight, we return to Kona 'Town' for a wander around the shops & grab a bite to eat.We are drawn to one of the galleries, by some fantastic volcano scenes.When we are in the store a 'shop assistant' introduces himself as one of the artists, I comment that he is extremely talented & that the scenes in the paintings are amazing.He proceeds to show us his works at which point I say "Sorry, I didn't mean those ones !" and am dragged out of the shop by a highly embarassed Rachael (I didn't mean any offence, it just came out wrong, I try to explain to her).Whilst in one of the gift stores we are advised of a Hele-On Bus, which travells further than the Shuttle Bus & will take us to Captain Cook, we decide that this will be our destination for the afternoon.

The Bus Driver kindly agrees to notify us on arrival at Captain Cook & after a 40 minute ride we arrive.We depart the bus, however the coast is nowhere in sight !This is an extremely remote area, however I spot a restuarant about ¼ mile up the road.On entering the restuarant, I find that too to be deserted & have to venture into the kitchen in order to get the attention of the proprietor.I enquire into directions to the coast, to be advised that it is a 3 hour plus hike down a mountain trail, with no option of busses or taxis to assist with the journey.As the last bus back to Kona is in 5 hours, we quickly decide to forego our trip to the bay.Fortunatley the bus is still waiting at the stop, however in the distance I can see the driver returning to the bus. Under instruction from Rachael, I run back to the bus & plead with the driver to wait until Rachael arrives (in her own good time).We receive some strange looks from the fellow passengers who have just seen us leave the bus , wander up the hill with our swimming & snorkelling gear & then running back to get on the bus. I explain that we have reconsidered our plans to walk to Captain Cook's Monument for a swim (it turns out that this area / district / settlement is called Captain Cook).The 'locals' on the bus tell us we must be mad - the trail is practically unpassible & are having a laugh at our expense.They proceed to recount the tale of us "Crazy Brits" who were planning on walking to the Monument to every passenger who subsequently joins us on the bus.

They continue to 'poke-fun' at us for the remainder of our return journey to Magic Sands (which is our Plan B destination - yes, it's approximately 2 miles from our Apartement but our route has nonetheless involved a 2 ½ hour bus ride).The only let-up we have from the relentless banter is when a somewhat 'fragrant' lady passenger joins the bus at the Shopping Centre.She has clearly lost a fierce battle with a crew of staff at the perfume counter - she absolutely reeks of perfume, to the extent that it makes your eyes sting when she enters the bus !!

Magic Sands is a beautiful spot, it is a popular beach as it offers excellent boogie-boaring opportunities, the waves close to shore are really lively.....................not that this stops me from attempting to snorkel.I am repeatedly bashed and churned over in the waves (despite only being knee-deep in water).Some of the locals are demonstrating fantastic skills on the boogie-boards, once they have spotted their wave, they race out at high speed place their boards on the surface of the water & jump / flip / twist across the wake of the waves - some of these guys actaully somersault on the waves (& also make this look incredibly easy.................it's not, believe me !).

We stay on the beach until sunset, there is a really relaxed atmosphere many locals arrive to "hang out" at this beach, lighting a barbecue, playing ucalelees & chatting / joking about.Once again we return to Kona Town & visit a number of the concessions & stalls along the seafront.One of the stalls is selling photos of Hawaii, including the Waterfalls, Rainforests, Volcanos & the Wildlife - there are some excellent shots & the vendors introduce themselves to us whilst we are browsing through the photos.It turns our that these are all their own work - they also show us some shots of the laval flow & lava tubes which they took earlier in the morning.............you guessed it, these are the idiots who were beneath us during our early morning flight.The continue to relate tales of their "near misses" and have actaully caught on film lava erupting from "skylights" right beside them.These guys have won many awards for their photography and offered us a special "before we are famous" price for the photos - they have a swanky gallery which is due to open the following day - at which time their prices will reflect their upmarket surroundings. We are invited to visit their gallery the following day, however they do explain that they intend to keep 'Hawaiin Hours' - 10ish to 8ish, most days !

It's been another fun-filled & eventful day for us & we decide to head on back to our accomodation to call it a night - we have another early start tomorrow, a 7:15am departure from the Pier for our Boat Trip to Captain Cook's Monument (I guess the water will be more accessible by boat !)