Today we spent the morning on a brief walking tour of the town which really didn't take long. The main sights were the old temple near our hotel, the oldest church on the island and the old palace. In the afternoon we relaxed by the pool before heading out to dinner. We ate at a restaurant overlooking the route for the 4th July parade. Parade was amusing, a mix of community groups, military, political candidates and businesses using the parade to advertise....

Today we went on our helicopter tour to Hawaiian Volcano National Park. It was an early start, up at 5am for a 6.20am pick up. After a safety briefing we took off at 7.30am flying from Kailua-Kona and flying past the two largest volcanoes on the island, Mauna Koa and Mauna Loa before reaching the active volcano, Kiluaea.We flew over the crater with bubbling lava then past an active lava flow. The lava started flowing again less than a week earlier so we were luc...

On Saturday we flew across to the big island, Hawaii. Scenic flight over the islands of Molokai, Lanai, Maui and Kaho'olawe. The island of Hawaii was much different to the other islands, it was covered with black volcanic rock and old lava flows.We checked into the hotel then wandered around the town of Kailua-Kona which was a big change from Waikiki. Much quieter and a much slower pace which was a welcome change.

Today was our last day in Waikiki. We spent the morning walking down Waikiki Beach then the afternoon ensuring we swam in every pool at the hotel, including the seawater lagoon and went on all four water slides. S even went into the lagoon although she looked like she was making her way through a minefield ensuring she did not run into any fish.We then packed for our flight over to the Big Island the following morning.

Today we went out to Pearl Harbour. The day started badly and got worse from there. We were waiting to be picked up and the tour company was late. S then realised she did not have photo ID with here which the voucher said we nèeded so she ran back to the room to get it. Soon after our bus arrived, I explained to the driver that S had forgotten her ID and would be there in a couple of minutes. The driver then said that no ID was needed. S arrived soon after with...