We docked in Hilo, so none of that tendering stuff! Yeah!!! It was a short drive to the airport and we were ready for adventure!
We went to see Akaka (right) and Kahuna Falls (left). Very awesome. But it really would be best to go to see Kahuna fall first and then see Akaka falls. But, we couldn't do this as the pathway from the main entrance to Kahuna falls was under repair.
Both falls are a must see. But Kahuna is smaller than Akaka so it doesn't seem as great once you've seen Akaka. It's about a 30 minute trek to see both, with a rough pathway. Not bad, but you should be prepared for some uneven ground. And take water. It's hot!
And then we were off to find the zoo. Which turned out to be an adventure of a different type. The address given on Google maps '25 Aupuni Street' is incorrect. This is closer to downtown Aupuni. I suspect it's the administrative offices for the zoo. The Website is http://www.hilozoo.com/Z_home.htm and the instructions on the website indicate Pana`ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens is located off Hwy. 11 in Hilo. But it's past the airport a bit. (if you're coming from the downtown area you have to pass the airport before you start seeing signs for the zoo).
Very much worth the visit. The animal habitats are fine meshed cages although it's not difficult 
to get good pictures of the tiger as his area is somewhat larger than the majority of the enclosures. All of the animals appear to be well cared for and the pens were clean with water available for all. And, for those botanical buffs, there are lots of flowers and foliage to be seen. And there's lots of peacocks too (had to add this for my uncle who used to raise peacocks)
to get good pictures of the tiger as his area is somewhat larger than the majority of the enclosures. All of the animals appear to be well cared for and the pens were clean with water available for all. And, for those botanical buffs, there are lots of flowers and foliage to be seen. And there's lots of peacocks too (had to add this for my uncle who used to raise peacocks)There is no admission charge. So remember that the zoo relies on donations etc. to keep it going! So the more donations, the more can be used on keeping the animals happy!
And now for the much anticipated Helicopter ride over the volcano! For this excursion we booked it on the internet at the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters website http://www.bluehawaiian.com/ . We booked the 'Circle of Fire' tour. It was 50 minutes
long. The pilot narrated it and we got a good look at a lava fall. (flowing like water) Plus we got some good views of even more waterfalls and our cruise ship. They will even sell you a DVD of your trip which includes shots of all of the passengers. A very nice souvenir.
This one was an all thumbs up excursion too!
Now for a stop at the Big Island Candy factory http://www.bigislandcandies.com/. They gave us free samples of chocolate chip shortbread and a chocolate crunch. Both were delicious. I even tried the Kona coffee. And although I've never been able to take more than one sip of a cup of coffee, this stuff was very good. No bitter taste at all! It hasn't turned me into a coffee drinker but there is hope for me if there's Kona coffee around. This is not an inexpensive place to go. So don't be too surprised by the prices. Expect to pay gourmet prices. (and don't leave your chocolates in the cruise ship fridge. - we learned that lesson the hard way - oh well, I'm sure the housekeeping staff got an unexpected treat out of it).
Next stop was Hilo Hattie's. Definitely a tourist trap, but they did have some neat things there. There was a Hilo Hattie's in our other ports too. But this is the only one I got to. And we only had about 15 minutes before we had to head back to the ship. Again, a close call to make it back to the ship in time but we did it with 15 minutes to spare. I can't believe we packed this much stuff into 1 day. Wow.
We missed the scrapbooking store here, I guess there's another stop for our next trip to Hawaii!
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