Onwards to Kona Coast - Thursday

Up early again – and the last big breakfast. Mr. Bagshaw chowed down a lot of papaya as he would not likely get another chance. Then the rooms got checked by the teachers and chaperones and we lined up our 39 bags for the bus.

The first stop was at Akaka falls, the highest falls (440 feet) in Hawaii. There was a short hike to the falls then we saw a gorgeous high fall of water into a pool below. Aunty Claudia also showed the kids a coffee plant that was there. We had a short stop at a bakery to stock up on ice cream and coffee (for the adults) then onto the bus for the next longer leg of the journey to the dry side of the island.

We could see the foliage change rapidly as we went from the lush NE coast that catches all the water from the trade winds, through an area that looks like southern Alberta where there are lots of ranches, and finally to a very dry place on the NW coast with cactus. It is very desolate there with just rock, dry grass, and some cactus type plants.

We stopped along the way for lunch then headed down to Kailua Kona and to the hotel the Royal Kona Resort and we got ready for our ‘Hard Rock Café’ evening were everyone chowed down. Of course, they could not bypass the ABC store (which sells everything) to get water, snacks, more souvenirs, etc.