Early in the morning on Tuesday, May 27th, we loaded our bags onto our Roberts coach and started off for the “dry” side of the Big Island… and our last setting for the course. We had a full-day of site-seeing before arriving in our destination – the city of Kona (coffee anyone?!).
First stop: The Mauna Loa Macademia Nut Farm/Factory… No pictures from this site (which would have consisted of students walking around with bags of gifts they purchased at the Visitors Center… yum!)
Second stop: Akatsuka Orchid Gardens where we had the opportunity to take self-guided stroll through the orchid showroom that houses over 1,000 blooming orchids and tropical plants. There was an orchid which smelled like chocolate (really… chocolate!) and I’ve posted a photo of an orchid valued at $20,000 which was on display. Personally, I thought many of the other varieties were far more esthetic to look at, and could not imagine paying that sum for one orchid…
The $20,000K Paphiopedilum (“Volcano Queen”) orchid which blooms from May – August…
Third stop: Volcano’s National Park. We stopped at the Jagger Museum first, where we had time to view the eruption at the Caldera from as close as the public is allowed to get. From there, we were taken to the Thurston Lava Tube which we hiked down to, and through! Our last stop in the park was to experience the heat and moisture coming from a steam vent.
Kilauea Caldera as viewed from the Jagger Museum, Volcanoes National Park
Hiking the path down to the Thurston Lava Tube
View inside the Thurston Lava Tube
Natural “facials” at the steam vent…
Fourth stop: Black Sand Beach:
Yes… the sand is really, really BLACK!
Ashley M., Rachel A., Kayla S., Natalie S. Sarah V… “Represent!” (IWU SON) at Black Sand Beach!
Beautiful ocean spray at Black Sand…
Fifth stop: Lunch at Pu’uhonua Bakery: Can you say “Malasadas?”
Sixth stop: Pu’uhonua O’ Honaunau National Park (Place of Refuge): We had about an hour here to walk around and enjoy the beauty and quiet of this area. Some of us even saw a young “Honu” (sea turtle) feeding among the rocks, although photos of this did not turn out well. This was our last stop of the day before ending up in Kona, where we are spending our last few days of the course. We pulled in to the King Kamehameha Courtyard by Marriott Hotel around 5:30 pm and settled in to our rooms for our last few days in Hawaii.