BOTANICAL GARDENS, HELICOPTERS & VOLCANOES

Yesterday we had the most wonderful day. We drove to the Hawaii Botanical Tropical Garden and wandered through a rainforest full of amazing flowers. Stunning orchids, exotic blooms of every colour - heaven!
On to Hilo and the Blue Hawaiian Helicopters - we did the one hour Circle of Fire and waterfalls tour. Just going up in a helicopter was an unforgettable experience but seeing the most current areas of volcanic activity was awesome. We both wished we had seen lava flowing but the last flow had stopped at the end of December and it had lasted 18 days. We enjoyed the spectacular views and spotted some humpback whales just before landing.

Our last visit of the day took us to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park where we saw steam vents, walked along the Thurston Lava tube and stayed till dark to witness the glowing fume cloud. So much more to do here but sadly we ran out of time - we will return!

Mauna Kea observatories