Our Journey

Overview

Back in 2007, we managed two separate trips to the United States.  You can read about our 12-day adventure by reviewing articles published under the Trip 2007 category.

This series will cover our second trip of that same year, between April 3rd and April 9th, 2007.

The second trip was really unexpected.  As you’d be aware, we had only returned from the U.S in late February, as I had just commenced working for DevTest Pty Ltd at Microsoft in North Ryde.

The company had announced plans earlier that year of sending all employees and their partners to Hawai’i for a full company conference on the island of Lana’i.

Departure

We departed Sydney’s Kingsford Smith airport mid morning on April 3rd and touched down in Honolulu just before midnight on the 2nd of April – i.e. the day before we took off (which never gets old!).

Unfortunately for us, our connecting flight to the Big Island departed at 5 AM, so rather unwisely, we decided to camp out at the airport instead of transferring to a local hotel for the brief time.

It’s no understatement to say that trying to rest at an airport can be uncomfortable at best, but the pre-recorded, half-hourly loudspeaker announcements throughout the night certainly didn’t help.

By the time 4:30am rolled around – which was a seemingly unending wait – we were very tired and weary.  The domestic flight to the island of Hawai’i (to avoid confusion, hitherto referred to as the ‘Big Island’) was trivially short, and before long we had landed in Kona, on the west coast of the island.

Understatement: an early start

A little about the Big Island

For those who haven’t been to the Big Island, it’s by far the largest island in the Hawaiian islands.  It would easily take a day to drive around the entire island, and the inland is almost impassable by standard vehicles.

It is home to the tallest mountains in Hawai’i as well as the volcano national park which features active lava flows, several huge dormant calderas and other attractions like lava tubes.

The Big Island is also home to many resorts, golf courses and all the usual modern amenities.  On top of all that, just a few minutes outside Kona you will hit a number of coffee plantations and fruit farms.

Lastly, the Big Island is all about nature.  Beautiful beaches entwined with old lava flows, magical views and a slower pace of life than on Oahu or Maui.  The Big Island is a slice of the traditional Hawaiian islands.

Our travels on the Big Island

Check back for the next instalment – Day 1.