After visiting the Arizona (Pearl Harbour) WW2 Memorial we caught a local bus back to Waikiki via the Ala Mona shopping centre.

After walking right along the beachfront we went to the Honolulu Aquarium.

A walking fish at the Honolulu Aquarium.

On Wednesday we went to an Internet café (lovely Kona coffee), and then to the Honolulu Zoo.

We organised a day tour to The Big Island on Thursday to see its volcanic features.

We flew out at 5am to Hilo on the Big Island. We were to have a helicopter flight, but it was too cloudy and wet.

We had a hire car arranged ( a Dodge Neon) and went first to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. 

Kilaeua Volcano caldera.

The current eruption of Kilauea began in January 1983 becoming Earth's longest ever recorded eruption in history and has added more than 570 acres of new land to Hawaii's youngest but largest island.

Since the current eruption of Kilauea began in January 1983 extensive lava flows have flowed over roads and altered the coastline.

Massive plumes of steam from the molten lava entering the sea can be seen from a long distance away.

We drove around the coast to the airport at Kona.   From here we flew back to Honolulu and back to our hotel at 11pm.   A very long day.

This photo shows that the sea is now much further away.

On Friday we went on a bus tour of the island of Oahu.

Nanuanu Pali Lookout.

(Windy Point.)

Ringing the bell at Byodo-In Temple.

Where the elite surfers ride the giant waves.

Butterfly chrysalises at Waimea Falls National Park.

Lili'uokalani 

She was Hawaii's last queen.

On January 16, 1893, four boatloads of United States Marines came ashore in Honolulu, capital of the independent Kingdom of Hawaii. As the Royal Hawaiian band played a concert at the Hawaiian Hotel, 162 troops marched through the streets of Honolulu, heading for the palace. The Queen of Hawaii, Lili'uokalani, looked down from her balcony as the troops took up their positions.

The following day, she surrendered at gunpoint, yielding her throne to the government of the United States. A provisional government led by wealthy white sugar growers assumed control of Hawaii and petitioned the US for annexation.  

Born in 1838, Lili'uokalani was trained by missionaries in Western academic disciplines and the ways of polite American society. A talented composer, Lili'uokalani wrote more than 165 songs.

In 1881 her brother, King Kalakaua, went on an extended journey around the world, leaving the 43-year-old Princess in charge. Although she had no experience governing, she soon had the chance to display her mettle when an epidemic of smallpox erupted, killing many Hawaiians. The source of the disease was Chinese laborers, brought by ship to work in Hawaii's sugar cane fields, the island's economic mainstay. To protect the Hawaiians, Lili'uokalani immediately closed the port, an act that infuriated the wealthy sugar growers.

Following her succession to the throne after her brother's death in 1891, Lili'uokalani would work secretly to frame a new constitution that would restore power to native Hawaiians. But two months into her reign, the US government effectively revoked Hawaii's favored position on the American sugar market and Lili'uokalani's kingdom was on the brink of economic collapse. The sugar growers were convinced there was only one way to survive - annexation to the United States.

On Saturday we caught a local bus to the commercial heart of Honolulu and visited Iolani Palace and the Aloha Tower marketplace.

Our fight home was a couple of hours late leaving Honolulu at 1.15am on Sunday morning and we arrived in Melbourne (via Sydney) at 12 noon on Monday.

A great 8-day holiday.