(update, I've fixed that link...)
I had a great time in Hawaii. Mostly thanks to the great company (Thanks again Akane and Dave for Organising most of it, and Yuka too of course for the car rental). I feel kind of bad that I couldn't really organise much so next time I'll make a bit more effort.
Trip highlights included: a surprising amount of rain, volcanic wastelands, golf lessons, beautiful golf courses, great food, lack of extreme tourist nonsense (as expected in European resorts), sea turtles and of course the volcanoes.
Hawaii really wasn't what I expected. That despite the research I did on-line. Most of the stuff I looked up was focused on surfing (which I didn't do anyway) and golf. The thing that shocked me was the landscape. The beaches in Hawaii are really _nice_. Like most beaches. Hawaii stands apart by its incredibly variable ecology and geography. Specifically Big Island. The north of the island is a mix of North American coniferous forests, arable farmland and sub-tropical foliage. The South is a mix of desert, volcanic wasteland, rolling plains and volcano. In a five hour drive its possible to see much of the worlds geology and ecology on one island.
So my advice is that if you ever go to Hawaii for more than a week, try to take a plane to Kona or Hilo and rent a car to go up to the volcano park. We trekked across an old crater and looked down into a more recent but still old crater. [I'll link to the photos here if I get a chance].
Apart from that, if you are a golfer - be sure to golf. Surf if you can because I stupidly missed out and snorkel/swim/dive/photograph your heart out. You'll have a great time.
Oh, and make sure to eat the local version of sashimi. Spicy raw tuna... Mmmm.
SPIFF OUT
ps, This is my favourit photo of the volcanic area we went to:
