HAWAII
The Big Island of Fire and Flowers
The Big Island of Hawaii is an island of tremendous contrast. Before the Europeans came, this island enjoyed the favour of gods and kings. Kamehameha the Great, who unified the Hawaiian archipelago lived here. It is also said that Pele, the goddess of volcanic fires also lived here - indeed many say that she still does.
The region around Hilo, is said to be "the orchid centre of the world" and indeed the city flies millions of blossoms to the other Hawaiian islands, the far east, and the United States mainland.
Click on the above for a larger map of the Big Island.
Rising above the centre of the island are the snow clad summits of the two tallest mountains in the Pacific - 14,000 foot Mauna Loa which is still active and dormant Mauna Kea which now has nine observatories with plans for another three. Only on the Big Island can you go from snow skiing to water skiing the warm waters of the Pacific on the same day!
Cultivating orchids near Hilo.
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Turning bold shoulders to the sea, the windward coast near Niulii shrugs off the relentless surf (above). Captain James Cook first sighted the island in 1788 but found no harbour along this coast. Evening enshrouds Akaka falls (right). Island legend says that it was named for a Hawaiian youth who leapt into the 420 foot chasm after being ridiculed by his friends. |
Hawaii was built up over eons by lava flows welling up from the ocean floor. It is a land of perpetual winter with the summits of its high mountains covered with snow virtually all year around. Mauna Kea, or white mountains, is among the loftiest peaks in the Pacific, rising 13,796 feet above sea level.
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