Day 16 - Hilo - Hawaii

Friday 22^nd April – Hilo, Hawaii

Today 12 of us took a tour organised by Ross. This being our first US port we all needed to front up for a face to face with US immigration. Our group arranged to line up at 7am and this meant we were all processed within the first half hour. By the time we all left the ship at 9am people were being asked not to line up as the line was through the Atrium all the way to Vista Lounge and growing.


Our hosts for the day Tina and Gil Nelson were waiting for us in two air conditioned vans. This nearly 7 hr tour took us to Akaka & Rainbow Falls, Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory, Akatsuka Orchid Gardens and the Volcano National Park. We had photo stops at all of these as well as Halemau'mau Crater, Thurston Lava Tube, Kilauea Caldera and the Jagger Museum.

We had a great day and if anyone is visiting Hilo in the future I recommend you visit Tina and Gil's website: http://www.ainatours.com/ you will not be disappointed, this tour only cost us $US80 each.



Akaka Falls





Kiluaea Caldera