Brainfarts

We took a helicopter ride to see Kilauea.

More volcano stuff after the jump.

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Akaka Falls

More waterfalls after the jump.

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After the bay yesterday we drove south a bit along the Kona coast, and this happened.

This morning we headed out to Kealakekua Bay for some kayaking and snorkeling. (Updated with a few more videos.)

The bay is a conservation zone and the site of a monument to James Cook (the white pillar on the distant shore in this shot), but more importantly it features calm waters, a stunning and pristine reef, and is a frequent rest stop for spinner dolphins.

Speaking of dolphins, about half way through the mile or so kayak ride we ran into a group of them and managed to almost accidentally record this fairly amazing piece of footage:

More dolphins, a puffer fish, and some goofy pictures of me after the jump.

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After Manoa Falls, we drove about 25 minutes and took a hike up a seaside bluff.

It’s a bit hard to tell the scale of things from the video, so notice the beach in the background of this shot:

Now here’s a photo taken from just above that beach.

Bonus Makapu’u after the jump.

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If you drive about five minutes out of Honolulu towards the mountains, you can find yourself in the middle of the jungle at the base of a beautiful hiking trail to the 100 foot tall Manoa Falls.

The path passed through about a dozen different types jungle along it’s mile length, and apparently many spots along the way have been used as locations in TV and movies, most notably Lost and Jurassic Park. In fact, I’m pretty sure I recognized this clearing from both.

We also passed through a bamboo forest that I’m pretty sure was used for a few scenes in Lost, but the lighting conditions weren’t good enough for me to get pictures or video.

So I was super lazy and didn’t bank up posts for during our vacation. As a result, I’m going to have to do the worst thing ever and bore you all with pictures and video from our trip instead.

Anyway, we didn’t actually go fishing, but we did swim with sharks.

Way to go science, way to go.