OUR HOLIDAY TO THE BIG ISLAND AND MAUI IN MARCH 2008
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		We flew Vancouver to Honolulu with Air Canada on "points".  OUR ITINERARY       The famous block square Banyon tree in downtown Lahaina on Maui is quite amazing.   Real Estate bargains are alive and well on the big island.  Want to buy some sharp and ugly lava?   Rick and Dave are climbing up after finding another geocache in an amazing location.   Very rare cactus, the  Silverswords found only on Haleakala, Maui's biggest volcano, . We found this fisherman's route to the outside surf.  It was a tunnel through solid rock that passed under the highway. In Hawaii, scenic views of crashing waves are the norm, not the exception.         We found a coffee bush at a small park along the highway.  Who knew coffee came unroasted!   Remember the "in" jokes.   View from our condo on the big island shows the fairway, artificial lake and the shopping centre. Inside was air-conditioned luxury.  Some of the biggest "fiddleheads" the earth can produce were coming up on the Big Island. The colour and  numbers of fungi attracted our interest.  Hibiscus hedges were everywhere.   We often noticed the lush colour of these yellow ones. Downtown Honolulu provided several opportunities to watch "Hula" dancers.  These were at a mall entrance. Geocaching led us to many backwater jungles of vines and tree ferns. This path, leading to a spectacular waterfall, was bordered by huge, lush rain forest plants. A wide swath of lava cut across the landscape near our condo on Hawaii.  A trail led through.  Several lava caves were  evident. We enjoyed  walking through a lava tube at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Near  Pupukea on the north shore of Oahu, we were entertained by surfers taming 12 footers. Drinks on the huge waterfront terrace of a Waikiki hotel. The beach view from our Maui condo was fantastic.  Tracks of crabs showed in the soft sand. Surfers using a paddle were a novelty.  Petroglyphs in the lava reflected many stages in Hawaian history.  This image of horses is quite recent.  We constantly spied colourful birds.  This cardinal cleaned up after our lunch. One cache led us to an African Sausage Tree.  The fruit was enormous. A rocky beach provided some fine snorkling. Sunsets on Maui were accompanied by many residents trumpeting a conch on the beach in front of their condo. Never a dull moment watching the surfers in these huge waves on Oahu. Sea turtles sunning on the beach. Another huge turtle came ashore for a rest. Views from atop the Haleakala crater on Maui. Haleakala was a place of stunning beauty.   Twice we went whale watching to view Humpbacks. One geocache led to a group of student whale counters from Alaska.