Hawaii The Big Island

The active crater

Lava pours into the water and the sea boils - spot the red lava!

Steep valleys and waterfalls

In charge of the helicopter!

The Cook monument. Part of British Territory

Sailing the boat!

The largest island is actually called Hawaii, the name of the state, not Big Island. It has an active volcano, Mona Loa, about 14,000 feet high. Lava is flowing from a crater into the sea making the island larger every year. The lava flows easily so there is no build up in the cone resulting in a sudden large explosion as with other volcanoes around the world. Captain James Cook, the British navigator and cartographer, landed on Kauai during his 3rd voyage to discover a North West passage from The Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. He had made 2 previous voyages, mapping the east coast of Australia, the 2 islands of New Zealand and many pacific islands. On his way back from the failed attempt to find a passage he stopped again in Hawaii, this time on The Big Island. During an argument over a stolen boat Cook was killed by the local villagers in Kealakekua Bay. There is a monument in the bay near the place where he was killed on 14th February 1776. The land the monument is on is still part of British Territory out of respect for the work of the great explorer. We had to fly above the island to see the crater and go boat  to the bay.