As most of you may know, we have recently returned from
another delightful holiday.
After attending the spectacular wedding of our neice,
Zenobia to Roger, in Los Angeles, we boarded a
cruise ship in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Our 12 day cruise began with stopovers at other Hawaiian islands
of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii
(also known as big island).
These are volcanic islands of lush & dense vegetation,
crater peaks & fertile valleys.
Two of the world's most active volcanoes, the Kilauea &
Mauna Loa, are still adding land to the big island of Hawaii , but so gradually
& predictably, that it is of no danger to the inhabitants of the island on
the other side.
We were fortunate to get a bird's eye view of the Napau crater (
there are many little one's oozing lava) which was smoking heavily, but rivers
of red, molten lava, overflowing its rim, were clearly visible
from our helicopter.
It was a dream realised, after having watched so much of it on
National Geographic !
We visited macadamia farms, & saw the idyllic shooting
locations of Gilligan's Isle
& Jurassic Park.
Our next port of call, the coral atoll of Christmas Island, is a
part of the Kiribati archipelago which is spread out over 2 million sq. miles
of the pacific, yet their total land area only adds up to a mere 280 sq. miles
!
The island's economy is marginal - fishing & copra - &
even basic amenities are not available.
We were entertained by a group of schoolchildren to some local
songs & dances.
We then crossed the equator & after another 2 days of
sailing south in the middle of the vast pacific ocean, we arrived at the group
of french polynesian islands in the south pacific. We anchored off
the islands of Bora Bora, Moorea,
& Raetea, one each day . Famous for their black pearl ,
copra & vanilla farms, these are also volcanic islands,
their deep green peaks edged by a ribbon of white sand beaches, beyond
which they are completely surrounded by barrier reefs & litle islets
formed from collapsed volcano rims. Between these lie mystical
, jewel hued lagoons of deep amethyst to turquoise &
aquamarine. These reefs are home to multitude forms of marine life
& thus a haven for divers . We snorkelled among colorful fish & live
coral in crystal clear waters, played with a harmless variety of stingray in chest
deep water & sighted baby lemon sharks amongst other rare
species.
Needless to say our most delightful experience was interacting
with dolphins on the romantic island
of Moorea -
something most of us can only dream about.
After a safety briefing by a trainer, we were introduced to this
marvellous marine mammal & had half an hour to observe their behaviour,
& indulge ourselves in touching , feeding & playing & even kissing
a dolphin
Our final port of call was the island paradise of Tahiti, which countless have written or dreamed
about.
With its high cliffs & cascading waterfalls, friendly smiles
& tahitian hospitality, Papeete
is its capital.
It was from here that we ended our cruise & flew home.
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