Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Hilo, Hawaii: Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens.

"Life is either a great adventure or nothing."
~Helen Keller

Our first stop on the cruise, after four days at sea was "the big island" of Hawaii. Our port was in Hilo. Mom, of course, was still deathly ill, so we left her at home (on the ship) and Stephen, Shep, and I ventured out. While waiting for our car rental, we selected a few spots that we thought we could pack in and still be back to the ship in time to get on.


First we headed south to the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens.


Interestingly, this was one of my favorite stops in Hawaii. Get ready for a major photo dump because it was beautiful there.













One of the best parts were the peacocks who were just wandering around. They were not shy at all.









They were really stunning. And then there was the bird who fell in love with Stephen.





This white cockatoo (I think that's what it was) was very interested in Stephen and his camera and got very angry, hence the raised head feathers, when Stephen tried to walk away. It screeched and screeched as we started to walk away. Stephen got it interested in another family that was wondering in that direction and we made a run for it!

And we ran right into this guy.


Haha. It wasn't long before we found more colorful views.








It really was a beautiful day at Pana'ewa.

After leaving the gardens, we decided to stop for a little treat. Shepherd saw a sign for a bakery up ahead, so we stopped to find the Mt. View Bakery, home of the famous stone cookies. They aren't kidding. The cookies are like stones. Hard as rock. But interesting and pretty tasty.





(Written July 25, 2013)
.
.
.
.

No comments: