Fun all across the island

This morning we hopped up and headed over to the other side of the island, near Hilo, to visit Botanical World Adventures. We got to see a gorgeous waterfall, wander through the beautiful gardens, and find our way out of a hedge maze. The kids and I also did the zipline tour, which allowed us the opportunity to experience the tropical forest in a more intimate and exciting way. We zipped down seven lines, through the trees and over a lovely stream. It was so much fun and really beautiful!

When we left the park, we drove along the Saddleback Road, which took us right by the Mauna Kea volcano, which is the tallest mountain in the world when measured from its true base under the sea. It was very foggy, but it was still awesome to behold the hulking mountain through the clouds.

Once we arrived back in Kona, we decided we really needed (wink, wink) to sip fruity little drinks while watching the sunset over the ocean. We had staked out a place yesterday when we were in town, so it was an easy choice. Fate was on our side, too, because we got a table as close to the water as you could get. It was such a lovely evening and a great end to a wonderful day!

Kamea Falls

Ready to Zip

Zipline Course

Botanical World Adventures Garden

Dinner at On the Rocks

As we were driving to Hilo, Ruth mentioned that Hawaii reminded her of Hong Kong, which reminds me: You still have time to leave a comment on my post from a few days ago for a chance to win a copy of my new geography workbook for kids about, you guessed it, Hong Kong.

Puzzling World

We enjoyed a day of mind-bending fun at Puzzling World, an interesting and awesome local attraction that held our attention for the entire day. We started out in what is called "the world's first super maze." It is a wooden maze covering about a kilometer, though the sign claimed that most people actually walk about three kilometers trying to complete it. It took us a little over an hour to complete the challenge of finding the four corners and then making our way back to the finish, this last task definitely being the most difficult to complete. After that, we paid a visit to the special restroom. It was the first time someone has suggested to me that I make sure to take my camera with me to that particular room. When we had taken care of our business and taken a few photos, we moved inside to check out the super cool illusion rooms, where things were not at all what they seemed. We visited a tilted room, which made me dizzy; a hologram room; a room of concave heads of famous people, that appeared to be convex and also seemed to follow our every move; the Ames room; and another room full of different illusions. From there, we made our way to the cafe, where we had lunch and then camped out until closing time, playing with all manner of 3D brain teaser puzzles. As we were leaving, a couple of the kids asked if we could come back tomorrow, so I'm pretty sure everyone had a great time! If you ever find yourself in Wanaka, NZ, you absolutely must visit! 

Puzzling World

The Super Maze

We found the four corners!

Illusion Rooms
(including the special Roman bathroom, in the bottom right corner)

The Ames Room, where little brothers can be biggest and dads can be smallest

Puzzle Fun

The Leaning Tower of Wanaka, with a clock that runs backwards

"...And one set of steps going nowhere in particular."
(Our kids constantly misquote a line from a Fiddler on the Roof song
with the preceding words, so they were thrilled to find just such a set of stairs.)

Yesterday, Max and Clay offered to help the landlady
unload some firewood, for the sheer pleasure of the activity.
However, she wanted to pay them when the job was done.
Clay was so excited to get to buy a puzzle train
at Puzzling World's gift shop with his own money!