Hawaii is also called the Big Island. This mountainous island is a merger of 5 volcanoes, 2 of them still active. Earthquakes, landslides and lava flows are on the daily menu here.
Sitting high on Mauna Kea's summit, international astronomical instruments take advantage of the almost ideal observation conditions at this clear location. 
In 1778 Captain Cook was the first European to discover Hawaii but when he returned  in 1779 he was killed at Kealakekua Bay after trying to kidnap the local chief.
A simple monument commemorates this dramatic event.
Kamehameha was born in the Kona area around 1760 and, after many bloody battles, forcefully united all the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1800ths.
 
Sugar cane was long Hawaii's dominating industry but nowadays it is tourism, although Kona coffee and macadamia nuts are still important agricultural products.
Tourist industry, including diving,  is concentrated at the dry West Coast around Kona,  while the wet and rural East Coast features lush rainforests and mighty waterfalls.
 
Hilo is Hawaii's largest and economically most important city. The area here is prone to Tsunamis.
The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is a must for every visitor, here you may see real red hot lava.
 
Each year the Iron Man World Championship is held in the Kona area, where only the best athletes from around the world are allowed to compete in a grueling triathlon.
 
We visited Hawaii several times, lastly in July 2001.
 
 
 
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East Coast
dive Hawaii
West Coast
Volcanoes Ntl Park