This photographic guide to Hawaii will be of interest to anyone who is planning or reminiscing an exploration of the Big Island of Hawaii. A lot of people who visit the Hawaiian Islands are there for the beaches. This is more than fair - they are some of the best in the world - but if you have more than just a couple of nights to spend, Hawaii has so much more to offer.

The Big Island of Hawaii is not where you're likely to fly into. International flights drop you off on Oahu, home of the urban city of Honalulu. Honalulu is the largest city on the islands and has a population larger than the entire Big Island.

The Big Island is the least touristy of Hawaiian Islands, but still has some world class beaches. The weather defines and is defined by the geography of the Isle. It also trickles down to the tourist spread. The 'dry', or west side harbours a nice medium-sized modern urban feel in the Kona area. A settled, more perminent-resident make-up exists on the 'rainy', but beautiful, east side.

Rainy and dry are fairly arbitrary descriptions however, as the Big Island actually contains 10 of the world's 13 climate zones. More than this though, the Island is alive. At it's core is a very active, very increadible Volcano. Built around it is a spectacular sprawling natural park - giving access to rainforests, lava fields, massive craters, active steam vents, and yes, hot flowing and spewing lava. When flowing into the sea it's common for travellers of many ages to hike up to the lava flows, sometimes to withing a foot. The photograph on this page is of lava flowing off of the east coast of the Big Island into the Pacific, forming new land.

All of these increadible aspects of the Big Island combine into a vacation a thousand times more memorable than just the beach alone. Besides, why not swim at the beach in the morning, then drive to the top of a dormant volcano in the afternoon, and hike through the snow to the peak?