Day 21 – 13 September 2015 (Hilo)
We were told last night that we would enter Hilo port around 7:15 this morning and that there would be a Deck 10 photo opportunity as we sailed into port. But when I woke up at 6:50am, we had already docked and it was teeming with rain! We also noticed an ambulance and paramedics trucks awaiting our arrival. We were just tying up and then the ambulance guys went on board and then wheeled someone off the ship. They were sitting upright so it wasn’t too big a problem. Our breakfast was brought to our room at 7:30am and then we headed to our Port Adventure registration session at 8:45am.
Today we were heading out on a “Best of Hilo” tour. After check in, we headed down the gangway onto land and was given a traditional Hawaiian Lei (flowers for Della and Nutshells for me. We met our driver at the bus and his name was Earl. His first stop of the day was to be a macadamia factory. We’ve seen these before in Qld of course and this was no different, however Earl’s commentary along the way was very funny and informative.
After the nut factory, we went to two different sets of waterfalls which were quite spectacular, including Akaka Falls which were about 125 metres in height. After the falls, we went back to Hilo township and saw the statue of King Hakakakakaka-something-something, before being returned to the Disney Wonder.
As the port is some distance from the town we just decided to go back on board the ship and have lunch there.
We went downstairs to the Promenade Lounge for Disney Trivia – Della and I did really well, getting 22 out of 25, but it wasn’t enough to beat a couple of Aulani castmembers who got 24. After trivia, we went up on deck where they were having another Sail Away party. It was great fun too as they had an amazing ukulele duo called Heart and Soul who were so fast at playing that you couldn’t see the fingers move. The ship’s horn played again and we slowly backed out of Hilo and headed back to sea. We stayed on deck for a while before heading down to get changed for the show and dinner.
The show tonight was a variety act by a Hawaiian singer. He had an amazing voice but we were starting to be over all the Hawaiian language music, no matter how well it was sung! There is another similar act tomorrow night and we are debating whether to go or not!
After the show, we caught up with our new friends James and Michelle and grabbed some photos with Stitch before heading down to Parrot Cay for dinner. The restaurant was freezing tonight, so I went back to the room to get some jackets. The food was great again though. We caught up with our tablemates and heard all about their adventures in Hilo. After dinner, we met up with Daisy Duck before getting a cup of tea and retiring for the night. Tomorrow, we are heading all the way over to the other end of Hawaii, visiting Kauai and the town of Nawiliwili.