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We woke early today and began a grand circle tour of the island. First, we drove along the northern coastal highway, stopping at Akaka falls and the Waipi'o lookout.
The falls were OK, but since we recently went to Niagara Falls, we are difficult to impress The Waipi'o lookout was stunning. It's one of the last remaining undeveloped coves on the island due to it's significance to the indigenous population. From the lookout, there's a picture postcard view of beach, mountain, sea and forest.
We then drove to the west coast to a golden sand beach to make the most of our first sunny day on this island. Unfortunately, I think we may have outstayed our welcome and were on the brink of sunstroke before heading off to our final stop - the Mauna Kea Visitor Centre.
Mauna Kea when measured from base (17,000ft below the ocean) to tip (14,000ft above the ocean) is the tallest mountain in the world. We drove up the gradually inclining Saddle Rd and then the steep Mauna Kea Access Rd to about 9,500ft above sea level just as the sun was setting.
The temperature difference between here and the beach was staggering, so we threw on every jumper, jacket and wooly hat we could find. We had an interesting astronomy talk from an engineer that works on the telescopes at the summit and got to look through a few high powered telescopes pointed at the clear night sky.
When Dean was so cold that he couldn't take it any more (-11 degrees C at the summit), we began our drive back down in total darkness.
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