Hawaii Day 3

Today was another early start. I decided to book us on an all day bus tour (12 hours) to explore the island. Much of it was spent on the bus. It was a 273 mile ride. We saw lots of trees and lava rocks. I'm not sure I would recommend it because of the amount of time on the bus. But in order to get to the volcano area you have to go to the other side of the island anyway. With someone else driving we were able to sleep.
We did see some cool things. Steam coming out of the crater, walking through a lava tube. This is where the lava creates a tunnel as it pushes through the earth. We also saw sea turtles on a black sand beach, stopped at an orchid farm and a macadamia nut farm. We also learned that this island has 11 climate zones. It's crazy but makes sense. We experienced quite a few of them on our journey.
When we got back we found that they were having an annual event called Taste of the Hawaiian Range. Many of the top Hawaiian chefs come and make small dishes for you to try. You pay one price and the go around to the different tables and try it out. It was very meat heavy and after about 5 things I was full. My favourite was our first one, where there was beef mixed mushrooms and rolled together like sushi.
It was quite a long day and again I am pooped and ready for bed. Tomorrow I think we'll take it easy and head to the beach.