The island of Hawaii incorporates 11 of the 13 world climate zones (another place I looked said 10 of the world's 15...so there you go) everything from rain forest to snow at the top of the Mauna Kea, the highest point on the island at 13,796 ft. You can go from swimming and beach to skiing and snow in a matter of a few hours. When measured from its base on the sea floor however, Mauna Kea is over 33,000 ft-- almost 4,000 ft taller then Mt Everest.
The western side of the island (where we're staying) is the drier side; some areas are desert like with scrub trees and grasses while higher up and inland there are even cacti. Yet, there still manages to be palm trees, bougainvillea, avocado and fruit trees and it's the proper climate for the famously mild and tasty Kona coffee.
The eastern/northern side of the island-where we have yet to travel, is much wetter with some areas receiving over 250" of rain a year (compared to the Kona side where it can be less than 30") and it sports tropical forests, grassy rolling hills, waterfalls, Kilauea-the current active volcano and much more.
When headed toward the other side of the island you can definitely see a line in the flora with the higher elevations being greener due to the cooler temps and higher rainfall. You also see the clouds hanging back, just cresting the top of the mountain but breaking into blue skies on this side.
The other side of the island isn't always cloudy but more so then not.
I give you all of this information because it's interesting to note that an hour's drive in any direction takes you through immense changes in weather, topography and flora. Add to that the lava flows that have created barren, moon-scape like places, void of all plant life and you have ever changing views from your car window.
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