Hawaii to Sydney

The eight major islands of Hawaii are marked on this satellite image. The youngest is also the most southerly island, Hawai'i, or Big Island.

The Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone of Kilauea volcano. This volcano has been erupting since January 1983, making it the longest-lived rift-zone eruption of the last two centuries.

A stratigraphic map showing the five volcanoes of Big Island. Kilauea is the most active of Hawaii's volcanoes, shown here in green.

This satellite image of Big Island shows the largest volcano Mauna Kea as the black lava flows in the foreground, while to the left is Kiluaea, the youngest and most active volcano.

This diagram shows where the Hawaii hotspot is currently located, beneath Big Island.

This diagram shows how a series of hot spot volcanoes such as Hawaii is created. As the Earth's crust slowly moves over the hot spot, a line of distinct volcanoes develop over time.

The Hawaiian Islands can be seen here in the middle of the Pacific Plate, shown in yellow. Volcanic hot spots explain how volcanoes can form away from plate boundaries.

The Hawaiian Islands are the southern-most volcanoes of the Hawaii-Emperor Seamount Chain shown as the curved line in the centre of this bathymetric image.

1872 - An extinct volcano on the island of Oahu. The only active volcanoes in Hawaii are located on the youngest, most southerly Big Island.

This satellite image shows volcanic plumes from Kilauea on Big Island, the only active island in this volcanic chain.

Cinder cones near the summit of Mauna Kea. Cinder cones are vents that often form on the sides of large volcanoes.

Looking over at the snow-covered summit of Mauna Loa, Hawaii's second largest volcano, from Mauna Kea, the largest.

On the southern edge of the Big Island, the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone of Kilauea has been continuously erupting since 1983. The lava spills into the sea, causing steam plumes.

The volcanic slopes of Kauai are covered with a variety of brightly coloured foliage.

The silversword is an endemic species to Hawaii, meaning it is found nowhere else in the world. It grows only on the highest volcanic slopes.

The crater of a large extinct volcano can be seen at Diamond Head in Honolulu, evidence of the islands' volcanic origins.

The Napali coastline on the island of Kauai shows the rugged nature of Hawaii's islands, which were formed by volanoes.

High on the volcanoes' slopes, tropical forests thrive near to the steam vents of volcanoes.

Hawaii's volcanic slopes are the perfect environment for a wide variety of plants to grow.

Nene, or Hawaiian geese, are unique to Hawaii. They are thought to originate from Canada geese which migrated here 500,000 years ago.

The volcanic cliffs of O'ahu. O'ahu is one of the older islands in Hawaii, and its volcanoes have been extinct for several million years.

A green turtle basks in the sun on Laniakea Beach on Oahu.

Hawaii is highly fertile thanks to its volcanic soil. Here on the coastal plain of O'ahu, the flatter land is utilised for farming.

The silversword in the same genetic family as the sunflower. It only flowers once in its life, sending out a huge stalk of flowers up to 2 metres high.

1872 - The coast of Oahu. The Hawaiian Islands contain a number of ecological zones based on altitude. Coastal is the lowest zone.

The hibiscus flower is well known for being native to Hawaii. It is one of thousands of endemic species on these isolated islands.

Green turtles live in the sea surrounding the Hawaiian Islands, coming ashore to lay their eggs.

Hawaii's seas are home to abundant wildlife, with large marine creatures such as this eagle ray commonly found off the coast.

A lone silversword grows on the summit of a volcano. These rare plants are only found growing above 2,000m.

The ecology on Hawaii's islands is divided into zones by altitude, from coastal to alpine.

1919 - Surfing remained popular after the United States annexed Hawaii in 1898, and today it is one of the state's most famous attractions.

Today, Hawaii remains one of the top destinations for surfing in the world.

1890 - Kamoa Point was a sacred surfing site for Native Hawaiians, and contained a temple called Haleʻaʻama Heiau.

1855 - This painting depicts Native Hawaiians surfing and canoeing off Hawaii's coast.

1921 - Originally a Polynesian activity, surfing soon became popular with later settlers to Hawaii.

c. 1819 - A painting of a Native Hawaiian settlement by early French explorers to Hawaii. Note the surfboard in the foreground.

Hawaii is one of the world's surfing capitals, thanks to its huge waves and long history of surfing.

c. 1781 - A group of Native Hawaiians bring presents to Captain Cook. Cook was the first European to visit the Hawaiian Islands.

An engraving of Native Hawaiian priests in a traditional canoe boat. Polynesians travelled across the Pacific Ocean in boats such as these.

Hawaii is at the northern tip of the Polynesian Triangle, a 16 million square kilometre cultural-historical zone between New Zealand, Rapa Nui (or Easter Island) and Hawaii.

1784 - "The Death of Captain Cook". Captain James Cook arrived in Hawaii in 1778 and led to the settlement of the islands by foreigners. Cook was killed in a fight with Native Hawaiians in 1779.

Petroglyphs can be found across the Hawaiian Islands, left behind by the ancient Polynesians who first settled here.

It may be hard to believe that Hawaii's modern surfing culture stems from thousands of years old Polynesian traditions.