The Big Island, Hawaii

                                                                                                                                   March 1, 2015

Having been to all the other islands before, The Big Island was the last one for me to experience and since my birthday is in January, it's always a good excuse to get away in the winter.
I spent one week on the Kona side and one week on the Hilo side.
Although this is a bigger island compared to the others, you can still drive to see far away areas without it taking all day.
My first day off the plane, I am just deliriously happy to be out of the cold and into the tropical breezes and beauty. The Hawaii Revealed guide books are invaluable, and I always use them. The author is an adventurer and will point out random areas that you would never know were there just by driving by. For example, "pull over by mile marker 4 and look for an unmarked gravel trail in the forest, follow that to a deserted beach". I like to go to the off the beaten path type of places as well as the typical tourist destinations.

There are a lot of turtles on this island, at least I saw way more here, and in a lot of different locations than on any other trip.

Turtles at Ai'opio Beach.

Hawaii isn't cheap so I went the rental house route. That way I could cook my own food, and also stay out of the city. My first week on the Kona side I rented a small studio, on a horse property. It was right next to the owners house but I was hardly ever there anyway. Getting up early and getting back late was my typical schedule. It was located about 15 minutes from the beach but at an elevation of 2100 feet so it was a lot cooler.
The people were very nice and laid back, they let the horses graze out on the lawn all the time, which for a horse person like myself was not a problem, however I can imagine for non horse people trying to get in and out the front gate with the two horses poised for escape could be challenging.

The only down side to renting, is you never really know what each house will have as far as items that you don't want to have to go and buy like salt, oil for cooking, saran wrap, laundry soap, etc. The first studio didn't have a real kitchen, just a microwave and a fridge. But my house for the second week had a full kitchen and most things were provided.

The studio rental near Kona.

The studio on horse property.

Kona has the best beaches for snorkeling/swimming. Hilo doesn't compare in that regard and has more locals and less tourists. The locals vary from completely ignoring you, no smile, no eye contact etc. to being friendly, depending on the situation. Kona can be cloudy, and have a greater concentration of vog (volcanic air pollution) even though it is farther from the volcano, the wind blows it all in that direction.

Fun fact: 90% of flora and and fauna on Hawaii is found nowhere else in the world.


Pololu Valley: There is a lookout here you can just drive to, but hiking down you get much better views, it is approx. 20 or so minutes one way on a fairly steep, usually slippery trail.

Honomalino Bay: This was about a 15 minute walk. It's located in an area where locals live and not many tourists find themselves. There is a path that leads between private properties and ends up at this almost deserted beach.

Cactus and lots of it, on the way to Honomalino Bay.

Rare to find an almost unoccupied beach, but it's possible! Honomalino Bay.

South Point is the southernmost point in the USA. This is a popular spot for cliff diving.

Cliff divers at South Point.

South Point can be very windy.

As I researched my trip, my guidebook stressed that a 4wd vehicle would be highly recommended. However the more I read the more I figured out that most of the areas can be hiked into instead. Turns out I was right, and spending the extra money, twice as much at least for a 4wd, wasn't worth it to me.

Green sand beach was a great example of this, you hike 2 1/2 miles in, clamber down the cliff to the beach and hang out, then hike back. If you are feeling lazy there is one more option, there are some entrepreneurial locals at the parking lot offering shuttle rides in the backs of their beat up trucks... for a fee of course. It occurred to me they probably make some pretty good money doing this all day, every day.

Green Sand Beach.

Green Sand Beach.

Parker Ranch is 130,000 acres and is the largest privately owned ranch in the US. When you drive over to the town of Waimea on the north side, the ranch is all around you, you can drive through it, visit the old historic homes, check out the cattle and the horses etc. This is not a labor intensive ranch like in my home climate where a person has to deal with irrigation, haying, cold weather etc. The cows here are just happy and well fed, with seemingly no problems at all.

Parker Ranch.

Parker Ranch horses.

Waipi'o Valley was a high point, literally! There is a road that goes into the valley but you are not allowed to drive down it without a 4wd with low gear. Also once you are at the bottom there is a long stretch of dirt road with big puddles that a low clearance vehicle would get bogged down in. So the other options are.... take a shuttle, very spendy, ...apparently there is some sort of wagon tour as well... or hike...I hiked. The road has a 25% grade and is only about a mile. But it's a rougher mile coming back up, mostly because of the heat and humidity. But I wasn't the only fool to do it, I had lots of company. I may have been the only fool to do it with a cold...(Oh did I mention I got sick on my second night of the trip...yup worst nightmare to happen while traveling.) Once in the valley it is beautiful and lush, there are people who live here completely off the grid.

Waipi'o Valley from the lookout.

Waipi'o Valley.

Waipi'o Valley.

This is what happens to you if you drive the incorrect vehicle down the steep road.

Fun fact: plants like raspberries, stinging nettles, and holly, do not need their defense mechanisms here, so consequently holly and raspberries have no thorns and nettles have no sting.

I really enjoyed my little car, I wanted to take it home with me, funny looking as it was. It was very fun to drive and extremely fuel efficient. Gas prices were down even in Hawaii so it was lucky timing, I remember paying much more per gallon on previous trips.

My little "squished" car. A Chevy Spark.

The fishponds at Mauna Lani.

This was a beautiful beach at Kekaha Kai State park.

Kekaha Kai State park.

Let me preface this by saying I do not condone breaking your rental car contract to drive to the summit of this mountain, but that is exactly what I did...oops!

Mauna Kea is off of Saddle Road which is one of the ways to drive to the Hilo side.
It is a 13,796 foot mountain with snow and cold temperatures. There are numerous observatories on the summit and a really interesting little lake fed by permafrost you can hike to. It's eight miles to the top but five miles of it is gravel and a little steep and bumpy and all rental car companies have it in the contract that you are not allowed to do it. My original plan had been to double book and rent a 4wd just for the one day. Then I decided I didn't really need to go to the top, since I have been to the top of Haleakala on Maui. But just the day before I had been on a road that turned out to be MUCH worse to get to a beach, and so after hanging out at the visitors center for awhile and checking out what I thought was the relatively easy road ahead, I went for it. Keeping in mind I had not at that point read my rental contract in it's entirety, all I knew was it said no off roading....that night I read it more thoroughly, and yes, it actually specifically says do not drive up Mauna Kea!

Observatory on Mauna Kea.

Observatories on Mauna Kea.

The last part of the road is paved again.

Lake Wai-au at 13,020 feet elevation.

Fun fact: There is no helmet law for motorcycles and apparently it is also completely okay to drive around after having shoved as many people into the bed of your truck as possible.

Hilo is the wettest place in the US, however my entire time there not a drop of rain fell!
In the Kea'au area where I stayed for my second week there was no potable water. There were jugs of drinking water provided with the rental but what came out of the tap could only be used for showering, etc. This is because each property has a water catchment system that is usually a large tank, or in my case what looked like a pool under the house. The rain water is collected and then pumped into the house for use.
This rental was like living way up high in a tree house and I shared it with several gecko's. I learned they are pretty good roommates. One evening quite a few bugs had made their way inside, the gecko's appeared, and ate them all up...no more bugs.... they eat mosquito's too, which is handy.

This gecko was at the local farmers market but I also shared my house with a few.

My tree house rental in paradise.

Volcanoes National Park is obviously the big draw on this island. It seems most people will do the long drive there from Kona, rush through the park at warp speed and head home, but there is much more to see than that.
If you are not a hiker you can certainly see most of it in one day, especially right now since a large section of Crater Rim Drive is closed and can no longer be done as a loop. A few of the trails I wanted to hike were also closed, this is due to the current eruption. There are two eruptions...the Kilauea Crater which is in the park and can be viewed from afar....belching great clouds of noxious fumes which will asphyxiate you, if breathed directly in. If the vog is especially bad there will be signs warning you at the entrance to the park, it doesn't mean you can't go in, but anyone who is sensitive or has respiratory problems may not enjoy it. This is actually the best time to view the volcano. On other days when I was passing through I noticed less vog made for less exciting pictures. They have sensors in the park that test the levels and if it gets too dangerous you will either have to get in your car, turn on the ac, and leave the park, or if you are inside one of the buildings, they will lock you in and pipe in fresh air.

If you go to the park expecting to see lava flowing you will be sorely disappointed..... I know I was. The other eruption is from Pu'u 'O'o crater. This is where the lava is that everyone has heard about on the news lately, making it's way slowly towards the town of Pahoa. This flow has stalled and there was no way to get in to see it while I was there.... trust me I tried. Just literally a day before I got to the Hilo side they closed the viewing area, which from what I understand was not especially close to the lava anyway ...but you could see it from afar. Since it is stalled and is no longer moving, it is cooling, so it just looks black right now anyway. All this could change at any minute, so it depends on what is happening when you are there.

Steam vents in Volcanoes National Park.

Kilauea Crater, Volcanoes National Park.

Kilauea Crater, Volcanoes National Park.

Lava blew out of here in 1969.

Volcanoes National Park.

The Kilauea Iki hike is one of the most popular in the park, approx 4 miles traveling through the rain forest and then down onto the floor of the crater.

Kilauea Iki hike.

Kilauea Iki hike.

Lava flow on Chain of Craters Road.

Besides the volcano there are several waterfalls to admire in Hilo, as well as the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens.

Rainbow Falls.

Akaka Falls.

Onomea Bay

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens.

Orchids at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens.

There is a painted church outside of Kona and another one in Puna built by the same priest.

Star of the Sea Painted Church in Puna.

I saw an amazing flowering tree, called a Primavera Gold. People were stopping to take pictures of it, since it had been a regular green tree just a short while before, apparently once it blooms the flowers all fall to the ground, so getting to see it before that happens is a sight to behold.

Primavera Gold tree.

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach.

Mongoose are common on the island.

Aloha!