The Big Island of Hawaii is perhaps not as well known for beaches as some of the other Hawaiian islands, but it can hold its own when it comes to beautiful sunsets. A showcase of colour can be seen almost daily. The best part of the island to watch the sun go down is anywhere on the western part of the island in Kailua-Kona or along the Kohala Coast. Due to Hawaii's proximity to the equator their is minimal variance in the time of the sun setting throughout the year. It only varies by about an hour. In the summer months it is around 7pm and in the winter months it's around 6pm. Be at the … [Read more...]
(Place of Refuge) Pu’uhonau O Honaunau National Historic Park
The Place Of Refuge is a 180 acre national historic park located on the coast of Honaunau Bay in south Kona. This was once a place of royal grounds and an area where "Kapu" breakers (sacred laws) could seek refuge. In ancient Hawaii breaking of Kapu could mean being sentenced to death. The only chance for survival was to try to get to the sacred place of refuge where a Kahuna Pule (priest) would perform a ceremony of absolution. Once you had been cleared of your sins you could return to society. There are several restored remains at Puuhonua o Honaunau and it remains one of Hawaii's … [Read more...]
Volcano National Park
We decided to do another day trip to the other side of the island to explore the Volcano National park. Even though we had flown over it by helicopter, we thought it would be worth visiting on foot. This would be our fourth visit to the the windward side of the island and unfortunately the fourth time we would experience rain there. We passed by vast areas of old and newer lava flows and got some really nice views of the coast along the way. We took the southern route along highway 11 to get to the park. Punalu'u Black Sand Beach Our first stop en route was at Punalu'u black sand beach. … [Read more...]
Liliuokalani Gardens and Banyan Tree Drive
Lili'uokalani gardens were designed to honor Hawaii's first Japanese immigrants. It's a 30 acre park filled with ponds, bridges and pagodas. It's a great place to stroll around. Some of trees were of massive proportions. Banyan drive has more than 50 huge trees that were planted 60 to 70 years ago by visiting celebrities. Each tree has been named after the person who planted it. Some familiar names are Amelia Earhart, King George V, Babe Ruth, Franklin Roosevelt and Richard Nixon. … [Read more...]
Whale Watching and Dolphins
We paid for a whale watching trip with Captain Dan McSweeny. They do whale watching tours from late December to March. The whales migrate to the warm waters of Hawaii in winter to mate and calve. This particular company offers an early morning and an afternoon excursion. We opted for the early morning trip since this tends to have the calmest waters. Jack can get quite sea sick so we wanted to avoid that as much as possible. He tried Bonanmine for the first time instead of Gravol or Dramamine. It worked really well and doesn't seem to make you as sleepy. The Sperm whale, False Killer … [Read more...]
Hawaiian Luau
Having never been to Hawaii before we decided we must experience a lu'au while we are here. We heard that the one at the Kona Village resort was one of the better ones. Unfortunately it has the most expensive price tag of the luau's, but none of them are cheap by any means. Overall we thought the food and entertainment were excellent. They have two different types of luau's to attend. One is an evening dedicated to just Hawaiian dancing and the one that we chose covers all the Polynesian types of dancing. They showed different examples from Hawaii, New Zealand, Samoa and … [Read more...]
Helicopter Over the Volcano
The only way to see active lava at our time of travel was from the air. The flow that had been coming from the volcanic area and leading to the sea is no longer going in that direction. We booked an afternoon helicopter tour that left from Hilo. It makes for a long day driving about 41/2 to 5 hours return trip to Hilo, but it cuts the cost of the helicopter price. If you leave by helicopter from Kona to see the volcano it will cost $400 or more per person. We took off from Hilo airport and headed in the direction of the volcanic area. We flew over areas of macadamia and orchid farms. We … [Read more...]
Mauna Kea Summit
We booked a trip with Mauna Kea Summit Adventures. To get to Mauna Kea you have to travel on Saddle road. I believe there is only one rental car company on the entire island that will allow you to travel on this road with your vehicle. It can be quite dangerous to drive on if you are not used to it. The trip almost got cancelled for today. As of 11am this morning the summit road was closed to all traffic due to bad weather conditions. It reopened just in time to continue the tour as planned. We were picked up in the early afternoon from Kona and started our drive to the mountain. … [Read more...]
Hamakua Coast, Akaka Falls And Botanical Gardens
The area along the west side of the island is called the Hamakua coast. It is very lush and jungle like. Make sure to bring sure to bring mosquito repellent if you are going to be walking around anywhere like Akaka Falls, they attacked my legs while we were here. To get to the falls you walk along path through tropical surrounding and get to see a lot of interesting plants. Another small historic town called Honomu. It is on the way to Akaka Falls. A shop had some kind of crystal so large they cart it out front with a wheeled cart. Walking around the town was like stepping back … [Read more...]
Hapuna Beach and Puako Petroglyphs
Puako Petroglyphs The Puako petroglyphs are located about 45 minutes north of Kona. To get to them you take a walking trail through a forest of scary looking trees. They are gnarled and twisted in every direction. A fire must have gone through the area at some point and has left everything charred. The petroglyphs were fascinating to look at. Most of them were of human figures or animals. They are estimated to be about 600 years old. Hapuna Beach Next stop was Hapuna Beach. It's your typical tropical beach with long stretches of white sand and palm trees. A resort called the … [Read more...]