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...]
Pololu Valley and Waipi’o Valley Lookouts
On the way to the lookouts we stopped in a small town called Hawi. It's a quaint little place with old buildings full of shops and cafes. We also got photos of these strange trees that look like they have sausages hanging from them. From Polulu you drive on highway 250 to the town of Waimea. The highway goes up to an elevation over 3500 feet. It offers spectacular views. This area of the island is ranch and cowboy country. We passed by green meadows full of cattle, horses and sheep. On the way up north we got to see a view of Mauna Kea. As we were driving in between the two lookouts … [Read more...]
Markets, Restaurants and Shopping
Grocery Stores and Markets for Self Catering We picked up this huge piece of fresh tuna at one of the markets for $15! We would pay that much at home for two small tuna steaks. We seared it up on the BBQ with nothing but a little black pepper, it was delicious. We just loved trying all kinds of different fruits, some of them were very strange looking. Nothing cools you off better than a fruit smooth blended with ice! There are tons of places to buy groceries in Kona. KTA, Safeway and Costco just to name a few. In the same complex as Safeway there's a large health food store with an … [Read more...]
Stuff To See In and Around Kona
Temple Of King Kamehameha This Heiau is a replica of the original temple that stood in this area. It is located at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel near the pier. This is where King Kamehameha spent his final years from 1812 to 1819. It was a 4 acre homestead with several houses and religious sites. Downtown Kona The next set of pictures are of the main road going through Kona called Ali'i Drive. During the beginning of our stay there was a storm, as you can see the surf is washing right over the seawall downtown. The town is a nice area to hang out. You can go for a … [Read more...]
Our Arrival, Accommodation And Car Rental
Aloha everyone. We are on our way to Hawaii. We will be gone for 5 weeks, spending one month on the Big Island and one week on the island of Oahu before returning home. We are two days away from leaving and can not wait to get out of here considering what we are leaving behind! As the plane flew away from Seattle we got an incredible view of what we think is Mount Baker. The weather in Hawaii was a bit of a surprise. The area was experiencing a major storm system. The flight between Honolulu to the Big Island of Hawaii was quite turbulent. When we landed we were shocked to see the … [Read more...]