Hawaii In Review: The Big Island

Our flight to the Big Island was in the evening, so by the time we landed, picked up our rental car and made it outside for a view, all was dark.  We could only imagine as we drove from Kona up to our resort in Wiakoloa, just how gorgeous the landscape must be.  So Jim and I got up early the next morning to get our groceries for the week, anxious to explore the lush, Hawaiian scenery.  We couldn't believe our eyes.  We were certain that plane dropped us off at the moon instead of Hawaii!  Once out of our resort, there was not even a hint of green for miles and miles.  Only black lava and brown bushes.  It actually looked to us like tilled-up dirt... like the whole place was under construction!  I have to say that I was surprised that in the midst of planning 49 other "vacations", my haphazard Hawaii research didn't at least prepare us for this.  For a moment we wondered what the heck we were in for... but only for a moment.  Having learned that the Big Island contains 11 of the 13 different climate zones in the world, beauty was just a short drive away:)

Much of the lava along the road was dotted with white coral "graffiti".

We were thrilled to have 10 days- all at the same resort- on the Big Island.  It's the longest we've been in one spot for nearly a year!  Several of those days we spent chillin' at our 10-day-home.  It offered lots of fun activities, had great pools, ferrell cats everywhere, putt-putt, gorgeous landscape & ocean views, and our favorite feature... a huge lagoon to snorkel, paddle-board, or kayak in, where tropical fish & huge Green Sea Turtles swam right in from the ocean!

Jim & Alayna snorkeling near the waterfall, where the sea turtles loved to gather

Alayna loved collecting the resort activity bracelets, not removing them until the end of the trip:)

Natalie was thrilled to find out our hotel offered free ukulele lessons and caught on rather quickly!

Ping-pong by the pool

Yet another resort activity... lei making class!

Though putt-putt is Jim's LEAST favorite pastime, we couldn't help but enjoy it with the beautiful weather and surroundings.

We got a bit distracted during putt-putt with the minnows in the pond and had to stop to catch some:)

Ice Cream Sandwich!

We spent ample time enjoying the beautiful birds and flowers there as well...

But the best, best part was the sunsets we'd watch most nights from our room...

We made most of our own breakfasts and lunches, but managed to find great restaurants for our nights out.  Super yummy sushi and tempura fried ice cream at Sansei...

Vanilla ice cream wrapped with buttery pound cake, rolled in roasted macadamia nuts, flash fried and served with chocolate sauce

...and our favorite, Roy's.  Unbelievably delicious Hawaiian fusion cuisine- all super fresh, local ingredients.

Super tender short ribs over garlic-basil-thyme-cheesy potatoes & pork chops served with a fruity chutney

Poi- a Hawaiian staple

Melting hot chocolate souffle: belgian chocolate, raspberry coulis & vanilla bean ice cream

With relaxation & food taken care of, it was time to explore the island...

Adventure #1 was a 2 1/2 hour drive to our country's southernmost point.  The drive was beautiful, with coffee farms and macadamia nut tree orchards along the way and views of the bright blue ocean that seemed to meld with the clear, blue skies.  Our final 12 miles on South Point road seemed to last forever on a narrow "farm" road surrounded by cattle and grassy fields.

And we finally arrived.  This southernmost point was beautiful with lava cliffs and crashing waves.  Persistent winds cause the few trees able to survive here, to lean nearly sideways.  

Archeologists speculate that this is the site where the first Polynesians made landfall in the Hawaiian Islands.

Adventure #2 was just a short drive away.  That is, a short drive to the parking lot.  We were off to find the Green Sands Beach at Mahana Bay, but in order to get there, I had to do some major research.  I even watched a youtube video on the route as there are no signs leading the way.  Because the dirt roads were so bad leading to it, only 4-wheel drives were allowed and rental car companies banned the area from coverage (though Jim would've LOVED driving our Jeep back there).  So our only option was to hike the dusty, windy 2 1/2 mile road.

Finally, we made it... 

Now we just had to climb down to it!  A handrail was drilled into the cliff to help with the super steep part of the climb while rock had eroded perfect little footholds the rest of the way.

Surrounded by cliffs and lava rock, the green was really beautiful against the bright blue waters crashing up on it.  Papakolea Beach is only one of two green sand beaches in the world and gets its color from the mineral olivine.  

A magnificent place, but we still had the walk back:(  The terrain here was so strange.  There were fields of golden pastureland that reminded us of Kansas, areas with sporadic, small, wind-blown, leaning trees that looked like images of Australia, and still other areas that looked like the surface of the moon.

Car parts along the way proved the ruggedness of the roads...

Jim swore to never make this hike again as we were all caked with dust by the time we got back, but what a cool experience- one we'll never forget!

Adventure #3 for the day was another 25 minute drive to Punalu'u Beach to see its spectacular black sand.   

We put our toes in the sand and dug for a few crabs, but now chilly, still filthy, and with a 2 hour drive back home, we called it a day.  A really long day.

Another long, amazing day was spent at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  And I felt (as I often do this year) so ill-prepared.  Such a crazy thing to know that if this was a "normal" planned trip from home, I'd have researched every detail, bought a book solely on the Big Island, planned out each day... but it's hardly a normal trip.  I do not have the time nor energy to plan each of the 50 states like I would one "normal" get-away.  I had looked up enough to be familiar with the park, but stopped at the concierge on our way to the car asking for a few last minute details... best route/ entrance, highlights to hit with one day, location of the visitor's center...  I grabbed my Hawaii AAA book, National Park book and planned out the rest of the details on the 2 1/2 hour drive there!  People must think I'm a twit traveling to Hawaii without a plan!
As we drove, our surroundings changed from total desert climate to rainforest with amazingly lush land, jaw-dropping valleys, and Jurassic Park-like landscape.  The plants were HUGE!  We finally made it to the Kilauea Visitors Center and while entering, we overheard a ranger telling a crowd, "Because of the weather today, you won't see much of anything..." and we immediately felt like our 2 1/2 hour drive was a waste.  We just left a beautifully warm, sunny morning, and here it was in the 50's, rainy and windy.  Remember those 11 different climates here???
But we were prepared with raincoats and extra layers and were determined to explore despite the weather.
A one hour ranger-led tour brought us through the Devastation Trail- an amazing look at the remains of a forest killed by falling cinders during the 1959 eruption.  For five weeks lava fountains blasted up to 1,900 feet from Kilauea Iki, also known as "little Kilauea" (a pit crater just east of Kilauea Caldera) while trade winds deposited lighter cinder for over 6 miles downwind.  Trees were buried or stripped, animals fled, and roads had to be rerouted.

Molds of trees formed when lava made a shell around the trunks.  Now new life is seen growing in them.

The ranger pointed out several rocks along the trail that were thrown in the eruption, now lodged into the trees.

Tree skeletons dot this eerie landscape

Some plants and animals have managed to make this seemingly unlivable area home.

We walked through the lush 'ohi'a rain forest and fern grove to get to Nahuku (Thurston Lava Tube) which was formed when the surface of a lava stream cooled to a crust while the still molten interior lava flowed out.

Alayna loved that there were leaves larger than her!

Walking through the lava tube

So many ferns in Hawaii... I can't help but stop to marvel at their little fronds.  

We stopped at steam vents around the caldera, peering over a few to warm up:)

The photo didn't capture the steam bellowing out, but it came from holes in the ground like the one above.

The warm, moist air around the vents created such lush flora.

The Jagger Museum was where we caught the best view of Kilauea.  Having been continuously erupting since 1983, it is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.  The Halema'uma'u Crater is the active crater within the much larger summit caldera of Kilauea.  Though we couldn't see the lava lake deep in this crater-inside-the-crater, we watched in awe as steam bellowed out.

Alayna worked on her Junior Ranger book

We drove the Chain of Craters Road making stops along the way as we waited for the sun to set, showing a different view of the active crater.

We drove alongside miles of lava, which in some places flowed right over roadways.

The pahoehoe lava flows were produced when Mauna Ulu formed in the 1970's.  This type of lava flows at more than 2,000 degrees, beginning as fluid then chills to a smooth, ropy surface.  It contrasts with aa which is a thicker, slow-moving lava that has hardened into a chaotic jumble of rough jagged cinders (looking to us like dark, tilled soil).  

Amazing that any life could find suitable living conditions here!

Overlook of the natural arch in the lava cliffs: Holei Sea Arch

Finally, near the end of the day we made it to the end of the road- literally- where the 2003 lava flow poured onto the street, closing it indefinitely.  It was a long walk back to the burial, but so cool to see.

As we left the end of the road, the sun was setting, giving us perfect timing to return to Kilauea.  As we approached, we were in awe of the red glow in the sky!  The moon was a cheshire-cat sliver and the stars were the brightest I've ever seen.  We walked in total darkness from the parking lot to the viewing platform and were astonished by the beauty of the volcano.  Smoke was still dancing out, but now with a fiery glow.  We couldn't even believe it was real.  A perfect finale to our day!

Actually, the true finale (though holding no comparison) was our late-night dinner at a well known, 24-hour diner.  We decided to give some local dishes a try.  Jim braved the loco moco which seems to be on every menu in Hawaii... a bowl of rice, hamburger patty, fried eggs and gravy and I went for the macadamia pancakes with coconut syrup.  The late meal weighed us down just enough to make our 1 1/2 hour drive home very, very sleepy:(   

An event we couldn't miss while on the islands was a luau.  We decided on the one given right at our resort and just loved it.  The food was so beautiful and the traditional dances, fun to watch... especially the fire dance at the end.

The girls got tattoos & leis while waiting for the performance to begin

Lau lau, huli huli chicken, roasted kalua pig, roasted veggies, fresh salad, beautiful fruits...

We took a tour down to the gorgeous Waipio Valley.  Considered sacred land (like much of the island) it was once the capital and permanent settlement of many early Hawaiian kings.  The valley floor is nearly 2,000 feet below the surrounding terrain, so the only way down is a super steep hike, or four wheel drive vehicle by tour.  (Most of it is private land and individuals without a tour guide are not welcomed)  The research I did ahead had me quite nervous for the trip down.  We were told the road was rough and narrow with sheer roadside cliffs and an average 25% grade (some areas steeper!).  But even more worrisome was that seatbelts were not allowed and the van door would remain open in case of emergency evacuation.  Better to fall out of the van and tumble down 2,000 feet rather than going down with the vehicle...?

Gulp.

Thankfully we made it down without incident (other than heart palpitations!) and hopped on horses to tour the gorgeous valley filled with lush vegetation, taro fields, and 1,000 foot-plus waterfalls.  Other than the scare when one horse in our group bucked off her rider and the rest of our horses wanting to run in all directions, the ride was lovely:)

Natalie & Sally

Alayna & Kapa

We continued driving east along the Hawaii Belt Road, stopping for lunch and Hawaiian treats at Tex Drive In, "world famous" for their fresh made, hot malasadas (Portuguese Sweet Bread Fried Donuts)

As amazing as they look...

Also along the Big Island's Hamakua Coast was the breathtaking scenery at Laupahoehoe Point Beach Park with palm trees, black lava shoreline, and furious, crashing waves.  We found tide pools tucked amongst the lava shelter and had a blast searching for ocean creatures.

The memorial we found here told of the area's tragic past when a tsunami killed 19 school children and 5 adults in 1946.  The village was later relocated further inland to avoid another tragedy. 

Another 20 minutes east (now near Hilo), was Akaka Falls State Park.  A lovely 20 minute walk through rainforest brought us to the 442 foot falls- twice the height of Niagara Falls.  And though we couldn't see the little creatures, we were fascinated to learn about the life cycle of the 'o'opu'alamo'o- a native goby fish.  The 'o'opu eggs are laid upstream in rocky streambed.  Once the eggs hatch, the embryos drift downstream with the current to the open ocean where the larvae stay for up to 6 months.  The 'o'opu begins the swim back upstream once it receives freshwater signals.  It uses its suction disc and pectoral fins to literally climb up the slick, rocky waterfall and stays upstream among the rocks where it lays its eggs and the process is repeated!  That's a 442' climb for a little 5 inch fish!

The walk around the falls was so beautiful.  I can't seem to get enough of this Hawaiian vegetation!

Our long day ended with a 4 mile drive through the lush rainforest in Onomea before having to backtrack 2ish hours to our home base in Wiakoloa. 

We hate having to leave many of our destinations, but this one... it was like leaving paradise!  We're determined to make it back one day to explore some of the other islands, but for now we have reason to move on.  We'll return to our much-missed home-on-wheels in San Francisco and meet up with my sister, "Aunt Katie"!!!

Saying goodbye to paradise from the plane...

A) Waikoloa- our home base
B) South Point
C) Mahana Bay- Green Sands Beach
D) Punalu'u Black Sands Beach
E) Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
F) Waipio Valley
G) Laupahoehoe
H) Akaka Falls State Park
I) Onomea Bay

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