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| Our condo at 'Outrigger Fairway Villa' |
Whoever did the planning should have guessed it was going to take a full day just to do the 'island hopping' on our journey...well, perhaps they did and that's why we put 9 days between 'hops'. At least we've learned to book 'online', ensuring that we reach our destination in the light of day! We arrived in Kona in time to pick up our rental (our upgrade is a red Ford Explorer), purchase basics for a supper, drive the 25 miles north, check in to our condo and get our bearings...all before the sun went down! A much nicer introduction than that to Kauai!
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| North Kohala |
We spent our first full day (the 26th) making a pass back down the coast to explore the area south of Kona. The 'community' in which we live is an oasis right on the ocean, surrounded by miles of volcanic debris which, without the necessary rainfall, supports little vegetation. The area around Kona receives far more moisture and has signs of much earlier habitation by the locals and oceanside developers. We stopped at the harbour to arrange for an early morning whale watching adventure for the girls, picked up snorkelling equipment at "Snorkel Bob's" for the week, and carried on down the major highway as far as Kainaliu, a small community striving to stay alive, like so many of those further south that depended on the coffee industry. We had lunch at a 1930s Aloha Theatre in the community whose cafe helped to maintain the cost of upkeep. The food was well worth the lengthy wait!
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| King Kamehameha |
Next morning, we headed north to spend the day exploring more of the Kohala Coast. Its landscape continued to be dry and mostly barren, with palm trees and other hearty species here and there along the coast. In the heat of day, we explored Lapakahi State Historical Park, roaming it's mile long volcanic trails through remnants of a village some 600 years old.
As we rounded the most northern point of land, the vegetation increased, and we were soon amidst what had once been profitable sugar plantations. Neal (ever the one to strike up conversations with the locals) had met a young man who was working two jobs in our area to continue with the renovations to a home in Hawi he had inherited from his father. The father had worked on one of the plantations and, when the market fell, the owner gave monies to each, allowing them to purchase the homes they had inhabited. There were several more interesting towns along the way with evidence of a robust sugarcane industry dating from the early 1900s.
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| Poiolu Valley Lookout |
At the end of what became a winding, narrow road was the Poiolu Valley Lookout, a glimpse into a band of steep, narrow fertile valleys that were home to early royalty. It was easy to imagine this protected paradise as it might have been used centuries ago. On the way back, we stopped at an art gallery on the side of the road managed by a woman whose family had moved from Prince George to establish a sawmill near Hilo....small world!
Returning home, we passed through miles of the Parker Ranch, marvelling at the greeness of the hundreds of acres of pasture (some 175,000 in all!). In 1809, at the age of 19, John Palmer Parker had been hired by King Kamehameha to take charge of the free-roaming herd of cattle that had grown from the gift of 7 longhorn given the King in 1793. Later, Parker married one of the King's granddaughters, ensuring the security of his investment! Despite being cattle country, we had a difficult time finding some beef when we dropped down to Waimea in search of lunch. Much of the island has been influenced by the number of Japanese who settled here and fish was the major commodity on most menus!
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| Whale watching wahines |
We were up at 5 am Friday morning (the 28th) to get the girls down south in time for their date with Dan McSweeney, the marine biologist, at 7:00 o'clock. For the next three hours Neal and I scouted out the snorkelling site suggested, located WalMart (I know, I know), and settled into a hearty breakfast at Bongo Ben's overlooking the waterfront. We returned to pick up the girls who were enthralled with their adventure. We returned to the Outrigger where Dar declined an invitation to join some local artists in favour of lunch at their beach lounge located above tidal pools where turtles sunned and bright butterfly fish darted. (The girls had had no more than a snack bar since waking up!)
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| Snorkelling prep |
Next we pushed through the hotel's fence to the State Park next door for our first shot at snorkelling. Though the reef there was in danger, this turned out to be the very best snorkelling site of the two we tried. The better, northern sites are at their best in the summer, apparently. After greasing up my moustache with vaseline to provide a better seal, I was delighted with the extra few dollars I had spent for a prescription mask. The experience was awesome and the fish often inquisitive!
After Friday's excitement, Saturday was a day for recuperating. We spent some time investigating the nearby pertroglyphs made by the early inhabitants, and even more time in the markets especially intended to lure the many vacationers in the area.
Having checked the weather forecast for the other side of the Island, we chose to book rooms at the Dolphin Bay Hotel in Hilo for Sunday night, giving us a little more time to explore the 'other' side. We chose to cross the island on Saddle Road, between Mauna Kea (site of a world-famous observatory complex) and Mauna Loa, the island's highest mountains. The vegetation remained fairly sparce until we began to descend towards Hilo. Our plan was to gather keys at the hotel and make our way out to the Kilauea Caldera in the Volcanoes National Park. Of course, with plenty of time before nightfall, there was no reason not to stop at a mall along the way, as well as the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens and the tasting room of the Volcano Wineries!
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| Neil does "Thorston's Tube" |
A portion of the 11-mile road around the rim of the crater had been blocked off for some 3 years, we were told, as a result of the gases spewing from a portion of the crater. We were still able to explore the "Thurston Lava Tube", stop at a few spots of interest along the 'Chain of Craters Road' leading to the coast, and catch the numerous steam vents along the rim of the crater before settling down at the Kilauea Overlook to wait for dusk to fall. We left before the full effect of darkness but not before a glow was visible from the crack in the crater's bottom...after all, the Hilo Bay Cafe closed at 9 and had been billed as a 'must stop' in the guidebooks!
After a breakfast of coffee, sweetbread and 'all the fresh papaya and banana one can eat' from the trees on the property at the Dolphin Hotel, we took another loop through town, marvelling at how much it felt like our African experience. We strolled through Lilluokalani Gardens on the ocean front, conscious of the devastation that had occured from earlier tsunamis.
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| Botanical Garden |
Then it was north, up the Hamakua Coast. Our first stop was an amazing 37 acre garden created in a narrow gorge plummeting to the sea (once a dump site for early inhabitants). Another labour of love, accessed by a 500 ft. boardwalk descending some 120 feet, the 1 1/4 miles of garden trails were a joy to explore, despite the soft rain that fell now and then. Lunch was at a small sideroad diner before travelling on to view the 300 ft. Akaka Falls. Marijuana was said to be the cash crop of the coast, so we didn't venture off the mile-long concrete loop trail that showed the falls (and other drops further downstream) to their best advantage! Then, it was back through Waimea and home in time for supper.
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| Diving Jitters |
We booked a dive on the 'Atlantis' Tuesday afternoon as those for Wednesdays and Fridays were already filled with tourists coming in on the many cruise ships expected. Since that left the morning 'empty', we talked the Wellses into accompanying us down the coast even further than we had explored, to the beach at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau Bay, where the snorkelling was supposed to be even better. Access to the water was even trickier than at Kahalu'u. Here there was no sand, just shelves of lava from which to 'disembark'. The veterans in the crowd were very helpful, reminding us NOT to slip our fingers into any of the multitude of small holes in the lava where tiny sea urchins clung, defending their site with excrutiating stings! We soon got the knack of 'slipping in and out' with the moving water but were disappointed that we saw much less in the way of animal life (though sea corals were plentiful). Dolphins leapt in the bay further out and sea turtles lounged in a nearby shallow tidal pool, but we didn't get to swim with either.
We lunched at "Splashers", a second-story, open-aired restaurant across from the pier where we were to be shuttled out to the 'Atlantis' for our afternoon dive. Few of us managed to get through the huge portions served. The 50-minute dive was well-orchestrated, took us to some 100 ft. below the level of the bay, and included manoeuvers around two sunken vessel sites. Although only six of us were paying passengers, I found it difficult to hear the narration of the young fellow working hard to entertain and inform. Apart from a few species, we had seen nearly as much on our snorkelling jaunts, but were glad Marilyn and Neal were able to see some of the things with which we had been so enthralled.
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| Happy hour at the "Macaroni Grill"Marilyn, Neal, Maryann, Elmer, Don, Darleen, Harvey and Jeanne |
Wednesday was another 'lay back' day. I was ready to launch into my third novel of the holiday, so headed to the nearby beach to tan and read. I returned to learn that Jeanne Hamm (Kim's sister-in-law) had called and suggested we meet for drinks across the way at the "Queen's Market" that afternoon. Jeanne and Harvey were travelling with neighbours Elmer and Maryann, so the eight of us took up a corner of the outside patio at the 'Macaroni Grill', keeping the barmaid hopping. We're looking forward to having them visit Quesnel this summer.
Neal, Dar, and I made the trip back up to Waikoloa Village Thursday morning to mail off the key to the Dolphin Bay Hotel I found in my 'lounging jacket' (I'll now be more tolerant of our guests who end up doing the same thing!). We decided to venture further north to visit the macadamian nut far1m we missed the last time we were north. It was well worth the extra few miles. I had no idea one could buy macadamian nuts infused with the taste of wasabi, Kona coffee, or spam (to name but a few of the dozen or more choices available!) We opted for a few tins of the 'slightly salted' variety.
On the return, we stopped at the Hapuna State Park just north of us. The winter seas made snorkelling difficult, but hundreds of people were already there soaking up the sun, taking their 'constitutional' walk along the 1/2 mile of 'sugar sandy' beach, or tempting fate with surf and boogy boards in the often 9 foot waves. Could Paradise be more pleasant? Thank you, Marilyn for sharing some of your photos!
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