Hawaii Part 6 (the final post)

OK. . .despite all the glowing things I've written so far about this vacation, it was not all perfect.  So let's talk about the worst experience of our trip:  snorkeling.

We set out with high hopes on Sunday morning, for a 3 hour, 2 site snorkel.  The boat ride out was very fun and fast - nothing like the sea wind whipping through your hair to make you feel cool!  We happened upon a huge pack of dolphins (probably 100 or more) and they did some tricks for us.  All good so far!  We got to the 1st site, got our gear on, got in the water, swam around beautiful coral and fish - everything was great!!  So let me just summarize the rest:  both Ked and I ingested salt water, and from our experiences (and at least 3 others on board) it takes only a little bit of salt water in your body to make you feel VERY nauseated.        So by the time we made it to the lovely Kealakekua Bay (the best snorkel spot in the state, and reportedly it has the 'dropoff' that inspired the one in Finding Nemo), we were both really too sick to enjoy it.  We did take some pics on a non-digital underwater camera so we can't post them.  We drove home and spent the rest of the day in bed. . . and that was our Sunday in Hawaii!!

On Monday, our last day, I finally convinced Kedron to visit the most difficult place on the island to pronounce:  Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (Poo-oo-hoe-NEW-uh  Oh  Hoe-NOW-now).  This is an ancient place of refuge, and it turned out to be a fascinating place. We happened to arrive at the start of a park ranger talk, and hearing her explain the cultural significance of this place made our visit very interesting.  The ancient Hawaiians had very strict religious beliefs, which included 4 major gods, 100+ lesser gods, and many forbidden practices (if something was forbidden it was called 'kapu' by the Hawaiians).  For instance, males and females couldn't eat together. Females couldn't eat any foods sacrificed to the gods, which included bananas or pork.  If did something that was considered kapu, the punishment was death, because the Hawaiians believed that the gods would send a tsunami, famine, etc, if the 'sin' wasn't atoned for.  So, yes, a woman could be killed for eating a banana.  IF a rulebreaker could flee to one of these places of refuge around the island, a priest there could perform a forgiveness ritual on the person and all would be OK.

Once the Hawaiians realized that this belief system didn't work, most of the places of refuge around the island were destroyed.  This one remains because it holds the remains of several royal Hawaiian figures.

On our last day, we also spent some time in Kona (which was the only part of the island that actually seemed crowded with tourists; though the city had had a marathon the day before so we wondered if that was why). Our flight didn't leave till 9pm, so we got to watch one more sunset before heading home.

We don't know if we'll ever make it back here, but we completely fell in love with this island!  Aloha, Hawaii!  

Hawaii Part 5

On Saturday we headed to the biggest must-see attraction on the Big Island:  Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  I wouldn't say this was the most action-packed place on the island, but it is truly the most intriguing.  This place was like no other I've ever experienced. We again traveled the winding Saddle Road across the island, which provides a beautiful view of Mauna Loa - the biggest (though not quite the tallest) volcano on the island.  Actually, it is the biggest volcano (volume-wise) in the world!  The entire Sierra Nevadas could fit inside the land mass of this volcano.

After our 2 hour drive, we made it to the park.  We stopped at the Visitor's Center to get maps and watched a cool movie about how the Hawaii Islands have formed (it's very cool; I can explain it if you're interested so ask me!!).  After that, we were off to the Kilauea - the most active volcano on the planet.  It has been erupting constantly since the 1980's.  Of course they don't let you get too near the lava, but seeing steam coming out of the Halema'uma'u Crater was pretty cool!  Apparently at night you can see the glow of the lava, but we didn't hang around for that due to our long drive back.

 It was kind of raining, so we decided to drive down to the coast on Chain of Craters Road.  It's hard to describe the diversity of this place.  First we drove through lush vegetation:

And then a few miles later, it is desolate and covered with black lava.

We learned that there are 2 types of lava, and the Hawaiians had names for each:  a'a (pronounced ah-ah), which is very rough, rocky, and chunky (pictured above at the bottom left of picture); and pahoehoe (puh-HOE-ay-HOE-ay), which is more smooth.  Here's some pahoehoe:

At the end of Chain of Craters Road, we saw this archway formed from lava. It used to be solid rock but the crashing waves knocked out the middle, forming the arch.

 My favorite part of the day (and possibly our whole trip) was our hike around and through the Kilauea Iki Crater.

The black part you see above was formerly a lake of lava!  It erupted in 1959.  My understanding (which is at least somewhat correct :) was that it wasn't a constant blast-type eruption, but a 'vent' eruption - where the lava kept coming up and then receding back into the earth, and then coming up again (kind of like a bad plumbing situation??)  The hike took us around the top rim, and then down across the dried lava lake.  Here we are, ready to cross the surface:

See the steam coming out of this hole?  Is this an eruption waiting to happen?  Fortunately for us, no.  Even though the eruption stopped over 50 years ago, and the dried lava is firm, it is still hot deep down.  When it rains, rainwater runs down the cracks in the surface, comes into contact with the heat, and steam forms.  Again, this place is like no other on earth!!

It's fun to see this new life emerging from so much destruction.  Apparently broken down lava soil, known as cinder soil, is quite fertile.

 

The entire hike was 4 miles and it took us right at 2 hours.  We had to descend 400 feet down (so think maybe a 40 story building).  Here I am just before the hike back up.  We were prepared for a terrible hike, but it wasn't that bad!  It was all shaded, and the temps that day were probably in the high 70's.  I have to say, Ked and I would be in great shape if we always got as much exercise as we did on this vacation!

Hawaii Part 4

On Friday, we woke up bright and early and drove up to the north Kohala part of the island for our Zipline Adventure!  Neither of us had done more than 1 zipline attached to a ropes course before, so we were excited!

The course consisted of 9 ziplines, several bridges, and 2 rappelling points.  It POURED rain for the entire first half of the course, but still we had a blast!  The course was nestled in a forest so our views were beautiful.

The last zip was a 'double' zip so Ked and I could race - of course he won with more body weight :)  If it weren't so overcast, you'd be able to see the ocean at the top of this pic.

Next up - a wonderful plate lunch (mahi mahi for me and pork for Kedron) and then the King Kamehameha statue.  This was the king who united the Hawaiian islands, and he lived on the Big Island; plus his birthday celebration had just happened, so he's kind of a big deal, we found.

Then it was off to the Pololou Valley overlook.  Interestingly, this was maybe 5 miles away from our zipline location and they got no rain at all.  Gotta love Hawaiian weather.  This might have been the prettiest overlook on the island, but it's hard to compare mostly equally beautiful places, we found! This one was not quite as easy to capture on film.

We hiked down the black sand beach.  Black sand is common on the Big Island; it's a result of residual lava breaking down and washing back up on shore.  This was also not a place for swimming due to strong waves and rip currents.

The hike down to the beach was kind of treacherous and difficult. Before our descent, we'd seen a young, fit couple coming back up, barely sweating (they had more of a 'glisten' about them) and I asked them if it was worth the hike down.  They said yes, and in fact, they'd gone down, then up over the next ridge, and all the way back.  WELL, give that couple 10 years and maybe they will huff, puff, and sweat profusely on the difficult walk back up like we did!  It was by far the most difficult hike of our trip. I'm glad we did it, and now I won't be doing it again!!

Hawaii Part 3

Here are some more pics from our drive down (and back up) the Hamakua Coast.  We took a 4 mile 'scenic road' detour and were not disappointed.

We stumbled upon Onomea Bay, which was gorgeous!  We quickly found out that photos don't always capture the natural beauty of this island.

 We hiked down to the bay - definitely NOT a place to swim with the roaring and crashing waves!

Further up the coast, we spotted  Laupahoehoe (lau-puh-HO-ay-HO-ay, we got pretty good at the Hawaiian pronunciations this week!) Park.  This was the site of a deadly tsunami in the 1950's where over 20 schoolchildren were killed.  We drove down to the park and could tell this was where the locals hung out.  It was VERY windy, though, and their tents were quite interesting.  They would have a regular tent and then another tent-like structure over it, either like an army tent or one of those big enclosed picnic tent things. Guess you need double the protection from the wind!  Again, swimming was discouraged due to the waves, yet several local kids were enjoying the water in the boat ramp area.

Next up:  Waipio Valley- at the northern point of the Hamakua Coast.  Now THIS view was spectacular!  While all the views are amazing, this one is actually one of the easier ones to capture on film.  Hiking down into the valley was discouraged due to the spiritual significance of this place;  several island kings lived here years ago.  Currently there is a commune residing in the valley, and you must be invited down into the valley if you want to explore.

 Kedron had not yet even entered the water by this point in our trip, so it was time to check out a beach!  The Big Island is not really known for its spectacular beaches, as it is the youngest of the islands and beaches have not had as long to form due to erosion, wind, waves, etc.  In addition, it is hard to find a white sand beach on this island (more on that later).  But Kedron found us a good one here:  Hapuna Beach.  This was probably the best overall swim spot; some waves but not unsafe ones, great sand, and the absence of jagged lava rocks :) Can I just say, though, to the women of the world:  If you have handfuls upon handfuls of skin and various tissue spilling out from over your tiny bikini bottoms, it might be time to consider a one piece swimsuit.  Let's keep in mind that we all look better in clothing that fits us properly!!

After a full day, we were ready to relax a bit.  We ventured to a nearby resort that has a free Polynesian show, complete with fire dancing.  And, of course, coconut bras :)

Hawaii Part 2

On Thursday we headed  for the Hamakua Coast, which was (in my opinion) the most beautiful part of the Big Island.  This part is on the windward side of the island, and some parts on this coast get up to 200 inches of rain per year!  After seeing so much desert on our resort side, it was a welcome sight to see this coast.  Now THIS is what you think of when you think of Hawaii - lush vegetation, flowers, etc.

After about an hour drive, we arrived at Akaka Falls State Park.  It was a very beautiful and easy (paved) hike to the falls.

On our walk to see the Falls, I kept thinking of how everything reminded me of the TV show LOST (filmed in Hawaii) - especially this spooky tree:

Here is Akaka Falls:  a 400 foot waterfall.  Gorgeous!

 

We'd heard about this great smoothie shop called "What's Shakin" which was not far from the falls.  It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere but 10 minutes after opening for the day, several cars were already there.  The woman who owns the shop has 20 acres where she grows all her own fruit.  The smoothies were a little pricey (around $7 each) but were certainly the best smoothies we'd ever had.  YUM!!

Stay tuned for more gorgeous pics from the Hamakua Coast. . .