Since we were going to my niece's wedding on Oahu we decided to head out early to check out a couple of the other Hawaiian Islands. Our first stop - the Big Island. We loved it! It's a diverse island with something different around every corner. From Volcanos to Star Gazing on a 14,000 foot mountain to 4 Wheeling on a Green Sand Beach it was so much fun!
We flew into Kona then headed south to see what the island had in store. The only problem - we hit a major storm so it poured all day long. We tried to see a few things but it was too wet to even get out of the car, so here's a couple of pictures from the car.
View from our Hotel
Kona Temple
Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (Place of Refuge) where ancient Hawaiians had to go to perform rituals to be forgiven for certain mistakes to appease the Gods.
Ho'okena Beach - This place looked beautiful - it's too bad it was pouring!
Luckily in the late afternoon the rain stopped so we got to explore some cool places by our hotel in Hilo. Our first stop was the Kapoho Tide Pools outside of Pahoa. These were the most unique tide pools I had ever seen made out of cooled lava. It was a lot of fun to explore and wander around the tide pools. It was like exploring another world.
Our next stop was one of our favorites for our entire trip - the Ahalanui Warm Springs near Pahoa. It's a natural Warm Spring that has been made pool-like with a small trickle of water from the ocean at the end. The water is heated by the lava underneath the surface and the ocean water cools the spring to keep it comfortable and swimable. We LOVED this place! I would consider moving to the Big Island just to live close by to this place. It was awesome!
Warm Spring
With all the rain we had to wait until our second day to explore the Volcano. But we woke up to a beautiful sunny day so we were excited to go out and really see the Island.
The first thing we did was to drive around the rim of the Volcano. We saw steam vents, explored a lava tube and saw the volcano itself. The volcano wasn't what we expected - just a crater with steam coming from it. But the park was really cool to explore even if there wasn't red hot lava spewing everywhere.
Steam Vents from the heat of the Volcano
Volcano
Not too far from the Volcano is a lush forest with a Lava Tube. Tubes that the lava created and flowed through while the volcano was active. You can explore the tube on your own - part of the lava tube is lit and easy to navigate. The other half is unlit and you have to bring your own flashlight. It's amazing how dark it is in the unlit tube. My Mag-Light that is usually so bright was hardly bright enough to see a few inches in front of us. It's one of those places that is so dark you are in total blackness just a few feet in. A little nerve-wracking on the way in but really empowering on the way out especially when you see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Tom on the Trail to the Lava Tube
What it was like in the unlighted section of the tunnel. Kinda creepy when you are wandering around in the dark and start thinking about how lava used to flow here and that you'd be dead meat if it started up again while you were in there. Lava hasn't been in this area for years but when you can't see a millimeter in front of you, you can't help but wonder what you'd do if the lava came back. Tom decided since we'd die together it wasn't that big a deal. So on we inched to the end of the lava tube.
We finally made it back to the light at the end of the tunnel!
After the Lava Tube we took the drive down Chain of Craters Rd. It's a 30 mile road where you can see what the volcano has done to the Island over the years. It's pretty cool to see the effects of the lava over hundreds of years.
Crater from Old Lava Flow
Lava as far as the eye could see in Cool Patterns. When the lava cools slowly it makes these wavy patterns.
When the lava cools fast it explodes and looks like rocks.
View from the lava fields of earth that's younger than us! It's pretty cool to think about how new this part of earth is. We usually think of the earth as thousands of years old, but on the Big Island it's always growing and changing. Pretty Cool!
New Earth meeting the Ocean
More Cool Lava Patterns
One of the coolest sights was the lava that cooled slowly meeting the lava that had cooled quickly. So similar yet so different - it was fascinating!
Close up of another kind of lava
You can see where the lava flowed down this mountain. It would have been an amazing sight to see when it was happening!
The really interesting thing was where the lava had flowed there was little life or growth of any kind. But right next to it there would be plants of all kinds growing.
Lava stops for nothing! This is where the lava flowed over the road in 2004 and they have just left it - cutting us off from the other side of the road to Pahoa.
The glowing Volcano at night
After exploring Volcanos National Park we headed west to South Point and the Green Sand Beach. We got a 4x4 to make sure we could see all that the island had to offer. It seemed all the natives had 4x4's and after finding this place we realized why - some of the coolest spots on the island didn't have roads to get there. We 4x4'd to this amazing cove with Green Sand and beautiful water. Here are some of the great views on the way to the Green Sand Beach...
Our 4x4
Close to South Point - the southern most point in the US
South Point
Jumping off the end of the world. We thought about it but the only way back up was a long rope climb. Maybe next time...
We made it! The Green Sand Beach. A little hard to find but totally worth it! We've never seen anything like it!
Our shadows on the Green Sand
Tom wanted this picture because my pants were the same color as the sand.
It's funny how much quicker a trip it was to get back to South Point than it took to get to the Green Sand Beach. It's always so much faster on the way back. Since the weather was so nice we decided to head back to Punalu'u Beach - the Black Sand Beach we had found the day before but couldn't check out because of all the rain.
Even the bathrooms have the Spirit of Aloha!
Tom on the Black Sand Beach
It was funny how often we saw kids playing with coconuts on the beach. Who needs to spend money on expensive beach toys?
The next morning we woke up to another gorgeous Hawaiian day. This was the view from our hotel.
Before we headed to church we checked out some of the views around Hilo.
Rainbow Falls
Huge Banyan Trees near Rainbow Falls
Cool View of Church
After church we headed north to see that part of the island. After a breathtaking scenic drive our first stop was 'Akaka Falls.
These trees must have been hundreds of feet tall. It felt like they were way too tall to still be standing.
Laupahoehoe Point - Some of the strongest waves on the Island made for some really impressive crashing waves here. You could feel the raw power of the ocean standing on the rocks here. It was intimidating!
Next stop - Waipi'o Valley. This place had beautiful views of lush mountains that never seemed to end, a black sand beach, the beautiful turquoise ocean, and bright green Taro fields. So pretty - it really made us stop in our tracks. This was the meeting place for ancient Hawaiian kings and chiefs for important desicions and special events like the sucession of kings.
After we finally ripped ourselves away from the views of the Waipi'o Valley we headed north through Parker Ranch. The bright green fields weren't something we expected to see on a tropical island.
At the end of the northern most road was the Pololu Valley. Another spectcular valley that ends in Black Sand Dunes next to the ocean.
Our last stop of the day was Mauna Kea. A 14,000 foot mountain known for it's incredible star gazing at night.
Desert at the base on Mauna Kea
While it was raining on our first day on the Island it was apparently snowing on Mauna Kea! Who knew - snow in Hawaii?
After a stop at the Visitor's Center 9,000 feet up to acclimate to the altitude change we headed to the 14,000 foot summit to watch the sunset and star gaze. There were etherial views of the mountain and the clouds beneith us as the sunset.
After making it to the summit we took the top off the Jeep and turned the heat on full blast to overcome the 27 degree temperature. The sun set and the stars slowly started coming out. I was a little disappointed at first since there weren't that many stars. But after waiting a little longer there were more stars than I had seen in my entire life. It was stunning! No wonder the scientist flock to study the stars up there! My camera doesn't do so well with low light but I managed to get this picture:
After getting our fill of celestial bodies we drove back to Hilo and got ready for our flight to Kauai. The Big Island is so different than any island we have been to before. It was sad to leave since we didn't get to see/do so many things. At least we're motivated to go back someday to see the things we missed and to enjoy our favorites again.
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