Exploring Hawaii's Big Island

Day 1

We started our trip on the northern part of the island, which appeared to be the most remote. Our first hike was in Pololu Valley. We parked at the overlook and after only minutes of descending the trail, we were greeted with stunning views of lush rainforest set aside massive ocean waves.

Beth commented how the steep green cliffs mirrored those in Ireland. This was a great hike because we went early enough to beat the crowds. At the valley floor we were greeted with a beautiful black sand beach and a vibrant green forest.
We explored the valley floor and I, of course, had to take a quick dip in the Pacific. How could I resist on my first day being in Hawaii?! We explored the valley floor for a bit and then headed back up the trail.

Next, we headed into a small town beside a bay where we scored some delicious ube (blue sweet potato) ice cream..some of the best ice cream I've ever tasted!

At this bay, we saw countless black crabs that were neatly camouflaged on the black lava rock. Here, we found some salt n pepper sand that had apparently formed from crushed lava rock and coral. We took a drive and stumbled upon another beach where I spotted a whale out in the distance. I didn't get a good picture, or even a great view, but it was cool to see its body briefly surface and then watch its tail splash back into the ocean.

Day 2

Waipio Valley was a spot with lots of hype on the internet and from locals. We decided to check it out. It was very similar sights to Pololu, albeit inferior in my eyes. With a 4-wheel drive, you can drive down a super steep and bumpy road, so once we hiked down to the bottom we had not-so-lovely sights of vehicles parked beside the beach. Not quite the same remote vibe that Pololu  had but still gorgeous. We saw Hi'ilawe Falls from a distance and tried catching a closer glimpse because this beast free-falls 1,500 ft into the valley. After finding a not-so-worn trail in the rain forest, we were deterred by several "NO TRESPASSING" signs and even a local yelling out to us. Not sure what the heck he said, but his tone didn't sound like Mr. Rogers.










We then hiked to the black sand beach where we relaxed in warm breezy winds and overcast skies. Neither Beth nor I wanted to make the arduous trek back up one of the steepest road in America, so I asked a surfer in an old beat-up pickup if he'd mind giving us a ride. He obliged, so we hopped in the back next to his surfboard and went for a ride. It took maybe took 15 minutes to reach the top, but geez we were glad we didn't have to hike it. We passed about 25 miserable-looking hikers who were probably regretting not hitching like us. Beth and I felt terrible when we passed a pregnant woman who looked like she could have gone into labor at any moment. We sheepishly averted our gaze as she looked at us with eyes that could kill. When we reached the top, our driver said he felt bad but wasn't able to stop because of the road's steep pitch. We took solace in this explanation but still felt bad. I don't think we will ever forget that "ride of shame." We left the North behind and headed to the East, which we deemed the rainy side. It rained every day we were in Hilo, and these weren't just short showers. It down-poured A LOT! We hit up a few roadside waterfalls until finally reaching our Airbnb in Hilo.

Day 3

Because it was super rainy and I wasn't feeling too swell, we decided to cut across the island and make the 1.5 hr drive to Kona, on the West. Beth deemed this my "best decision ever," second to marrying her of course. At Kua Bay we found bright warm sun and clear skies. We could easily cope with the moderate winds since this weather was in stark contrast to what we cheerfully left behind in Hilo. We spent the better part of this day relaxing on the beach, dipping into the Pacific, and walking around the black lava paths that were loaded with pieces of coral in all shapes and sizes. In all of my travels, this was the most beautiful beach I'd ever experienced. Being East-coasters, this beach splendidly presented us with a remote feel. Quite the antithesis to the over-crowded Atlantic beaches. After soaking in enough sun, we headed for downtown Kona to have a look around and grab dinner beside the water.

Day 4

Even though we woke up to another rainy day in Hilo, we decided to "win the day" at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Hitting up this park was one of my top priorities for the trip and since the weather wasn't going to subside while we were in Hilo, we threw on our best rain gear and headed out for a hike on the Kilauea Iki Trail. This is a pretty cool trail because you start out in the rainforest, then the trail spits you out onto a volcano. It's a barren wasteland that makes you feel like your on Mars. Walking on huge pieces of cracked lava and passing by vents producing sulfury steam was a pretty unique experience for us. We could feel the intense heat from lava as we held our hands close to the steam vents. 

Next we did the Crater Rim Drive. The road weaves you past lava flows as recent as the 1970's. We couldn't believe just how much black lava we saw... it was everywhere. The road took us to a dead end where black lava meets ocean...such an interesting juxtaposition of color and movement to watch some these massive, misty white-waves crash into ubiquitous, night-black lava rock. At the end of the road, we had an informative conversation with a park ranger. He explained where we could find flowing red lava. He confirmed what I had read on the internet, that the lava had ceased flowing into the ocean in November 2017; however, he filled me with childlike hope by informing us that the fresh flows were well within reach. Two options: 1) 10-12 mile round-trip hike from this very spot that we were talking to the ranger, which was in the National Park or 2) A combination shuttle, bike ride, and 4 mile round-trip hike from Kalapana, not in the National  Park. Despite the ranger's advice to stay in the park for this adventure, we chose the latter because it was a much shorter hike. Alas, my dream to see the "red stuff" felt oh so close!

Day 5

I awoke that morning realizing I had a vivid dream about hunting for fresh lava! Beth laughed when I told her. In the dream, our search for lava was to no avail. I was hoping this was not a premonition for the day ahead. We headed for Kalapana that morning. When nearing the bike rental parking lot, we were met with pot-holes galore. Thankfully we had rented an SUV, which ended up coming in handy several times. We parked our car, rented our 2 bikes, and hopped in the shuttle. The shuttle took us a few miles down the dirt road where we came to a dead end for all motor vehicles. We thanked the shuttle driver and road our bikes about 2 miles. We approached another gate that was plastered with signs stating that no one was to go past this point because fatal danger loomed ahead. One sign said that, any any moment, acres of land could break off from the earth and fall into the ocean. The signs also warned how someone had died here. Not exactly what you want to hear before leaving roads and trails behind and head aimlessly toward a patch of trees haha...a tad ominous. We locked our bikes at the gate and headed off to the right, upon instructions we received from the lady who rented us our bikes. She said that fresh lava had been spotted in an area about 2 miles to the right of the gate. She pointed out on a map that we should head toward a grouping of trees on the hillside of Kilauea, the active shield volcano. There was no path to follow...the elevation was level but not at all flat. We were hiking over old lava flaws, so you literally had to watch every single step. The black lava is super sharp, like fiberglass. One slip would prove to be quite painful and bloody. Obviously, we had never hiked on terrain like this before. 

We got rained on about 4 different times on the hike to the lava. Luckily these downpours would only last about 5 minutes at most, then the sky would clear allowing the sun to warm us up. Temps were in the 70's, so it wasn't too bad. During one of the downpours, I said to Beth, "I owe you one." She responded back by saying I owed her a lot more than one haha! After about 1.5 hrs of hiking, I spotted some red stuff flowing down the hillside. This wouldn't be an area we could hike to, but it seemed hopeful for what possibly lied ahead. We could see some  hikers off in the distance.They seemed to be grouped in close proximity, so we figured they must have found some red stuff. My excitement elevated, and we pressed on. It wasn't too much longer until we spotted fresh lava about 15 yards away! What a sight! Upon getting closer, we were both struck by how much heat this stuff throws off. It felt like standing close to a roaring bonfire. Since we were soaked from all the downpours, we welcomed the heat to dry our soaked clothes and warm our bodies.

Toasting Beth's soaked shoe & sock!

We hung out at several flow spots for about half an hour, then decided to head back to our bikes. In a typical scenario this would be an easy endeavor...not here. Luckily I decided to drop a pin on Google Maps, so even though we didn't have service we could see which direction we needed to head to find our bikes. All we saw was ocean and black lava...nothing off in the distance marking our destination. Thank you Google! Only took us 1.5 hrs to find our bikes, and I think it only rained once or twice. The lava gods were smiling down at us. :)

We left the successful lava hunt and headed to our next Airbnb where we would spend our final 2 nights on the Big Island. We stopped at Pahoa, a black sand beach where we were lucky enough to see a green sea turtle. He was just relaxing on the sand. He looked as satisfied as I felt after getting to see fresh lava for the first time. A great day it was!

Day 6

This was our snorkeling day. I had never done it before, so it felt like a must-do while in Hawaii with all its crystal clear water. Beth had done it once and said we should definitely give it a go. Our spot: the infamous Kealakekua Bay in a tucked away cove next to the Captain James Cook Monument. We rented a double kayak and snorkeling gear from Kona Boys and headed for bright-colored fish and funky-shaped coral. We left our phones in the SUV in case we tipped our kayak while out on the water. For me, it wasn't so much about my phone as it was all the pictures I had captured from the trip...not a risk worth taking! We paddled about a mile from launching point to the best snorkeling spot near the monument. Along the way, we were entertained by pods of dolphins. These friendly fellas were bopping up and down all over the place. It was cool to hear them exhale the air as they breathed out. Kind of sounded like a more gentle version of a whale. When Beth first jumped into the water, she caught her shorts on the kayak and was momentarily stuck. We laughed, hoping this wasn't an open for our snorkeling. It wasn't. We saw lots of colorful fish, massive sea urchins, and lots of coral.We hung out in the calm water, snorkeling on and off for an hour or so. I most enjoyed seeing a snake-like fish who was gray in color and about 2 feet long. As you can imagine, he looked pretty creepy. I felt like he was eyeing me up, so I didn't stay in this spot for long. We packed sandwiches that we bought at a cafe; Beth had me feed her while she waded in the water beside the kayak since she started feeling a bit seasick from the waves that bounced us around. That was a first. Then when we were leaving our snorkel spot, heading back for shore, this dude from a big boat started laughing at us. We were confused at first until he let us know that he found it puzzling how I managed to "train" Beth to be the one doing the paddling while I was munching on my sandwich. He and his buddy wanted to know my secret haha. This gave us a good laugh!

Next, we took the coffee drive. Kona is home to more than 650 coffee farms in a 20 mile span. We stopped at a few to have a look and, of course, do some sampling. I got all jacked up on caffeine way too late in the day! Well worth it though...tasty stuff! After meandering around and unsuccessfully locating Halama Coffee Farms (a small operation that according to the internet was on sabbatical til Fall), we headed for the southern-most spot in the US, which is appropriately named South Point. Biggest waves I've ever seen! And, the most beautiful sunset spot! There's a popular cliff jump here (about 35 ft), but I wasn't feeling it this late in the day. It was super windy (gusts about 30 mph) and there was no one else jumping. My rule of thumb: never do a cliff jump without first watching someone else do it. A good way to stay alive, I think. 

Day 7

On our last day in Hawaii we decided to check out one of the Big Island's most remote, paradise-like beaches- Makalawena. We hiked about 1.5 miles to get to the beach, and it was worth it. We still favor Kua Bay when comparing the two, although Makalawena is cool because there really aren't all that many people there since there's no easy access by vehicle. There was maybe 50 people spread over a half mile of beach. Fine white sand, boulder-like lava rock, and greenish blue waters make this a special place. This was our hottest day in Hawaii, so the cool ocean water felt very refreshing. I could only last on the sand for about 20 minutes before I needed to take a dip to cool off again. 

Next we visited Kona brewery, and then snagged some showers at the free Kona community pool. We headed into downtown Kona to walk around and exhaust our legs because of our 11 hour redeye evening, taking us back to the mainland. All in all, it was a great trip. We covered most of the Big Island and got to see and do a lot. I would say that Hawaii really does live up to the hype. And oh yea, the locals really are as friendly as the rumors say. Generally, the locals seem happier compared to most Americans... and with all that sunshine and warm air is it really all that surprising?!

Aloha and Mahalo!