The Big Island - Hawaii


We spent the second part of our Hawaiian vacation on the Big Island, where we stayed at the Hapuna Prince on the Kohala coast. The Hapuna Prince was a great choice – 2 wonderful golf courses and a white sand beach with a cove known for its snorkeling and sunsets.

 Such a lot to do on the Big Island! I visited ancient Hawaiian sites all up and down the Kona-Kohala coast – temples such as the huge Puukohola and nicely-reconstructed Ahuena Heiau (both built by Kamehameha I in the late 1700’s), fishing villages (Lapakahi) and fishponds, petroglyphs, and the very evocative Puuhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge.) More modern sites included the 1838 Hulihee Palace in Kona and the quaint Painted Church (quirkily hand-decorated with Biblical scenes and palm trees by a Belgian priest in the late 1800’s) near Honaunau.

I drove as far north as the road lasted, to the Pololu Valley Lookout, seeing the original King Kamehameha statue in Kapaau en route. I traveled through paniola (cowboy) country along the Kohala Mountain Road on the way back – who knew Hawaii is a major producer of beef! One day I went to Hilo along the very scenic Hamakua Coast, stopping at Honokaa (a plantation village “kept in a bell jar since 1920” according to Frommer’s), majestic Akaka Falls, and the World Botanical Garden. It was a revelation to see how some of the tropical flowers such as torch ginger and heliconia grow in a rain forest – the plants are HUGE!! In Hilo I went to the Lyman Mission House and Museum, stopped at the Farmers’ Market, and wandered through the lovely Liliuokalani Japanese Gardens. I visited the Blue Sky Coffee Plantation in Holualoa and saw how coffee is grown, picked and roasted.

I took the Fair Winds cruise to Kealakekua Bay, where the snorkeling was phenomenal. There were so many different varieties of tropical fish that I couldn’t keep straight which ones I’d seen – parrotfish, trumpetfish, angelfish, tangs and wrasses galore – some spotted, some striped, all brightly colored. The Captain Cook Monument, marking where he was killed, is located there.

I went horse-back riding through the Parker Ranch (our group consisted of 2 guides, 2 expert riders from Colorado, and me – who panicked whenever my horse broke into a fast trot.) I got Roger off the golf course long enough to go whale-watching – we were a little early for humpbacks but after a 3-hour search whale-watcher extraordinaire Capt.Dan McSweeney finally found one who frolicked obligingly for us.
Roger also joined me on a helicopter tour of the island – absolutely amazing. We flew over Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, seeing the Kilauea Caldera with its red-hot lava, steam vents, and oozing lava flows. At one point, we saw where the lava was flowing into the sea, sending up a huge cloud of steam. The return trip was via the Hamakua Coast and Waipio Valley, over gorges and into valleys with towering waterfalls.

The variety of the Big Island is remarkable. The leeward east side has rain forests and lush valleys. The center consists of 2 huge volcanic peaks – the dormant, often snow-capped Mauna Kea and still active Mauna Loa. The windward west coast is largely covered in black lava, in some places slowly being reclaimed by vegetation, but in many places just the naked lava, petrified as it cooled. Along the highways it’s common to see graffiti spelled out in white coral on the lava. Towards the north are rolling hills covered with cattle ranches, and a little inland on the western side coffee plantations line the foothills. I tried to make it back each day in time to join Roger on the beach for a swim, some snorkeling and a mai tai at sunset. Once or twice I was actually successful.

We had some great meals on the Big Island. We had a wonderful dinner at Merriman’s in Waimea – Roger was particularly impressed with the wine-list and its pricing. Roy’s in Waikoloa had super ribs. We also enjoyed the more downscale CafĂ© Pesto in Kawaihae.

Mimi Santini-Ritt 2006