In the words of the
Buddha: “Let that shit go and party on.”
Perhaps I’m paraphrasing?
Gotta go.
Love greg
© 2025 Gregory Dunaj
In the words of the
Buddha: “Let that shit go and party on.”
Perhaps I’m paraphrasing?
Gotta go.
Love greg
© 2025 Gregory Dunaj
Head south on Kalapana Kapoho Road to reach Uncle Robert’s Awa (kava) Bar and Farmer’s Market. Open every day except Friday, it is a typical market where vendors and artisans sell food, produce and crafts. The bar sells Awa, smoothies and alcohol. Wednesday though is the most popular day because at night local bands take the stage to play reggae and Hawaiian music and people from the area and tourists come to dance and celebrate another day of living.
This time there was an
entry fee of $10.00 pp, although locals were probably not charged and there were
three bands instead of just one that we saw last time.
SMALL WORLD
This trip we went to both
Kaleo’s in the area. Kaleo’s in Orchidland is a block from Keaau-Pahoa Road.
The location in the sleepy town of Pahoa is on the main street. We got a
reservation for Orchidland and sat at the bar in Pahoa.
In both places I made a point of wearing a matching pair of shoes, although in either place shoes were not necessary to be served.
Mahalo for reading.
Love Janet and greg
© 2025 by Gregory Dunaj
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at the summit on Mauna Kea |
Janet sure can deliver.
She knows I am
fascinated by the night sky. I grew up just outside of New York City in
Harrison New Jersey. My night sky then was usually an orange glow. Occasionally
I’d see a planet, or was that a plane overhead?
Janet has had a better
experience with celestial sightings. She hiked in the mountains of Colorado and
camped out in the Alaskan wilderness. She rafted through the Grand Canyon. She’s
been under some dark skies and yeah, she’s gotten up close and personal with
the Milky Way several times.
For me, the Milky Way
is a candy bar.
A visit to the summit
of Mauna Kea on the Big Island was supposed to change all that for me.
Mauna Kea is the
tallest mountain in the world, if measured from its base on the sea floor to
the summit at 33,500 feet. Mt. Everest rises to 29,032 feet. Still, at 13,803
above sea level Mauna Kea is quite tall. Taking advantage of the extremely dry
air and the many clear nights are several observatories at the summit. The dark
skies of Mauna Kea are absolute and a great place to see a glorious display of
stars and Janet picked out a tour company to drive us up to see the sunset and
to explain the night.
You don’t need a tour
company to take you, but you’ll need a 4x4 vehicle to get up the steep gravel road,
and unless you’re packing a telescope that can coordinate its position to the
night sky, your experience at the summit will be limited to catching the
setting sun. That’s worth the trip alone, with the clouds below and Mt.
Haleakala on Maui in the distance.
But for the whole
shebang, which included a pick-up at Waikoloa Village, a drive to the summit
with knowledgeable guides showing us various constellations and how the stars
aided seafaring Hawaiians, telling us about the various observatories, as well
as providing snacks and hot chocolate and necessary warm coats and gloves and
taking our pictures with the array of stars above us, we decided to go on the “Mauna
Kea Summit Sunset and Stars tour” with Hawaii Island Holiday through Viator.
It is expensive at $289
pp (not including tips), but well worth the convenience of traveling to the
summit of Mauna Kea and the invaluable advice the guides gave us so we could
enjoy the excursion safely.Mauna Kea observatories
TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY
The company recommends travelers
to be in good physical shape with no medical conditions that may impede breathing,
and they recommend that no one under 13 should travel. This is not a wheelchair
accessible trip. There are good reasons for all these precautions. The air is
much thinner at the summit and the guides cautioned us not to move too quickly
while at the top and altitude sickness is a very real concern.
To acclimate to the thinner
air the guides stopped first at the visitor center at 9,200 ft. Remember the
summit is at 13,803. It was tough at first to walk around, your lungs never quite
get enough oxygen.t-shirt for sale
There’s a small display
at the visitor center of the several observatories at the summit and the
religious significance of Mauna Kea to the Hawaiian people. There’s a souvenir store
offering t-shirts, posters and knickknacks, but no water.
It is important to remain hydrated while at these higher altitudes. There are fountains to refill your personal water containers, but no water for sale at the visitor center.
Make this a priority to remember.
We finally parked along
with several other vehicles amongst the observatories to watch the sunset. The guides
pointed out Mt. Haleakala on Maui and took our pictures with our resplendent
coats and a location plaque denoting our elevation.
As the sky slowly
darkened, we watched the observatories stir and their panels open for the telescopes
to begin their night’s work. Mauna Kea observatory
I’M BEING FOLLOWED BY A
MOON SHADOW
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beam us up Scotty |
This was a unique,
breathtaking experience.
Pun intended.
BIG ISLAND SUNSET AND STARGAZING
Maholo for reading.
Love Janet and greg
Following pictures courtesy of Hawaii Island Holiday
© 2025 by Gregory Dunaj
The beaches of the east
coast and around Hilo are comparatively new and black.
In the extreme southern point of the island, which is also the southernmost point of the United States, there is a rare green sand beach called Papakōlea..
WHERE TO GO?
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Hapuna Beach |
On our recent visit to
the Big Island, we split our time between the two coasts. We stayed for a time
in Kailua-Kona and then spent a week at the Hilton property in Waikoloa. We
then spent another week at a vacation rental in the Hawaiian Paradise Park
(HPP) development.
HPP is about 15 miles
from Hilo and 7 miles from Pahoa on the Puna coast. There are rainforests on
this side of the island and just 30 miles from Volcano National Park making this
must-do destination an easier trek than from the Kohala coast. The beaches on
the Hilo side are all black sand and there is a more Hawaiian feel in this area
as opposed to the glitzy resorts.
FIND YOUR BEACH
WHITE SAND
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Anaehoomalu Bay |
Instead, the sand is
mostly shells from marine life and coral fragments pulverized by the incessant
Pacific waves. Because this type of sand tends to have rounded edges it doesn’t
stack well and is not suited to building sandcastles.
Here are just a few of
the white beaches on the Kohala coast:
Hāpuna Beach
Anaehoomalu Bay or
A-Bay
Waialea beach (69
beach)
Mauna Kea Beach
Here’s a live cam of
Mauna Kea Beach
Spencer Beach Park
Kua Bay
![]() |
Kua Bay |
BLACK SAND
Newer beaches that have
not been ground down can be difficult to walk along barefooted because of the
sharper edges and because black sand retains heat very well. Sea turtles often
choose black sand beaches to lay their eggs because of the heat retention.
Some of the black sand
beaches on the Hilo and Puna side.
Punaluʻu
![]() |
Punalu'u |
Lifeguard, facilities.
Snorkeling visibility can be poor. Only go in the water when the surf is calm.
It’s quite striking to
see the blue Pacific, the black beach and the verdant green palms all
juxtaposed.
Here’s a nice video of
Punnalu views.
Kaimū beach
Isaac Hale (Pohoiki)
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Isaac Hale Beach |
![]() |
Beach art Isaac Hale |
Kehena Beach
…gone…
Black sand beaches in the Hilo area:
Richardson Beach Park
Richardson Beach Park is
just one of several in the area.
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Richardson Beach, Hilo |
GREEN SAND
Evidently there are only three other beaches in the world
![]() |
Green sand (Olivine) |
Yeah, I know… blah blah
blah.
You can get there from
here…
cliff jumping at South Point |
After pondering your life choices by watching brave souls leap 40 feet off the cliffs at South Point (which is an activity enjoyed by native Hawaiians and fearless individuals), follow the windswept trail to the beach. You can’t get lost, just keep the Pacific on your right. There are locals who will offer a ride to the beach for $20 pp, and there were some people maneuvering their 4x4 rentals along the rutty track, but evidently this is frowned on by the Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL). We walked to the beach but hitched a ride with a local and a pickup truck to get back.
Janet thinking about jumping |
There are some makeshift steps that lead down to the beach once you arrive and after hoofing in the hot sun or even riding in an open pickup the water is a great reward for your efforts. When we went the water wasn’t that rough and we even had a sea turtle cruise across.
green sand |
Maholo for reading.
Love Janet and greg
© 2025 by Gregory Dunaj
The cattle population
was booming after all, and they were getting out of hand.
Six cows and a bull were gifted to King Kamehameha I in 1793 by the English Naval Captain George Vancouver and because the cattle were protected with a kapu from killing them, their numbers grew to 25,000 by the time the “Espanol” arrived. They were a nuisance, trampling crops and gardens and even eating the thatched roofs of homes.
Kamehameha III lifted the kapu and the cattle industry of Hawaii began.
“Paniolo” is the
Hawaiian pronunciation of “Espanol”. In Mexico the cowboys are called Vaqueros.
The Parker Ranch was
founded in 1847 and is the oldest working ranch in the United States and at
130,000 acres one of the largest.
The Paniolo
Preservation Society is located on the grounds of the Parker Ranch and is free to
visit if interested in exploring more of the rich Hawaiian Paniolo history. It
is also possible to see the skills of Paniolos showcased at the Parker Ranch Fourth
of July rodeo, but if you can’t wait until then, then giddy up and visit the Ponoholo
Ranch where you can ride horses with Paniolo Adventures.
The elevation at the Ponoholo
ranch is around 3,800 feet so it was a bit cooler than the coast. I wore a
light jacket, but Janet just wore a T-shirt and brought along a sweatshirt just
in case. We were fitted with cowboy boots and offered helmets and there were
Australian dusters to wear for especially inclement weather, but despite the
capricious weather there was no need.
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horse riding lessons |
For this humble scribe who has spent more time on merry-go-rounds than the actual critter I was not going to tempt fate and try to impose my will. Forget about cantering. We just loped along in line with the others, admiring the land, pausing enough to take pictures at times or have a wrangler open an electric fence for our group to pass through. We never saw a head of cattle, but we were graced with brilliant sunshine, clouds, light rain and at times brisk winds. We saw majestic views of the blue Pacific Ocean and the clouds clinging to Kohala Mountain.
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Paniolo Adventures was not that far from our Waikoloa resort. The ride is $155 pp not including a well-deserved tip for the wranglers.
THEY GOT THE BEEF
Paniolo Sunset BBQ
Waimea Butcher Shop
Big Island Brewhaus
After a long ride on the range, what could be better?
Maholo for reading.
Love Janet and greg
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Me and Renegade |
© 2025 by Gregory Dunaj
There are 5 volcanoes
on the island and two of them, Mauna Loa and Kilauea, are extremely active. Mauna
Kea is considered “active” although it last erupted 4,000 years ago. Hualālai is
another volcano. It last erupted in the early 1800’s and volcanologists think
it is just a matter of time for another eruption. Kohala is the oldest and
considered extinct. It last erupted 60,000 years ago.
Despite all these volcanoes the Big Island is a very popular tourist destination but depending on what you are interested in, and if you have limited time, you must decide between the Kona coast or the Hilo side. They are vastly different.
First, a bit more about
the volcanoes which are all considered mountains.
Kilauea is the youngest volcano
on the Big Island and the most active volcano in the world. Kilauea has been
erupting since 1983.
Here’s a link to a 24/7 livestream of Kilauea caldera:
Mauna Loa is a massive shield volcano that last erupted in December 2022.
Kailua Kona with Hualalai in background |
Mauna Kea is considered
a spiritual place by native Hawaiians. To read about Mauna Kea:
Mauna Kea observatories |
Kohala is the oldest volcano
on the Big Island and last erupted 60,000 years ago and is considered extinct. The
mountain extends out from the island like a finger. This area is called the
Kohala coast and some of the best beaches on the island are here.
Shield Volcanoes
Pahoehoe is a smooth billowy
lava while A’a is rough and jagged. I first visited the Big Island in 1988 and photographed the Pahoehoe flow that was covering the town of Kalapana at the time. That picture is featured at the beginning of this entry.
In 2018 the lower rift zone erupted and added a full square mile to the island and the Isaac Hale Beach. Here are two pictures from our recent visit to that area and you can see the difference in A'a lava:
A'a lava from 2018 eruption |
new land at Isaac Hale Beach |
To read more about shield
volcanoes:
KONA v HILO
Many of the resorts on the island are on the Kona and Kohala coast and some of the best beaches are located here. Some of the best snorkeling spots are on the Kona coast and it is possible to go swimming at night with Manta Rays.
Kua Bay, Kohala coast |
Lush rainforests and
waterfalls are on the Hilo side, which is much closer to Volcanoes National
Park. The beaches here are black lava sand and turtles are everywhere.
swimming with Manta Rays |
We were on both coasts for this last trip, spending time at the Waikoloa Hilton resort and then a vacation rental outside of Hilo where it rained nearly every day.
Mahalo for reading
Love Janet and greg
© 2025 by Gregory Dunaj