For this poser who
calls himself a kamaʻāina, or child of the land, the “real” Hawaii is on the
east coast of the Big Island. Here in Kalapana, in the Puna district, nestled
below the capricious Kilauea the Aloha spirit twists and twirls, dances and
smiles. Pele might have cleaved the town in the late eighties and added Kaimu a
new black sand beach to her island, but in Kalapana where the road ends the
party begins.
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.
Hippies are alive and
kicking (up their heels) at Uncle Robert’s and the eclectic crowd, in various
stages of disheveled dress, take seats at picnic tables gathered around the
dance floor to eat food or watch the dancers. There are young people and old
people all milling about the grounds and everyone is smiling broadly, even the
lady who was wearing a horse head mask as she cavorted on the dance floor in rhythm
to the music.
At one point the floor cleared so a man and woman could do a hula dance, but
the rest of the night the dance floor was packed. It’s fun and great for people
watching. At Uncle Robert's you never have to comb your hair, bathe, change your
clothes or even wear the same two shoes, but can dance the night away.
We had been to Uncle
Robert’s the last time we were on the Big Island in 2014, and it worked out
that we would be in the area for the Wednesday night revelry.
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
The next night we went
to Kaelo’s restaurant in Orchidland for dinner and one of the bands from Uncle
Robert’s was there. At the bar we noticed several people from the previous
night, wearing the same clothes and enjoying a drink and the music.
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.
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.
Mauna Kea observatories
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.
TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY
It was in the eighties
at our resort, but we were told to bring along jackets. It gets cold up at the
summit, but the tour guides also offered full length coats decorated with a
Hawaiian flower motif that we could borrow for the night or even purchase them afterwards.
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.
PICTURE PERFECT
To reach the summit beyond
the visitor center there is only a gravel road, making 4x4 vehicles the only
allowable means to travel. The guides, driving an appropriately geared van, slowly
climbed the steep, winding road chatting away like there was nothing to be
worried about, but there are steep drop-offs and visibility can be low. We
would not want to have done this trip on our own.
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
Check your lunar
calendar before booking a trip for stargazing. We were graced with a brilliant
full moon on the star gazing part of our evening. As you might have guessed, a
full moon impacts the dark sky, so the overall experience was lessened. Still
the guides set up their telescope and geo-positioned it for us to see distant
galaxies. We also got a very detailed view of the moon through the telescope.
They took pictures all everything and passed them along to us via email and
even took our picture with an “almost” heavenly array of stars behind us.
beam us up Scotty
With handheld laser
markers they pointed out certain stars that were important to the seafaring
Hawaiians to guide them across vast stretches of the Pacific. They pointed out
the Southern Cross constellation, normally only seen south of the equator. We
were that high up in elevation to “peer” that far south.
It is a sure bet that
visiting Hawaii would include a trip to a beach and none of these tropical
islands will ever disappoint. What sets the Big Island apart from the others
though are the varied colors of her beaches. On the north and west of the
island are the Kona and Kohala coasts. These are the oldest parts of the island
and the beaches here are beautiful white sand. Most of the tourist resorts are
in this area.
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?
It is sunnier, warmer
and drier on the Kona and Kohala coasts where many tourist resorts are clustered.
The combination of pleasant weather and white sand beaches may convince you to
travel there, especially since it rains a lot on the Hilo side of this massive
island and temperatures there are cooler.
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
Depending on what
you’re looking for on a trip to the Big Island will determine your beach
destination. Don’t worry though, you can’t go wrong wherever you alight. First,
let’s explain the colors of the sand and to appease this geeky arenophile who
delights in collecting sand.
WHITE SAND
Anaehoomalu Bay
The sand on the beaches
of the Kohala coast are white, but it may not be the minute quartz crystals
that usually comprise a beach, say in New Jersey.
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
Regularly voted as one
of the best beaches in Hawaii, Hāpuna is a mile long and tree-lined offering
shade with a lifeguard and a pavilion. It can get crowded. Residents have free
entry, but supposedly $10 per car for non-residents. Our recent trip there had
a booth, but it was empty.
Anaehoomalu Bay or
A-Bay
In the Waikoloa beach
area. There’s a lifeguard and free parking, an ancient fish pond and most
importantly the Lava Lava Beach Club is nearby offering drinks and food.
Near Hapuna. Named 69
because of the utility pole marked near the parking entrance. In a small
residential community. During the winter months the white sand disappears
because of the stronger waves but returns in time for summer. Good snorkeling.
Mauna Kea Beach
Great for sunbathing.
During the summer months when the waves are calmer, it is a good place for
snorkeling.
Protected from high
surf by an offshore coral reef, this beach park is great for families. Camping
is allowed with a permit. There are BBQ facilities, a picnic area and a bathing
pavilion.
Kua Bay
Kua Bay
Secluded white sand
beach with beautiful crystal-clear water. Very popular with locals and
tourists. Such a great place that Kona Brewing Company named an IPA after it.
BLACK SAND
All black sand beaches
on Hawaii are tiny fragments of lava that have reached the ocean. Molten lava
cools down quickly when it hits the cold water, solidifying and then shattering
into large rocks or big sand granules so to speak. Over time this solidified
lava is ground down by the waves into smaller and smoother grains of “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
Popular beach for Honu
or turtle watching, both Hawaiian green sea turtles and the rarer Hawksbill
often sun themselves on the hot lava sand. Do not disturb Honu. It’s against
the law.
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
Lava covered much of
the town of Kalapana and Kaimu Bay when Kilauea began erupting in the late 80s
creating a young black beach 50 feet over the old beach. Not a place for
swimming, but instead to marvel at the power of nature. We did see some locals
surfing when we visited. The road ends where the lava carved a path to the sea
and located there is Uncle Robert’s Awa Bar and market. On Wednesday nights it
is a lively party with music and dancing. Here's a glimpse at the revelry there.
Isaac Hale (Pohoiki)
In 2018 lava covered
the Isaac Hale Beach Park and added acres to the shoreline. A road was carved
through the ominous lava after it cooled to reach Isaac Hale. Though quite
majestic and with a lifeguard on duty when we visited we were not brave enough
to swim.
Isaac Hale Beach
Beach art Isaac Hale
Kehena Beach
Supposedly nude bathing
is illegal, but Kehena Black Sand Beach it is “overlooked”. I guess authorities
have more on their hands than grabbing up nudists. Kehena is on the same road
as Isaac Hale, McKenzie State Park and Kalapana.
…gone…
Ahalanui Beach Park and
Hot Springs
Ahalanui Beach park...gone
This once popular
destination did not survive the 2018 eruption. Fed by the cooler ocean water
and the thermal warming made this place a unique visit. Ahalanui even had a lifeguard.
Black sand beaches in the Hilo area:
Richardson Beach Park
There are several small
beaches around Hilo, but none have any great expanse of sand. Mostly rocky and
tide pools, but a great place to see turtles. I once put on my goggles and went
under only to come face-to-face with a turtle.
Richardson Beach Park is
just one of several in the area.
Richardson Beach Hilo
Richardson Beach, Hilo
GREEN SAND
Papakōlea beach is a 49,000-year-old
collapsed cinder cone near the South point of the island that is also called
“Green Sand Beach”. Glassy olivine crystals are what make up most of the sand
on this rare natural display. Other materials like ash, lava and shells are
less dense and tend to be washed out to sea, though there are still some found
in the sand.
Evidently there are
only three other beaches in the world
Green sand (Olivine)
that can claim they have green sand. One is on a
Galapagos Island, another in Guam and a third in
Norway. None of them though has the grandeur of
Papakōlea with the collapsed cinder cone tilting
towards the Pacific.
Known locally as
Hawaiian diamonds olivine is in the same mineral family as the semi-precious
stone Peridot though the latter has a slightly different chemical composition
that gives Peridot high-clarity transparent crystals.
Yeah, I know… blah blah
blah.
You can get there from
here…
It is a commitment to
reach the green sand beach, but worth the effort. There are no facilities here,
no lifeguard or concessions, the water can be rough, and to help you reconsider
a visit, it is a 2.5-mile hike from the parking lot at South Point.
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.
The Paniolos have herded
cattle on the vast open land of the Big Island of Hawaii since 1832. The first
Hawaiian cowboys learned how to ride horses and deal with cattle from Mexican
Vaqueros invited to the island by King Kamehameha III.
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 PANIOLO WAY
hanging on
Today there are several
cattle ranches on the Big Island and the beef industry is still important
economically and historically.
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 11,000-acre Ponoholo
has the second largest cattle herd after the Parker Ranch at around 7,000 head
and is operated with strict rotational grazing, limiting damage caused by
erosion from overgrazing. For the past 25 years Paniolo Adventures has been
taking haole Paniolos on 2.5-hour morning and afternoon rides through the fields.
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.
horse riding lessons
Our guides were two
young women, and they gave us a quick onceover on how to deal with our horse,
how to mount by gripping the mane and not the saddle horn, and how to attempt
to get the horse to move in the proper direction with the reigns and gentle
nudging with the heels. By and large though, Renegade, my horse was a bit feisty
and did what he wanted to do. I just hung on.
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.
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
So, it’s not just Ahi
Tuna or Ono on the menu. Locally produced beef is available.
Paniolo Sunset BBQ
About a mile down the
road from Paniolo Adventures. On Wednesdays they serve a BBQ prime rib dinner.
There’s live music and entertainment. Enjoy the sunset view.
All their animals are
raised in Hawaii and only from farmers and ranchers who follow strict standards
for animal welfare. That means no antibiotics or added hormones.
This craft brewer and
restaurant is nearly next door to the Waimea Butcher Shop. They serve the best
hamburgers! Great beers too, some are dangerously strong.
How big is the big
island you may ask? Well, the land mass of all the other islands in the Hawaiian
archipelago can comfortably fit inside the big island.
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.
Mauna Loa from our Waikoloa resort
Mauna Kea is also a shield
volcano.
If measured from its
base on the ocean floor Mauna Kea would be the tallest mountain in the world.
At 33,500 feet in elevation this summit surpasses Mt. Everest by approximately
4,450 feet. Mauna Kea rises 13,796 feet above sea level and near the summit
there are several international observatories.
Kailua Kona with Hualalai in background
Mauna Kea is considered
a spiritual place by native Hawaiians. To read about Mauna Kea:
Hualālai is the western-most
volcano and looms over the thriving Kona coast. Kailua Kona is the main “city”
on the western side of Hawaii (the actual name of “the Big Island”) and it is
where the Ironman Triathlon is held. Most of the Kona coffee plantations are
found in this area of the island.
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
The volcanoes on the Big
Island are shield volcanoes. They are large broad mountains with gently sloping
sides that look like a warrior’s shield on its side. This shape has been built
up by repeated eruptions where the lava, either Pahoehoe or A’a, oozes out of
the craters and rifts and solidifies atop the older lava flows slowly adding to
the height of the mountain.
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:
Now all this yammering
about the volcanoes of the Big Island may not seem important, but they do
impact the weather on the island. The Kona / west side is leeward and is much
drier than the Hilo side. On the east side of the Big Island the prevailing
trade winds from the northeast carry moist air from the ocean and encounter the
two mountains of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea and rise, cools and condenses and there
is a lot of rain. When the winds descend, they become drier as they reach the
leeward or Kona side. Kona is the Hawaiian word for leeward.
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.
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