Hawaii Big Island

Date: December 8, 2018 – December 11, 2018
Location: Hilo, Hawaii on the Big Island of Hawaii

After we finished teaching in Honolulu, Hawaii we flew to the Island of Hawaii, most commonly called the Big Island. After picking up a rental car in Kona we drove around the southern part of the island to get to the Airbnb we booked in Hilo.

On the way we stopped at Kona Joe Coffee.

There had free coffee samples and great views.

We continued on to the southernmost bakery in the United States, Punalu’u Bake Shop. The bakery specializes in Hawaiian Sweetbread.

The road goes near the shore with more nice views.

Later in the evening we went to the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station (9,200 feet elevation) for the star gazing program. A few nights a week, telescopes are set up for the public to view the planets. Notable stars, which can be seen with the naked eye, are pointed out with a laser as well as the zodiac constellations. There were so many stars that we could see! It was much colder out than we expected (80F at sea level is more like 40F at 9,000 feet), and the lines to look through the telescopes were long, so we didn’t view the planets.

The summit of Mauna Kea is 13,796 feet and is one of the best locations in the world to observe the sky. There are 13 international telescopes at the summit. The location is ideal for star-gazing because the air that comes across the Pacific Ocean via the trade winds is some of the cleanest and least turbulent on Earth. The summit elevation is also located above 40% of the atmosphere and 90% of the earth’s water vapor.

A few days later we were able to see the top of Mauna Kea and the large telescopes on top.

December 9, 2018

We went to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. After entering the park we stopped at Kilauea Visitor Center.

At the visitor center there are a couple movies showing volcanic activity. From the map we could see what was closed and adjust our plan. The Crater Rim Drive and Thurston Lave Tube were closed when we were there, as well as the Kilaue Iki Trail hike. 

There was no molten lava on the island; we missed seeing it by just a few months. Below is Steaming Bluff. It isn’t fog in the picture, but steam that formed when rainwater is boiled by the hot rocks below the surface.

This is Kilauea Iki Overlook. In 1959 it was a lava lake, a mile wide, 3,000 feet across, and 400 feet below the overlook.

We drove the Chain of Craters Road. The road is surrounded by lava flow.

As we got closer to the ocean it became very windy.

After Hawaii Volcanoes National Park we went to Volcano Winery, the southernmost winery in the United States. 

We did a wine tasting and had wine made with fermented Jaboticaba Berries (and other grape varieties). The Berries gave the wine a peppery finish.

There was also a wine that uses all of the yellow guava fruit. That wine had a nutty taste from the seeds of the yellow guava fruit. 

December 10, 2018

On December 10, 2018, we started out by going to Rainbow Falls. The waterfall is 80 feet.

Near the falls we saw a wild boar. The babies were around as well.

After the falls we went to Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Visitor Center. We were able to try many of the flavors they make.

It was then to the free Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens.

The zoo has 2 Bengal tigers a white male and an orange female.

The zoo also has monkeys, parrots, a sloth and reptiles.

This is the Hawaiian state bird the Nene, or Hawaiian goose. The Nene is only found on the Hawaiian islands and at one time was endangered. The population is now increasing.

The below clock, named the Tsunami Clock of Doom, is stopped at 1:04 marking the morning of May 23, 1960 when a tsunami demolished the town. The town was hit by a tsunami in 1946 and the clock survived to stand as a memorial. The tsunami of 1960 wrecked over 500 buildings and 61 people died. The town banned residential building in the area that was hit twice by tsunamis and turned the land into public parks. Now the clock is on the side of a golf course.

Kamehameha the Great unified the Hawaiian islands around 1810.

December 11, 2018

On our last day on the Big Island we went to Akaka Falls State Park.

The park has a short paved loop that goes around the gorgeous rainforest.

This is Akaka Falls a 442 feet tall waterfall.

There are nice flowers in the park.

We also saw a lizard that looked similar to the one we saw in the zoo the day before.

After Akaka Falls we drove to Waipi’o Valley Lookout.

We had lunch in the town of Honoka’a at Gramma’s Kitchen. The food was really good!

After lunch we did a tour of Mauna Kea Tea. The tea plants could be used to make black, white, yellow, green and oolong tea. Mauna Kea Tea has chosen to focus on making organic green tea.

Depending on which part of the tea plant is used, that is what determines the quality and price point of the tea.

On the right would be used for the premium tea and the left would be for the island tea.

After our time in the tea field we were able to taste the tea.

On the way to the airport we stopped to sample the macadamia nuts at Hamakua Macadamia Nut Company.

I preferred the macadamia nuts at Mauna Loa.

The airport has a lot of open areas and in the center is a sculpture.

Of the 4 Hawaiian islands that we visited – Kauai, Oahu, Maui and Big Island – I enjoyed the Big Island the best, as there is a large variety of things to do. Volcano National Park is also really amazing.