Enjoying the Hawaiian sun by the pool of our great Waikiki hotel surrounded by skyscrapers and listening to the waves of the Pacific ocean was a great way to start off our trip to Hawaii but the best part began when we headed off to the Big Island, officially called Hawai'i.
Hilo
The Big Island is the island for someone who enjoys hiking and the wonders of nature such as volcanoes, mountains, flora and fauna all on one island. There are beaches, shopping centers, bars and restaurants but it all really does come down to the nature of the island. There are 8 (out of 13) climate zones from tundra to desert on the island and they’re all accessible in one day! Our base was Hilo which is a small town on the east side of the island. We chose Hilo mainly because it’s very peaceful and located in between the jungle in the north/northeast, and rain forest and Volcano in south making it an easy driving distance to both.
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| Rainbow Falls near Hilo, Hawai'i |
We arrived to Hilo on the 25th of December, the Christmas Day! It was a very quiet day. We hardly saw any people, most restaurants were closed and we only saw a handful of cars driving around. The tourist masses were at the bigger resorts, mainly situated on the west side of the island in Kona. To move around the island you’ll need to rent a car which is made easy and simple but be aware that it can get busy at the rental counters even if you’ve booked in advance as pretty much everyone needs to rent a car there.
First thing to do as soon as you’re sitting in the car is to turn on the radio to start listening to volcano announcements which, to us, sounded very exotic! As the lava flow was somewhat near a busy road during the time we were there we heard frequent warnings about the areas that might be affected. Luckily the flow got slower day by day eventually stopping without harming people or business.
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| No shopping in Hilo on Christmas day |
Hilo is a small town with approximately 40 000 inhabitants. The town has suffered some serious damage in three tsunami’s since 1940’s. If you’re in the area around Christmas you should book a table at the famous Christmas buffet at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. The food was extraordinary (except maybe the desserts) and the place was packed with locals! What a great experience!
Unfortunately we didn’t get to try any of the other local restaurants as many places were closed during our visit. We only stayed three nights in Hilo and were constantly on the move.
Mr. Ed's Bakery & Akaka Falls State Park
Akaka Falls state park is definitely worth a visit. You'll see a series of smaller water falls as well as the Akaka itself. Walking through the park you'll see beautiful nature with some very unique plants and flowers.
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| Mr. Ed's Bakery near Akaka Falls |
Mr. Ed’s Bakery is another great place to visit on your way to Akaka Falls. Mr. Ed is a retired geography teacher who is famous for his natural preserves. We bought Lilikoi (passion fruit) butter, Lime butter and jalapeno mustard which were all ridiculously delicious. I wish we had bought more! The baked produce were also absolutely tasty so make sure to stop by!
Whale Watching
We have been trying to see whales all over the world yet have been awfully unsuccessful. Our luck turned on Hawaii and we finally got to see these amazing creatures in the Pacific ocean.
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| Successful whale spotting |
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| Lava fields & luxury hotels |
After a fantastic and very successful whale watching trip we were taken back to The Shops at Mauna Lani, an open air shopping center, we picked up a delicious sushi lunch from one of the shops and headed to one of the beaches at Kiholo Bay. This is where it gets pretty incredibly awesome: we followed a path leading to the beach while a group of wild goats were enjoying their lunch. We took a refreshing dip in the sea and ended up laying on the beautiful black sand, eating the fantastic lunch (wraps and sushi) while watching whales jumping in the ocean not far from the shore. It was one of the best moments ever!
Volcanoes and lava tubes
Driving south from Waikoloa, following the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway (19) you can also check out the enormous collapsed lava tubes.
In the evening, about an hour or a little more before the sunset we started our journey to the Mauna Kea summit, 4,207 m. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano with magnificent views! It took us little longer than expected as we had to stop every now and then to admire the view. Make sure you are on time, the sunset is definitely worth spending some extra time on the mountain. Right after the sunset, people start lining up for the telescopes. You also have a viewing of a short documentary explaining the history of Mauna Kea as well as some background on the telescopes and there’s a small café which is great because if you are not prepared you will probably want to buy a cup of hot tea to warm you up! Pretty soon after the telescopes are put away also the crowd disappear and you’re left there with a handful of photographers and star gazers.
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| Photo of people taking photos |
There are many hiking trails for hikers of all levels (even accessible routes) on the Big Island. You can spend weeks exploring the waterfalls, valleys and beaches. We mainly concentrated on hiking around Volcano (the village) as well as Volcanoes National Park. The national park is very popular and you will see a lot of people on pretty much any trail you take. For longer trails on which you need to stay the night it is mandatory to register at the park’s ranger. Make sure you do this on time as they aren’t always at the office. Registration is very important as things can take a dangerous turn fast and you might need to be saved from whatever the situation is; you’re on an active volcano, after all.
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| Hot and steamy lava field |
Even though Volcano looks small and remote, you have plenty of accommodation options from luxury B&B villas to treehouse cottages. We were lucky to find a fantastic B&B that made our stay perfect with heated bed and beautiful location right smack in the middle of the rainforest. Two days in Volcano was ok but I really wish we had a day or two more because of the fantastic hiking grounds. Also, make sure you visit the Volcanoes National Park Visitor Center for information, maps and advice. There are also a couple of restaurants in Volcano, the best of which are Kilauea Lodge & Restaurant (slightly fancier, reservation required) and Lava Rock Café.
In the future we are hoping to hike all the way up to Mauna Loa. On this trip we only drove up to an undefined elevation which was high enough to turn on the heating in the car and wear a jacket. For a proper hike you should have proper (thermo) gear as the temperature drops below 0 celcius in the evenings and sometimes you even have snow on top of the volcano.
