Reflection: Hawaiian Trip

Now that I am home, in bed, resting after four days that overflowed with activity, I can reflect back on a few notables about Hawaii. In no particular order I'm just going to list off random facts learned and thoughts I have.

- Hitch-hikers are everywhere in Hawaii. I don't know if it's illegal or not, but they are literally everywhere and range from all ages and types of people.

- Hawaiians must eat more than us on the mainland, because as hard as I tried, I was unable to finish any meal served on that island.

- We used an amazing app to find the trailhead to hike down to the Captain Cook Island. Without help from this app - we most definitely would not have found the trail. It is called "Every Trail." Free. Check it out!

- I am stunned by the number of climates that can be found on an island. I looked up all of them and found this great explantation. (I guess I can't have the image of the island on here like I wanted to! Dang copyright laws!)

- I find that a lack of signs makes some areas slow, confusing, or just plain unorganized! For one example of this, read my post from last night, ranting about United. Other incidences were simple not being able to find our destination, or getting scolded from being too close to the sea turtles when the sign was not maintained and you can't see the "Stay 15 feet away" rule.

- It is amazing how anyone has developed land on the west side of the island because it is completely covered in lava rocks. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to build those resorts!

- Hawaii Revealed: The Ultimate Guide Book might be the best resource when driving on the island to stop in unexpected, amazing places! Tips and tricks and suggestions for every part of the big island.

- A Lava Flow is like a piña colada, but add grenadine :)

I might add to this as I think/remember more, but for now I need a nap! Long night of travel. Below find a map of some of the key points we visited! We literally made a full circle around the island in the first 24 hours. Then it was a matter of going back and forth and in between points I and G, repeatedly, along the West Coast. Mahalo for reading!

Hawaii Day 4: Kohala Forest Reserve, Hawaiian Meal, Mauna Lani Beach, and Goodbyes!

Clear view of the entire valley and helicopters flying in the distance. By far my favorite hike I've ever done.

Muddy

Kohala Forest Preserve holds one of, if not "the," best places to hike. This morning, A wanted to show me what her town of Waimea has to offer. We ventured  over a few "No trespassing" signs and fences to get to the trailhead inside the forest preserve. Apparently its "closed until further notice." Oh well! We treked through a bamboo forest then dipped, ducked, and climbed over fallen bamboo and trees as we made our way up the mountain side. We only had to go 300 feet up over the course of roughly a mile to get to the lookout. Waimea is normally cloudy and rainy, but fate gave us the great fortune of having beautiful weather: moist, fresh air and cleared skies making the valley visible 3400 feet below over the cliff. From here, we ventured along the mountain side on the narrow trail, which I should mention is covered in roots, foilage, and mud. Moving along was not an easy task! 

Facing Fears 1,000s of feet above ground

We discovered two caves alongside the path. The first was natural but contained nothing, and the second was likely man-made to access a water line. We eventually came across a part off the trail that had worn away. On the way out, I held onto a board someone rigged onto the side. On the way back, I faced my fears in following A across the water line - thousands of feet above the greenery. Amazing, breath-taking hike. If we had all day, it would have been fun to take the trail to the complete opposite side of the valley. After 2 hours, our stomachs encouraged us to turn around and trample through the mud back to civilization.

In the cave looking out

A took me to Hawaiian Style Cafe in Waimea. She says there is always a short wait, so you know its good! I guess rice is very popular on the island. By the way, portion sizes here are larger than on the mainland. I ordered Hawaiian Style Loco Moco: rice,  caramelized onions, egg, pinapple sausage, and gravy. Very filling. Didn't feel too healthy afterwards! But after this morning's hike, it was well deserved.

After packing my suitcases, we stopped at Mauna Lani Beach for a quick snorkel. Not nearly the caliber of the Captain Cook area, as the coral was completely dead, but still saw some skiddish, colorful fish. No idea what types! I'll have to look them up.

To end the trip, A took me and another friend, who happens to be flying home tonight too, to Bite Me. It sits on the Hokokohau Harbour and has the best prices for the best quality food.  I've never had Marlin before, but loved how they prepare it. Top it off with a tropical sake based drink and you're good to go. Super chill - if I lived here I would come here more than necessary. What makes it even better - there is a cat named fish that hangs out on a barstool.

It has been an unbelievable trip. One I will not soon forget! Time to go sleep on my red eye. Mahalo!

(Update: I am now finally waiting to board my plane. There was a ridiculously long line, due to a cancelled flight, but it was poorly managed. No one was using the self check in stations for those who only have carry on luggage. It would at least thin the line! I eventually jumped it and checked myself in, hopefully starting a trend. I don't think I upset anyone because not a single person had approached the two machines in the hour I was standing there.  Come on United.... I get that you're stressed, but make it easier on yourself! )

Harbor View from Bite Me

Hawaii Day 3: Captain Cook Monument, Sunset, Stars

Hawaiian Graffiti - white rocks on black rocks

After a relaxed morning, we drove down to Kealakekua Bay to see the Captain Cook Monument and snorkel in the bay. There are only two ways to reach the bay: by boat or by hiking. We made the 1.8 mile hike down 1300 feet to reach our destination.

The monument marks the spot where Hawaiians killed Captain Cook. It actually sits on British land that it's leased to the US, so I got to stand in Britain and the United States at the same time! No passport needed.

I'm in two countries at once...
that are separated by an ocean. What?!

There isn't an easy access point to the bay, so we carefully made our way into the water over slippery rocks as the tide tested our balance. The bay waters are crystal clear and calm enough for inexperienced snorkelers. The fish don't even seem to notice that their every move is being monitored by countless admirers. I tried to find an "Aquatic Life of Kealakekua Bay," but have been unsucessful thus far. For now, click here to see a video that one of the boat cruises uses to see a sample of the lively and varied colored fish found in the waters. A had the great fortune of seeing an octopus the last time she snorkeled in this bay! The yellow fish you see in the video are everywhere, and beware of the eels as shown hiding in the coral! The video has no sound, so to add some background music, this song is more than fitting. The coral is fairly colorful, find a pretty good description at this website. We met up with a couple of A's co workers that took a boat tour into the bay, a nice way to end a long snorkel session :)

Black Crabs

Getting out of the water is more challenging than getting into it. I scrapped up my knees on the first attempt, then found a rope to hoist myself out before assisting A.

The hike back was brutal. The afternoon sun beat down as we had to reclimb the 1300 feet. Definitely had to stop ay least 5 times - whenever we found a bit of shade. Out of breath, we finally reached the car. I thought I was in better shape!

Going down - much easier than going up!

This is what we faced in the
brutal afternoon sun!

After a late lunch, we met up with her coworkers again at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort. We watched the sunset while drinking lava flows and mai tais alongside a pool of dolphins, watching whales jumping on the horizon. (Rough life, I know). The sun finally dipped below the water, and following a few more drinks, we walked down to the rocky beach. We made our own Hawaiian graffiti (see first picture on post) and layed back to admire the cloudless starry night.

Dolphins on the resort

Whales kept blocking our horrible view of the sunset, it was awful :-P

To top the night off, we relaxed in a hot tub fed by a waterfall on the resort. More star gazing and starlit swimming eventually concluded my final full night on the island!

Hawaii Day 2: Hapuna Beach, Ukulele Festival, Lava Lava Beach Club, Manta Ray Snorkeling

Another beautiful, long day on the big island has come to a pleasing end. Apparently, I brought strong winds with me, but they did not stop us from enjoying each moment. (The Trade Winds constantly sweep across Hawaii, but not normally this ferociously!)

Acai Bowl

This morning began very differently than yesterday. We had a leisurely morning, no rush to leave the hotel. Since I'm still on Pacific Coast Time, I was up early anyways and enjoyed mimosas with breakfast on the water as the sun rose. We later enjoyed Acai bowls, which are delicious.  Acai is grown in Brazil, but popular here!

We eventually made our way to the most popular white sand beach on the island: Hapuna. Not hard to see why with its long stretching sands reaching out towards the blue water and picturesque palm trees. Bonus... its easily accessible and has showers. Super strong sun as I learned yesterday, so I made sure not to miss any spots with the sunscreen.

Next stop was the annual Ukulele Festival. Two stages of young and old musicians showing off their ukulele skills. We got to learn how and make our own leis and watch a kid youtube star perform live! (See below with link to youtube video)

              

Onwards to a late lunch at the Lava Lava Beach Club. Perfect spot on the beach in 'Anaeho'omalu Bay to enjoy happy hour, hot wings, watch the sun start to set, all while having our toes in the sand listening to a cute, talented singer play. We were also surprised by seeing another giant sea turtle in the water by the rocks.  Better yet, as we watched the sun begin to fall, two whales decided to play in the distance - jumping far out of the water, sending visible splashes in the air.

Poke at the Lava Lava Beach Club

            















Final activity of the day: kayaking snorkel manta ray tour. I was so giddy about this adventure ever since I read about it while planning the trip.  A told me it is on Discovery's top 10 things to do before you die list. I was so nervous at the possibility of not seeing the rays, since everything else on the trip has gone so well. Some coworkers of A joined us for the tour.  We kayaked out into the bay, pitch black without flashlights. After getting anchored, we floated in the night waters, face down. The guides use flashlights to attract plankton to lure in the mantas. While waiting,  our guide dove to the bottom to show us various fish and bring us urchins to touch. I had kind of a religious moment in the water as I internally settled with the fact that we were not going to see the main attraction. You can't control nature! And then he came! (Lesson #2 patience). I was scared and star struck and intrigued all at the same time. His bony rib like white belly gapped from the main part of his body and he constantly did back flip after back flip.  It was like an underwater dance. He got so unbelievably close to me and seemed inches away the entire time. Wow. Below is a video I grabbed on youtube of the view scuba divers get, just to give you an idea of how impressive the whole experience was:

Great end to the day. We both were sea sick,  so are happy to be home to sleep.  Goodnight!

 

Aiden - Youtube Ukulele Star

Talented musician at Lava Lava Beach Club

Hawaii Day 1: Volcano, Green Sand Beach, Luau, and More!

Vent in the crater at Volcano National Park

Yesterday was a wondefully long day. The purpose of this trip was stay/visit with my friend, A, from college while exploring the big island together!

A and I woke at 4:15am this morning, on the road shortly after,  in order to reach Volcano National Park by sunrise. Our strict schedule filled quickly due to the number of activities that we wanted to fit in on the East/South side of the island. Below is our itinerary - I'll add more details/links later but for now enjoy the pictures :)

6:30am sunrise at Volcano National Park. Lava tube, hike, steam vents, giant crater. We ended up not being able to do the hike we intended to because we ended up in the wrong spot. It still made for a nice hike and turned out to have a better view of the crater than the trailhead we'd been searching for. We did manage to have enough time to find the Thurston Lava Tube in the middle of the rainforest before we had to hit the road.

8:30am hit road for green sand beach

Lava Tube

9:30am get sidetracked at an awesome black sand beach called Punalu'u where we see two giant sea turtles. It was significantly warmer at sea level and I felt elated to be in such a breath-taking place. (Photos at the end of this post!)

10:20am reach the south point of the island - Mahana Bay.
     -- 1 hour hike to the Green Sand Beach (we were told it would take 2.5-3 hours! We must be speedy hikers :) ) Beautiful trek along the coast with numerous photo worthy shorelines of waves crashing against the rocks. I saw too many people making the hike in flip flops or dresses - do yourself a favor and wear tennis shoes. And suncreen while you're at it. (My neck is a little raw this morning! ) If you're not up for the long hike, locals will take you in 4wd vehicles for about $10 each way.

     -- We enjoyed the beach, water, and well deserved re-energizing snacks while taking countless pictures. This beach could not have been more majestic. There are only two Green Sand beaches in the world. Here and in the Galapagos Islands.  If it hadn't been for the unusually strong wind whipping the sand painfully into our skin, we would have stayed longer.

Finally reached the Green Sand Beach!

It's really green!

12:30pm finished the hike back to the car and drove to the most Southern point in the US. (Hawaii is the state closest to the equator - a little trivia knowledge for you)



1:30pm stopped at Pebble Beach, off the beaten path, on the drive to Kailua-Kona. Literally made up of all pebbles and violent waves rolling them around making the sounds a little more intense. The drive to the beach from the highway is super steep - you drop over 1000 feet in about 1 mile.

5pm arrive at the Luau after a quick shower stop at the hotel. Other than taking 45 minutes to get in - it was adorable and fun!  Food was delicious - and they even demonstrated how they traditionally cook the pig on the islands. See the picture below of the beast after the process: They marinate and stuff him, light some hot coals, cover it all with banana leaves, protect everything with a tarp, before burying it under layers of dirt. After cooking all day - you have a tasty dinner :) We we able to see the sun setting on the beach before tiki torches lit and the show began. "Lava and Legends"  took us through different cultural dances of the islands of the South Pacific. This is my cup of tea - I could watch shows like this daily and never tire of them. When they performed dances from New Zealand, my heart jumped a beat - that was where I first saw a cultural dance and brought back fond memories! The grand finale gave us a fire twirling Samoan man - damn - forgive me but that was hot in more ways than one!
 

After a local bar filled with dancing vacationers, I retired to the hotel and immediately crashed. (I tried to write this last night but it wasn't happening! )

Overall an amazing day.  I can't believe the number of climates we saw in one day.  A told me that the big island of Hawaii has 13 of the 15 types of climates in the world. I know today we saw: tundra, rainforest, desert, beach/tropical,  snow on the top of the mountain, maritime, and probably more. 

That's it for now! See photos of the black sand beach & more from the other experiences below. Aloha!

Waves Crashing on the hike to the Green Beach

Difficult drive to the Green Beach

More Luau

  

Steam Vents in Volcano National Park

View on the hike to Green Beach

Taking off to Hawaii!

I know it has been a few days since I last posted. I have been working/preparing for Hawaii! Few new, out of the normal, events in my travels today.

I met an awesome dude when I got to the airport. We checked in,  went through security, and ended up having airport dinner together! Normally when I go to catch a flight, I'm focused on making sure I check in properly and get to my gate with plenty of time to spare. This was a welcome change of pace!

Other new thing: I just landed in Hawaii after 5 hours of chasing the sunset! Aloha! (Yes I'm going to rub this in over the next few days - too excited!)

P.S. I'm posting from my phone so pictures will all be caption-less for a while

Home for the next few nights :)