*My new album & slideshow called Exploring the Island of Hawaii have the pictures from what I talk about below!
Both Monday and Tuesday were filled with traveling around the island taking in everything the Big Island of Hawaii has to offer. On Monday we drove south along the coast, stopping periodically for pictures of the scenic views. Our first stop was at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau. This national park is a preservation of traditional Hawaiian life. Much of the park has original features but some parts have been reconstructed.
As we continued to drive south along the coast, we not only saw forest ecosystems but we also drove through some desert areas. Our mission was to get to the southern most point of the United States, Kalae, HI. The road was windy and the curves were beginning to hit me. Then we finally arrived at the point where we would travel down the tiny one-lane road to reach Kalae and the green sand beach. Along this road we were in yet another ecosystem, grassland. There were many windmills at the south point which were amazingly tall to see in person. When we finally reached Kalae, we got out of our car after the rugged, bumpy ride. The wind was blowing hard, so much so that Nolan became very nervous and said "Don't let me blow away." There were about a half dozen wooden structures on the edge of the cliffs. At first I thought, well these don't really look maintained and they are somewhat distracting to the beauty of the cliffs. Then I heard it, the crash of a person jumping hundreds of feet into the water. Then I saw the next person do it. I could not believe that people were jumping into the ocean. I regretted not having my bathing suit with us! It would have been so exciting! But by now Nolan was really getting agitated so we got in the car and proceeded on our drive.
We headed north east with thoughts of seeing the Hawaii Volcanoes. Along the way we stopped at the Black Sand Beach of Punalu'u. The black sand was truly an interesting sight. It was unlike anything I had seen before and it felt much more rough than the beach sand I am used to.
After driving through sun, then rain, then clouds, then more sun, then more rain, and after seeing a couple of rainbows, we arrived at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The views were breathtaking. We were able to see Halema'uma'u Crater and Lua Manu Crater as we drove through the park. We were unable to do some of the hiking as many areas were closed due to fumes. We walked on top of lava flow from 1974. The lava rock is black, gray and has shiny silver tones as well as reddish tones depending on which way you look at it. The rocks felt very light and the feeling of walking on lava flow was unlike anything I have experienced. It sounded really crunchy although nothing was breaking beneath our feet.
Once we left the park, we were headed North toward Hilo with the hopes of seeing a rainforest and perhaps some waterfalls. We took a scenic drive through a rainforest. I was astonished at how many different ecosystems and climates we had seen it just five hours and we were only about half way around the island! The rainforest was beautiful; there were plants with leaves as big as me! There were non-stop sounds of birds and other animals although they were very well hidden. The one creature I did see was the biggest spider. It was about four inches in diameter!
As the clouds were becoming thicker, it became darker and started to rain. We spotted a couple of waterfalls from the road but never hiked to see one up close. By this time we still had about one third of the island to drive through to get back to Kona. Once we arrived back in Kona, about 7:30, we picked up sushi and had dinner back at our condo. As you can imagine, great sushi is everywhere here in Hawaii.
On Tuesday we drove about 30 miles north to Hapuna Beach. Hapuna Beach was about a half mile long and 200 feet wide. The water was a brightest bluish turquoise that I had ever seen. Nolan was upset at first because of the wind. Finally he warmed up to the idea that the wind would not blow him away and he enjoyed playing in the sand. Tom and Bryan attempted snorkeling for a little but there was not much to see without swimming rather far into the ocean. We will probably just snorkel here in Kona by the pier. The waves were about two feet high and since the sand was so fine, the shallow water was very sandy. The ocean was crystal clear and very warm. As is typical in the afternoon, clouds began to cover the beach. We headed home and enjoyed another nice sushi dinner in our condo. I could seriously eat sushi everyday and I just might do that until we leave!
No comments:
Post a Comment