Did I mention that I was in Hawaii earlier this year?!:) (Must have been the third or fourth time I stated this). Anyway, this is an op about my travel on the Big Island of Hawaii.
The Big Island is so named because it is the biggest island within the state of Hawaii. The island is dotted with coffee and macadamia nut plantations as well as the usual volcanoes. Scientists are still arguing whether there is one big volcano or three separate ones. Every now and then, during our drive around the island, we saw the occasional gas venting from the earth, an indication that we were near an active volcano.
We flew to the Big Island on Aloha Airline, which you could read about in a previous op. We had a hired car and armed with a map, were able to find our way to various places, including our hotel. Here are some of the highlights of our visit.
Airport ======= There are two airports on the Big Island. One at Kona and the other one at Hilo. We arrived at Kona airport. It was an open air one, right by the coast. Yes, you read right. Open air. No walls except for the washrooms, cafes and shops.
Kona Coffee =========== Our visit coincided with New Year's day and most of the places we wanted to visit were closed. After speaking to a local, we managed to find an opened coffee farm. Now, apparently, kona coffee is supposed to be one of the best in the world. After sampling a few different variety, I can safely conclude that they are 1. Very strong. 2. Very nice but I can't tell. 3. Very expensive, some up to $20 per pound!
Now that I have made you sit up, it is still possible to purchase kona coffee at reasonable prices, a matter of knowing where to go. Avoid all the tourist traps, souvenir shops and head straight for the local large pharmacy called Long Drugs (the equivalent of Boots and Superdrug, but on a larger scale). Hunt around the aisles and you will spot Kona coffee for between $3 - $8 per pack of 3 oz to 10 oz.
Beaches ======= We drove to a beach that has black sand. Black sand you say, kidding right? Nope! The sand were formed from the disintegration of rocks burnt and melted by previous volcano eruptions. A bit grainer than what we had experienced in Oahu beaches, but still very interesting. We also saw a couple of tortoises (or are they turtles?) resting on the beach.
Later on our trip, we visited another black sand beach where the sand was softer. According to my husband, it was very enjoyable swimming there because the water's warmer. Now, I don't know whether that is because of the climatic conditions in Hawaii or because of the active volcanoes heating up the water around the island ... your guess is as good as mine.
We were told that there was a green sand beach on the Big Island but was accessible only by a walking trail which would take an average person about an hour each way. We might reserve that for a second visit.
Volcanoes ========= The highlight of our travel was a full day visit to the Volcano National Park. This was the place I had been looking forward to. We spent a full day at the National Park, driving round the various extinct, dormant, and active volcanoes, caves, smelling the sulphur emitting into the air. We stayed for the night scene too, because that is the best time to view an active volcano.
Mind you, we had an hour trek to get close enough, carrying a litre of water each, with wet towels covering our face because the gas is a form of sulphuric oxide, quite toxic. The trek was definitely worth it. We had lava flowing beneath our shoes, lava flowing next to us towards the ocean. Looking towards the top of the volcano/mountain, we could see eruptions an kilometre away from us and towards the evening, the rocks glowed an ember red hot. It was another hour trek back to the car and now it was more dangerous because of the uneven rocks with cracks everywhere.
It was a good thing there were lots of visitors during that time and we had a torch as well. Basic requirements for a night visit to the active volcano, decent walking shoes with thick soles (our shoes got quite hot), lots of water, wet towels to cover your nose and mouth and a very strong torchlight per person.
It is worth noting the only means of access to the park is driving. I am not sure if they have tour buses for the park. Personally I prefer to visit the various attractions at my own pace. We had to pay an entrance fee of $10 per car to get into the park and were allowed to enter multiple times. We needed to do that for food and water because there aren't any shops within the park.
The Hawaiians ============= For want of a better name to call the residents of the Big Island, many of whom were not born there but chose to move there. I found them very friendly, kind and helpful.
Accommodations ============== We stayed at the Kona seaside hotel. It is one of the few hawaiian owned hotel. Although breakfast wasn't included, the hotel is right next to the beach and there are plenty of cafes and restaurants nearby. The room was spacious and fully air-conditioned (a necessity in that heat!). We paid between $60 to $80 per night for 3 nights. From my receipt, the price was $60, but after tax, it edged closer towards $75. The last time I checked their website, the prices seems to have changed. Worth checking out. Other sites I have used to find accommodation was expedia.com
Misc ==== Need suntan lotion for the entire visit. The sun shines for a good 12 hours per day. Interestingly, we didn't encounter any flies nor mosquitoes. Maybe they don't like the fumes from the volcano?
We didn't visit the other half of the island, namely the Hilo section. We were told the humidity in that area were generally higher than Kona, and tend to rain frequently.
Further Information =================== Kona Seaside Hotel http://www.sand-seaside.com/kona_hotels.htm
Volcano Park http://www.nps.gov/havo/
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