They Call it the Big Island of Hawaii for a Reason

I have found the most wonderful condo in Kona. It’s a place called Outrigger Kanaloa at Kona. It’s located on the Kona Country Club grounds and the ocean views are wonderful!

Kanaloa is on 18 acres, overlooking Keauhou Bay. Ocean front units are 20 feet from the lava rock coastline and all units are fully furnished with full kitchens and washer and dryers. There are 3 pools and 2 tennis courts, for those who like a little action on vacation.

We had a one bedroom unit and it was perfect! It had one and a half bathrooms, a flat screen TV with DVD player and a Playstation with games and movies. The kitchen had granite counters and was stocked with coffee maker, espresso machine, microwave, side by side fridge, brand new stove, all the dishes and pots and pans you could need, it was great! The washer and dryer came in very handy after spending a few days on Maui and lugging all my dirty clothes to the Big Island. Our lanai was huge and had a wet bar with a small fridge and a couple lounge chairs. The best part was, after we would cook dinner, then breakfast in the morning, we would come back at the end of the day, and the dishes had been loaded into the dishwasher and washed! It made me feel special. There are gas grills all over the property and we used them to make steaks.

I read that the property is wireless, but have heard that some people have a hard time getting logged on. There is a community computer in the main pool house, but you have to use a credit card to pay for time. It was $10 for 30 minutes. It was perfect to print boarding passes, or to send a quick hello email back home.

We loved our condo and plan on going back, often. This was our first time staying in a condo and I loved being able to make my own meals and snacks and not have to rush to breakfast at a hotel restaurant.
TIP: The closest grocery store is KTA at the top of the hill, but there is a Safeway further down the road for those of you that have a Safeway Club Card. I found KTA to be very expensive.

Air conditioning is a separate fee...$15 a day. We went in October and we definitely needed it. Don’t scrimp on the a/c. There's nothing worse than being uncomfortable while on vacation.

Located off Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona. Kahuna Joes is a small pizza joint with only 4 tables. Ruben, the owner and proprietor gets most of his business from deliveries. He has a custom made, pizza box attached to the back of his moped and he spends most of the day driving around, delivering pizza and sandwiches.

The slices here are huge and you can get almost any combination you could think of. From anchovies to jalapenos to pesto, you want it, you got it! He also offers hot and cold sandwiches and homemade cookies for dessert.

This was some of the best pizza I’ve had in a long time. Kahuna Joe’s is located in Alii Plaza, down the way from U Top It.

I have to post this in 2 parts because it’s too long and I want to be as detailed as possible.

I wanted to do a night snorkel with the manta rays and chose Kona Honu Divers. The reason I chose them out of all the other dive companies is because this trip takes roughly 5 hours and they provide sandwiches between the afternoon and evening dive/snorkel. The prices were pretty much the same with all the other companies, but I knew being out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, during dinner time, I would need at least a snack. That being said, this was the most amazing activity we did on our whole trip (maybe the most amazing thing I’ve done my entire life) and I recommend that everyone do it at least once!

There are lights anchored on the bottom of the ocean (about 40 feet down) that are turned on after the sun sets. That in turn attracts plankton, which is what mantas eat and that in turn, attracts the manta rays. This is where the magic begins!

Our dive master, Jason told us that manta rays can reach 14-15 feet from wing to wing and that they don’t have teeth or stingers. He said that there are about 15 mantas that come to the site on a regular basis and they all have names. They can tell them apart by the markings on their bellies. He also said that there are no guarantees that any will show up at all.

Check in is at the dive shop at 3:30pm and then you have to drive to the boat about 2 miles. After a brief introduction (our captain was Capt. John) and a few rules, we were on our way. The ride was about 30 minutes, out to "Manta Ray Point" where we dropped our anchor.

We did some snorkeling for about 45 minutes and the divers came back about 15 minutes after we did. We were served sandwiches, chips and sodas, then we watched the sun set. There were a few more rules to attend to at this point like, everyone has a flashlight that they cannot turn off and that has to be kept facing DOWN, so you don’t blind anyone. No touching of the mantas, no swimming after them and absolutely no kicking with your flippers.

We get suited up in our wetsuits that Kona Honu provided and jumped into the black water. Now this is a whole other kind of fear... not scary, per se, but very intimidating because you can’t see what’s around or below you. FREAKY! So we have to swim the where the lights are (about 75 feet or so) and join the circle. I blow out my snorkel to make sure there is no water in it, plunge my head into the water, adjust my eyes and to my amazement, there is something dancing around at the bottom.

Go to part 2

I can see a black figure, swimming over the heads of the divers, then does a slow backflip, showing us her belly. Wow! I’ve never seen anything like this before!

She moves like a ballerina, slowly somersaulting and gliding around like an underwater bird. It truly is a beautiful sight. At one point, I float into the middle of the circle, where there are small fish dancing around in this crazy dance and now I can’t see because I’m surrounded by fish. I swim back to my spot ever so lightly, careful not to kick too hard and take my place back in the circle.

Wow, she is amazing! She darts in and out of the light, making us wonder which direction she’ll come from next. I’m trying to take pictures with my disposable, underwater camera while I make sure to keep my flashlight down, which is not an easy task.

After a few minutes, I thought she had disappeared for good, when all of a sudden, she shoots back into the circle, 2 feet away from me! I couldn’t believe it! I may have stopped breathing at that point. Oh my god, she was gorgeous! You don’t realize how big 14 feet is, until it’s right in front of you. It’s huge! She had her mouth open, catching her dinner and it was as big as the front end of my car. She was so close, I wanted to grab on to her and go live in the sea the rest of my life. She did a few somersaults for us, then disappeared again.

We found out later that her name was Lefty. I was so happy that someone was hungry and came out to play. It really was something else. After we got back on the boat, I heard a splash in the water...  I looked over the side and it was Lefty! Apparently, she wasn’t ready for us to leave. She frolicked around for a few minutes, then disappeared again. Did I say "wow" yet?

Do yourself a favor and do this. It’s a once in a lifetime experience. The dive company provides all equipment, even wetsuits. Do not forget your towels... they don’t supply those. We forgot ours in the car and it sucked to be dripping wet the entire time. I was never cold like I thought I would be, but I didn’t like being wet.

This was amazing and I will be doing it again, when I visit the Big Island. Sadly, not one of my pictures came out. It’s just too dark out there. Darn! I had some great shots of her belly!

You can go to their website at www.konahonudivers.com/mantaray.shtml to see pictures and get prices.

The Punalu'u black sand beach that is right off of highway 11 on the Big Island, is a great place to relax, have some lunch, frolic near the sea turtles or just take in the beauty of this stretch of beach.

The beach is located between Captain Cook and Volcano, not towards the Hilo side of the island and there are ample signs from the highway, pointing toward the road that will take you to it.

There are restrooms here, grills and covered picnic tables. Further down on the beach, there is a small snack bar. This beach has a lot of private residences on it, so obey the signs and don’t trespass. I probably sound like a broken record, but please do not bother the sea turtles that come to rest on this beach. They are not sick, nor do they need to helped back into the water… they just want to hang out. There are signs all over that say you need to stay 15 feet away from them. Please allow these cute creatures to rest in peace, and not surround them or try to touch them.

We had some sandwiches that we made, while watching a cat lurk nearby. This is a great beach, just for sunning, or snorkeling. We only had lunch, then moved on to the volcano. If you’re driving toward volcano from the Kona/Kohala area, make a stop here. It’s different than all the other beaches you see.

You have to visit Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Park. It’s a great place to stop on your way to the volcano. There is a lot of history as well as mystery belonging to this 182 acre stretch of land.

According to legend, Hawaiians who broke a kapu or one of the ancient laws against the gods could avoid an otherwise certain death by fleeing to this place of refuge, or pu’uhonua. They could then be absolved by a priest and free to go. Men, women and children, those weak and ill, those defeated in battle, or those who were non-combatants in battle but on the losing side, also came to see refuge until the battle was over. The only way to get to the pu’uhonua was by swimming and once there, you could be absolved in as little as a few hours.

This was one of the coolest places I have ever been to. The wooden statues are amazing and the grounds are immaculate. Sea turtles rest here and there is snorkeling, if you’re interested. The tours are self guided, so you can go at your own pace. There is a really weird silence here. It’s almost serene. The white sand is warm to walk on and the great lava rock wall was put together using no mortar, the rocks were just snugly fit together. I liked hiking out on the lava, to the water’s edge and just taking it all in.

There was a local carving an outrigger canoe out of koa wood and I saw 2 sea turtles, scooting up on the beach to take a rest. There is a reconstructed temple that housed the bones of at least 23 chiefs. The Hawaiians believed the bones gave more protection to the grounds.

There is a $5 entrance fee and they only accept cash. The nearest ATM, is back up the hill about 5 miles. There are fully functional restrooms here as well as an information desk with maps that cover the entire grounds. All tours are self-guided and they offer all-terrain wheelchairs free of charge, because it’s all sand and lava rock. The park hours are 7am to 8pm, 365 days a year. The visitor center is open from 8am to 5pm. There are no food outlets here, but feel free to bring a picnic lunch with you. There is a gift shop that offers bottled water and souvenirs.

If you keep driving through the parking lot, down past the palm trees, you can park there and have a quiet lunch on the beach. Don’t skip this place. It was very, very cool.

Volcanoes National Park is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Miles and miles of lava fields, steam vents, lava flowing into the ocean, lava crossing the road and lava tubes, there is plenty to see and do here and it takes all day, if not 2 days. The park charges a $10 fee per car, so even if you have 6 people, as long as they’re in one car, it’s 10 bucks and the pass is good for 7 days.

70 million years of volcanic activity has made the Big Island what it is today. A land that looks at times, like the surface of the moon. We went to the park from the Kona part of the island on Hwy 11. Just follow the road and you’ll run right into it… approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours without stops.

The Kilauea Visitor Center has a plethora of information about the island, its culture and its history. There is a 25 minute movie that plays at the center and there is a small museum and gift shop to walk through. This is the start of the volcano experience.

We drove down to the Thurston lava tube, first. This is exactly what it sounds like, a tube that lava flowed through at one point. It was named after Lorrin Thurston, who was a newspaper publisher who helped create the park. You would never see it from the street, as it’s over 350 years old and covered in vegetation. There is a steep walk down some stairs and the tube is lighted inside, but it’s still very dark and wet. Water drips from the ceiling, so don’t wear your favorite silk jacket in here and there are also small puddles of water that you’ll step in. This was a really cool thing to see. There are so many more lava tubes like this one, they just haven’t been discovered yet.

Next, we got back in our Chrysler 300 and drove down the Chain of Craters Road. This is where things start to look like the moon. Trees sprout up through 100 year old, hardened lava and you can see how the lava rippled as it destroyed and covered everything in its path. Amazing. The first major lookout point, has a raised platform and you can see for miles and miles and even see the ocean. We hiked down a little ways, but be careful! The lava is very jagged in areas and steep. Make sure you have really good, rubber soled, hiking boots to grab the rocks. It was really windy at this spot and I wished I had a jacket and some jeans on. I had long shorts and a tank top on, which made it quite chilly. The temperature definitely dropped when we got to Kilauea. Do not wear flip flops or open toe shoes here. You won’t be able to do any kind of hiking and you will want to, I guarantee it.

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As you continue down Chain of Craters Road, there are many craters and pullouts to stop at and take pictures or hike, but as you drive, there is a point where you can see where the lava is flowing into the ocean. Now, this is something to see! You’ll recognize it by the smoke coming off the water. You won’t actually see red, flowing lava during the day, but seeing the smoke rise from the water was really neat. It just made me want to bypass everything else and get to the end of the road, so I could see it closer!

Keep in mind that there are only restroom facilities at the visitors center, Volcano House hotel, Kilauea Overlook, Jaggar Museum, Thurston Lava Tube, Namakani Paio campground, Kipuka Puaulu picnic area, Mauna Ulu, Kulanaokuaiki campground, and the turnaround at the end of Chain of Craters Road and once on that road, there really isn’t any vegetation to hide behind, so ‘going’ outside really isn’t an option.

There is a tiny snack bar at the end of the road, but other than that, the only other place to get food is a the Volcano House Hotel, which is right next to the visitor center. I hear they have a great lunch buffet, but it’s usually over-run with tour bus people.

So other than having to ‘hold it’ for the drive down the crater road, it was a really nice drive. The road does get a little curvy as you come down off Kilauea and head down to the ocean, but it’s no big deal.

Now where the lava crosses the road, was by far my favorite part of the park. In 2003, lava crossed the Chain of Craters Road, making it impassable. They even had to move the ranger station. Parking is about a mile away from the actual site, and parking is along the road. The walk to the end of the road seemed very long to me, but I had my Camelback, which is a backpack that carries water and has a drinking tube attached to it, for easy, hands free access. From the end of the road, we hiked out a little, to the ocean’s edge. Breathtaking! We were about 2 and half miles from the flowing lava and you may hike there of you like, just be prepared with water, etc. We chose to not hike out that far, even though I really wanted to... I knew I couldn’t handle a hike that far, over jagged rocks. The park rangers mark holes in the lava with orange cones, so people don’t stumble into them. There are no ranger guided tours to the flowing lava, but you are free to go as far as you like, just be smart about it.

If you want to see a really cool picture of the lava crossing the road, go to www.nps.gov/archive/havo/home.htm

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As you drive along Crater Rim Drive, about a mile from the visitor center, are the steam vents and sulpher banks. You absolutely have to stop here. If you thought the lava makes this place look like the moon, wait till you see the steam vents. The steam is produced by ground water seeping down to the hot volcanic rocks and returns it to the surface as steam and boy does it stink! It smells like sulpher all over the place here. If you park and walk to the crater, it really, really looks like the moon. A barren crater, spewing out ghostly steam all over the place, it’s kind of eerie.

You can walk for quite a ways and see the sulpher banks and the vegetation that grows in and around them. It smells like rotten eggs, but that’s what sulpher smells like. The sulpher is also very hot. We stood in front of one of the vents for a photo op, (see below) and wow was it hot!

Nature is such a wonder when you see things like this. It just boggles the mind how things like this occur. There are a couple trails here and you can walk out pretty far down into the crater. This is a great place to have lunch, as we did. We packed a cooler with sandwiches we made at the condo, and had a bite to eat on the moons’ surface. NEAT!

If you don’t have all day, to visit, I suggest driving the 11 mile Crater Rim Drive. You’ll see the steam vents, The Jagger Museum, Kilauea lookout, Thurston lava tube, Pu'u Pua'i Overlook and Halema'uma'u crater. This should take roughly 2-3hours, depending on traffic and how long you stay at the points of interest. Just grab a park map at the visitor center and plan your route.

As I said before, PLEASE don’t wear open toe shoes. Wear hiking boots and jeans and make sure you have plenty of water. There are no gas stations or convenience stores anywhere on the drive. Most importantly, have fun!

Sea turtles, or Honu as they’re called in Hawaii are an endangered species. You will see many of them while you’re snorkeling, or sitting on the beach, because they like to rest on the beach, just as much as you do.
Please keep in mind that you are not allowed to touch these sweet creatures, at all. they are endangered species and the bacteria transferred to them via our human skin can kill them as they have no immune system for it. In fact, you must stay at least 15 feet away from them. If you come across one sleeping on a beach, please leave them alone.

You may come across quite a few while snorkeling and as tempting as it is, please stay away from them. They do not want to swim with you, nor do they wish to be fed human food. The feed mostly on fish, seagrass and have been known to eat jellyfish. They reproduce by burying their eggs on beaches and I shouldn’t have to tell you not to touch the eggs if you see any.

All in all, these are protected animals and there are fines for bothering them. Take all the pictures you want, but please, please do not try to touch them.