Big Island 4—Hilo

Hilo is the largest town on the Big Island. Unlike Kona, the town is not centered on the tourist trade. It’s on the rainy side of the island, and doesn’t have great swimming beaches. It does have a colorful history, an interesting downtown, and many natural wonders within a short drive. We managed to slow down from the tourist whirl and got a good glimpse of day-to-day life in Hawaii.

One day, we took a short drive out of town to see two waterfalls and a cave, all state parks. We made a loop from Hilo, maybe 15 miles total. The drive was lovely, going over streams and through tropical foliage and small towns. Rainbow Falls and Pe’epe’e Falls are both beautiful, with viewing areas and paths to hike down to the pools below the falls. Many groups of people were ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the views.

Next was Kaumana Cave. There were hardly any other cars on this road, and the only other group of people left soon after we arrived. The cave is actually a lava tube, created by lava flow in 1880. I walked a little way into the cave. It was very impressive, with interesting lava formations. I had a small flashlight, but the darkness swallowed the light right up. The cave goes on for two miles. You should have at least two very bright flashlights if you plan to explore further than a few dozen feet.

Quick Tips:

Check out the small shops downtown on the coast road, Kamehameha Ave. There are several galleries and import stores and a natural food store/cafe. The Sig Zane store sells Hawaiian clothing made from textiles with original designs based on Hawaiian plants and traditions. They're so pretty that I find it relaxing just to look at them!

If you're in town on a Wednesday or Saturday, take a walk through the farmers' market, also on Kamehameha Ave. It has fresh fruits and vegetables, beautiful local flowers at good prices, and crafts and gift items. I didn't get to go to the Pacific Tsunami Museum, also on Kamehameha Ave., but would like to. It has exhibits about tsunamis and specifically the two lethal ones that hit Hilo in 1946 and 1960.

Best Way To Get Around:

Reed's Bay Hotel is a budget oceanfront place to stay. It has unbeatable views, yet manages to be slightly shabby. It seems to be popular with the low-budget crowd, young people and others. At least some of the units are privately owned, and there seemed to be a number of long-term residents as well as travelers. We found it through a newspaper ad, and it was perfect for our needs. The staff were friendly and it felt homey.

We got a good deal on our room; they upgraded us to “kitchenette” (a regular room with a microwave and a small fridge) at the advertised price for a regular room. The room had cinder block walls, newly painted, and the tile and carpet floors were in good shape. The lanai looked out on Hilo bay, and we could hear the waves. We could also the airplanes taking off and landing in the nearby airport—-some of them flew right over us. Maid service was odd; the first day our bathroom was cleaned but the bed wasn't made, and we found a piece of broken glass in the basket with the drinking glass. We stayed three nights, anyway, and were happy enough with it.

Oddly, the place required a $100 deposit, which, as promised, they returned to us in cash when we checked out - but only after the maid checked the room. We lost one of the room keys, and they were nice about it, charging a reasonable $5. The hotel has a great location on Banyan drive. There are a couple of giant banyan trees in the parking lot. Right down the street, we noticed Queen Liliuokalani Gardens, a Japanese garden that looked like a great park to take a stroll in. It's also a quick drive to downtown Hilo. My friend said the place seemed like low-income housing, and it did. But we were comfortable, the atmosphere was friendly, and the view was amazing for the price.

Ken's is a great place to go to absorb the local Hilo flavor - multicultural, laid back, island life. I've been there twice for breakfast. I have not had the signature pancakes, but they sure looked good.

We went for Sunday breakfast, and the place was packed. I had to circle the parking lot while my friend got us in line for a table. (The convenience store next door has nasty signs warning Ken's patrons away from parking there, though some evidently had. Others parked at the mall down the street and got some exercise walking.) There was about a 20-minute wait, and then we were seated in a comfy booth. There's also counter seating. The waitstaff wear aloha dresses or shirts. They were pleasant and as attentive as possible, given how busy the place was.

The menu would have been daunting, but we only looked at the breakfast choices. You can have eggs and breakfast meat with toast or pancakes and hash browns or rice, all for a very reasonable price. My friend substituted pineapple for the toast or pancakes, as offered on the menu. She was disappointed when it was canned - on the island, we expected fresh. We skipped the meats, but the menu also offers fake meats in place of the real for vegetarians. Our eggs were great. I was a bit queasy so just had toast and rice with them, which hit the spot. My friend's hash browns were nothing special. They left a carafe of coffee on the table, which was great, and brought a carafe of hot water for my tea, which was served with packets of honey.

The patrons were mostly local people. It was so relaxing to be immersed in the culture. I became almost euphoric - everyone looked so beautiful to me. The waitresses, the young family in the next booth over, the elderly couple in another booth. The big Hawaiian guys, oh yes! Most people seemed to be eating the local-style breakfasts, giant mounds of eggs, meat, and rice, with fluffy pancakes on the side.

Ken's also serves lunch and dinner, with specialty nights including an all-you-can-eat spaghetti night and Taco Tuesday.

Akaka Falls must be one of the most romantic spots in the world. It's well worth a visit, if you're on the Hilo side of the island - I've returned to it three or four times.

The turnoff to the falls from Highway 19 is about 11 miles north of Hilo and is well-marked. First you drive through the town of Honomu, which is a good place to stop for refreshments or to browse the few small shops. The falls are about four miles up the road. Park in the lot and take the trail from there.

There are actually two waterfalls, Kahuna and Akaka. You can walk directly to either, or do both as a loop. We did the loop, heading to the right to Kahuna Falls first. The walk is not long - the whole loop is less than half a mile - and is full of wonderful scenery. There is giant golden bamboo. We saw some broken stalks with moss growing on them, beautiful. There is also giant ginger, the tallest I've ever seen, maybe 15 feet high. One area had a thicket of large trees in a formation that looked like an enchanted forest. Flowers were everywhere, all different kinds, and we could hear birds singing.

There were also a lot of tourists. We stopped to admire Kahuna Falls, which falls an impressive 400 feet. The overlook is a small platform, and everyone had to take a short turn on it, to watch the falls and of course take photos. We stayed through several groups of tourists, until we had it to ourselves and could admire the falls at our leisure. Then on to Akaka Falls, which is an even more impressive 420 feet. The overlook there is larger, so people can watch it as long as they want. You have a great view of the falls, from the top to the beautiful blue pool the water falls into. Stunning.

On the way back, we crossed a bridge over a stream and saw below a small woven basket holding several brightly-colored pieces of fruit. I don't know what spirit, if any, it was an offering to, but it seemed to express thanks for nature's bounty, which is evident in the area.

Back in the parking lot, a man was weaving baskets, birds, and hats from palm fronds and "talking story." He was a big hit with the tourists who stopped to watch him, and sold what he made quickly. A family set up a table to display and sell beautiful opihi shell necklaces. They called the opihi the “most dangerous shell to get”. The man talked about how he harvests them, many at cliffs with crashing waves. Then he polishes them, and the woman turns them into jewelry. It was nice to have the local flavor at the park.

We headed north out of Hilo after breakfast at Ken's. The drive to Kona takes just a couple of hours, but there are plenty of places worth a stop, so we took the whole afternoon.

Just a few miles north of Hilo, there's a four-mile scenic loop off the makai (ocean) side of the road. It's such a pretty drive that I took it three times this trip. The road winds around curves where you can see small waterfalls, the coast, and lush tropical greenery and flowers. One time, we pulled over where five or six cars were parked by the side of the road. There was a path down to the ocean, so we walked down it. It leads to a beautiful series of ocean coves. The path goes through a pay-to-enter botanical gardens, and a rather surly guard was posted to make sure nobody strayed off the path and into the gardens. We walked down to one beach and then on a path over a small ridge to the next one. The views were stunning. We met a woman who had an apron full of pieces of ocean glass she was gathering for her artwork. Sure enough, once I looked, I saw a lot of small pieces of glass and pottery, smoothed by the waves and rocks.

Back on the main road, we drove up the coast. The road is easy to drive and has some gorgeous views of the ocean and jungle. We took the turnoff to Akaka Falls (see separate review). On the way back to the main road from the falls, we stopped at the small town of Honomu. It has a couple of short blocks of small shops and eateries. We browsed a couple of galleries and cfaft stores and an import store with inexpensive gifts. Ar Mr. Ed's Bakery, I picked up some scrumptious brownies and cookies to snack on.

We drove right across the north end on the island, with just a brief rest stop in Waimea. Once back on the west coast, we pulled over at Hapuna Beach. This is a mile-long white sandy beach that is very popular. People were picnicking and boogie boarding. It looked like a pleasant place to spend an afternoon, but a bit crowded for my taste. So after a brief stop, we drove the rest of the way to Kona, and stopped again at Old Airport beach, which was much mellower.