Things To Do - The Big Island of Hawaii

This tour service operates out of both the Kona and Hilo airports. We opted for the Big Island Circle Tour out of Kona since that is the side of the island we were staying. Our primary reason for taking an air tour of the Big Island was to see the lava flow at the Kilauea Volcano and the Pu’u O’o vent as the current eruption is in a remote area inland and outside of the Volcanoes National Park proper. The tour did not disappoint us!

We opted to take our air tour of the Big Island early in our two week vacation, at 7am while our bodies were still on Midwest time. Getting up at 5am was far less offensive to the senses than it would have been during our last few days in Hawaii. Doing any tour, by plane or helicopter, is best early in the morning because of the afternoon clouds that seem to roll in from the ocean to the north. We were rewarded with an outstanding morning to fly, plus our seven passenger fixed wing plane only had the two of us plus the pilot. It was very comfortable allowing for full access to the windows for photos and video. It was especially nice as I got to sit in the seat directly behind the pilot where there is a window that has a hinged opening to allow you to shoot photos and video without the potential for window glass glare. Each passenger had noise-canceling headsets with a microphone allowing for good two-way communication with the pilot and other passengers.

Once we had our safety briefing from our pilot Shawn, we were ready for take off. I had to laugh at the "inflatable air ring" that we had to strap around our waists "in the event of a water landing"...aka CRASH! Like the little yellow life preserver was going to be much use if we crash into the Pacific Ocean. The take off was smooth, heading to the south. As we flew over the various sites, Shawn provided narration of what we were seeing. Both David and I enjoyed having the opportunity to see from the sky many of the landmarks throughout the Big Island that we had seen or visited by land. The view of the macadamia nut and coffee farms along the southern coast of Kona were very impressive.

As we approached the Volcanoes National Park area, you could see the centuries of lava flows, many on top of previous eruptions. Then off in the distance, we could see the stream and fumes coming out of the current Pu’u O’o vent. It was breathtaking, literally. Fortunately, my asthma is not so bad that it created a true respiratory concern, but others should carefully evaluate their own medical limitations as the sulfur smelling "VOG" can really adversely affect one’s breathing capabilities. FYI, VOG is a mixture of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and water vapor (steam).

As we flew over the open volcano rim, it was almost surreal! Our pilot took the plane within a few hundred feet of the crater. I was able to snap several photos as David was videoing the entire experience. As we flew out to the current lava flow, I could feel the heat radiating up from the earth and through the opened photog’s window. I was surprised at how much of the heat I could feel. Because we were flying over this area around 7:45am, the red glow was not evident in many areas of the flow. There were some places, however, where you could see the glow quite vividly. Photos do not do justice to the sight was were treated to!

From the Volcano, we continued our trip towards Hilo. There we flew over two of the most well known waterfalls on the Big Island. Rainbow Falls provides ground visitors with a lovely rainbow view in the early morning. During our fly over, I caught a quick 15 or 20 second glimpse of the rainbow and was able to snap a photo before losing the view. The other waterfalls in the area are Akaka Falls on the outskirts of Hilo. Flying over this landmark really didn’t do justice to the size and beauty of Akaka Falls. While interesting to see from the sky, I would still recommend a road trip to this area.

As we traveled northerly, we got to see the huge oceanfront cliffs and valleys including Laupahoehoe Point where in 1946 a tsunami killed over 20 school children when the waves flushed through the narrow valley. We also had a bird’s eye view of the Waipi’o and Pololu Valleys. Leaving the north Kohala Coast, the flight proceeded through an area of noticeable climate and environmental change. So noticeable, the turbulence was significant and a bit concerning. Fortunately, Shawn gave us advanced warning and told us it was expected and not as bad as it might first seem. HA – easy for him to say!

Returning to the Kona Airport, we could see our resort up on the hillside above Waikoloa. We also saw the beautiful beaches along the Kohala and North Kona Coast . . . many of which were our favorite secluded snorkel areas. The landing was smooth and uneventful, ending our two hour adventure.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Circle Island Air Tour with Island Hoppers. The normal price is right at $300 per person. With the Entertainment Book, you can get a 25% discount. They also offer discounts at their website (www.fly-hawaii.com). If you do a timeshare tour, you can pick up this tour for around $170 per person if the resort participates in the "Diamond Discount" card.

In addition to the Circle Island Tour, they do offer other tours including a 45 minute tour of just the Volcanoes National Park area. Additional information and pricing can be found on their website (above).

Postscript: I am saddened to report that Island Hoppers lost a plane along with its pilot and two passengers on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. The cause of the crash into the Mauna Loa mountainside is still under NTSB investigation.

Pu’uhonua o Honaunau is also known as the Place of Refuge and may be one of the more sacred places in the Hawaii Islands. It is also where many of the snorkel tours head when visitors are looking for some of the best snorkel reefs of the Kona Coast. Today the Place of Refuge is an US National Park Service Historical Site. More information about the park itself can be obtained at: www.nps.gov/puho. This review provides information about snorkeling the bay where Pu’uhonua o Hanaunau is located. Of all of the places we’ve snorkeled off the shorelines in Hawaii, this is one of the best. We also saw a number of scuba divers in this area during our day there. You can snorkel from inside the national park, but be aware that you cannot leave any personal articles on the beach shore. This makes the trip from your car to the water a bit of a hassle since you can’t walk with your swim fins on...and the road will surely be too hot to walk across in bare feet.

Instead, many stay outside of the park area, taking the one-way single lane road down along the boat launch ramp and adjoining "beach." I use quotes here because it is hardly a beach, as in sandy shoreline. Instead you will find a rough lava terrain that will provide some relatively flat areas to lay out and a somewhat easy place to enter the water to swim with the turtles and fish.

Immediately to the right of the boat launch, you will probably see people entering and exiting at the area known to locals as "two step" which is as it implies...step off into the water that has been created by a natural rock formation. Be careful, as there is a lot of green moss and algae here, making it a very slippery surface especially as the waves crash the shoreline.

As you prepare your gear to get into the water, the excitement will quicken as you will be able to see just below the water’s surface several fish, especially if the bright yellow tangs are within eyesight. Even without being in the water with your mask and snorkel on, you will be able to see through the first two or three feet of water to the reef below. The water is crystal clear and for the most part, the bay water smooth and easily navigated even by beginners. Truly, the worst of it is getting in and getting out!

Once in the water, we really enjoyed the snorkeling. The area to the right has beautiful coral formations that are rich in color and rather well developed. In the middle of the bay area, the reef was largely the spiny, craggily type of coral...very different in appearance, but also rich with sea life. The area on the far left side of the bay is very shallow and allows for wonderful up close views and photos of fish and urchins.

I got out of the water probably an hour before David was done snorkeling. He was blessed by the presence of a couple of green turtles who had come to eat the green moss on "two step" making it difficult for swimmers to enter and exit. Some tried getting out in another area where the lava was simply too abrasive, causing scrapes and cuts to their knees and shinbones. If you are going to swim or snorkel in beach areas with a lot of lava type rocks, you really need to be careful to protect your exposed skin. I tore up my palms getting out myself. Now I understand why I’ve seen some people wearing gloves while swimming in Hawaii.

If you are interested in swimming or sunbathing here at the Place of Refuge, you will want to get here early. From Kailua-Kona, allow yourself about an hour’s drive. The parking is only along the roadway, with enough space for maybe as many as 20 cars. After that, you will be forced to park at the National Park where it will cost $10 to enter...and then you’ll have a fair amount of walking to get to "two step" to put out your stuff and get into the water.

Every time I have vacationed on the Big Island, I’ve wanted to do the Waipi’o Valley tour either on horseback or a mule driven wagon. On this trip we finally got to see the Waipi’o Valley from the valley floor with Waipi’o Valley Wagon Tours.

The 90 minute tour takes place from their small farm in the valley. Group members actually meet up at Waipi’o on Horseback, a local ranch as you approach the valley overlook. From there, a large 4x4 van takes the eight passengers down the steep mile long 25% grade incline road. I couldn’t look down as it was pretty freaky. Instead, I enjoyed the beautiful view across the valley.

Once the two mule team was hooked up to the wagon, we were loaded aboard, two people per bench. David and I were happy to be assigned the back row, as it provided us with a bit more notice of sights to see, although I must admit, it was probably rougher back there than up near the front. The ride was very rough! The “road” was not in very good shape and did cross two different rivers once in each direction. The mules had their own ideas too, thinking that maybe it would be an easier crossing near the shoulder of the road, where there wasn’t any road at all. It was quite the adventure.

The ride through the valley was actually very short, probably a total of two miles total. We got to learn about the farming that takes place in Waipi’o and the handful of residents who live here in spite of no electricity, running water or other human creature comforts (like bathrooms!). Some of the taro farmers actually live “top side” and come down to tend to their patches and other crops.

We saw a small herd of wild horses, said to be the ancestors of the domestic horses who were living here when the 1946 tsunami devastated the valley. In one area that we got to visit, the only remains of the local community church were the cement steps that led up to the front entrance.

Our tour guide was not native to this area...she was actually originally from Virginia. She had been in Hawaii for some 15 years and was living here in the valley on their farm in spite of the thick mosquitoes and what some might call undesirable circumstances. She said she loved it and couldn’t think of living anywhere else.

Perhaps the greatest disappointment of the tour was the fact that they had an especially dry “rainy season” and therefore the waterfalls that Waipi’o Valley is known for did not exist. And while yes, there had been a draught over the past year, we later learned that some of the community development on top of the valley rim was also to blame for the lack of waterfalls. Apparently the need to redirect the natural flow of water has caused there to be a cutoff of water making its way into the streams that support the valley. It would seem that especially in paradise, man continues to adversely affect the ways of nature.

We really did enjoy our morning mule wagon ride through Waipi’o Valley and would suggest it to other visitors to the Big Island. Our tickets were purchased through the “Diamond Discount” card for $37 per person. The regular price was around $55 per person.

More information can be obtained by calling (808) 775-9518. Please note: they are not open on Sundays.

If you have read my previous journal on the Big Island, you may have learned about the Capt. Bean’s Booze Cruise. I’m disappointed to report that the Capt. Bean’s evening cruise is no longer an open bar booze (and dinner) cruise. They have opted to eliminate the open bar and become more family friendly which means much of the raucous fun and partying is no longer on Capt. Bean’s boat. Too bad...their loss...as the void has been more than adequately filled by Body Glove and their Sunset Cocktail Cruise.

I am familiar with Body Glove and their snorkel tours. I have been pleased with the quality experiences and the friendliness of their crew. Our evening with them on their Sunset Cocktail Cruise was an equally pleasant outing.

We arrived at the boat dock at Kailua-Kona at 5:15pm for the 5:30pm departure. Waiting a few minutes for some late arrivals, we were off the shore and enjoying the evening breeze with an adult beverage in hand in no time flat. They do a good job of providing assorted pupu’s of appetizers and fresh fruit, as well as a full-service bar. Our bartender Elizabeth was friendly and very generous with the booze. The crew consisted of two young men who were there to fetch drinks or take trash to the garbage can for guests. They made it a point to mingle and interact with all guests on the boat. While they can take up to 100 passengers, we were treated to a small "crowd" of just 20. Because of the nature of the "cocktail cruise" this activity is only open to those 21 years and older. Our group was the full range of young people, probably just 21...to some older folks...even older than old farts like David and me.

There was a small two-person "band" as live entertainment. One played the guitar while the other utilized a synthesizer and guitar as he sang a variety of songs from island classics, to rock and roll from the '60s, '70s and '80s. After about an hour and a free flow of booze, the boat was rocking with folks up and dancing, singing along like a big karaoke party.

As we sailed out from the pier at Kailua-Kona, there was a small break in the clouds allowing for a relatively decent view of the sunset. Given that the afternoon had been overcast and not very encouraging, we did enjoy watching the NCL cruise ship sail into the sunset as it headed off for Maui. Around 7pm we started to make our way back to the dock. As we were arriving to shore, the heavy clouds let loose providing a nice cooling drizzle. By the time we got to the parking lot, it was an outright downpour.

The ticket price for the 2 hour Sunset Cocktail Cruise is $67 per person. With the discounts available, you should be able to get that price down to around $45-$50. Again, if you are willing to do a timeshare presentation, use the "Diamond Discount" card for a $30 per person ticket. I don’t know that I would have found the value at $67 per person, but at $30 each you cannot beat the entertaining evening you will have aboard the Body Glove.

More information may be found on their website: www.snorkelkona.com.

The Island Breeze Luau is staged at the oceanfront King Kamehameha Kona Beach Resort right at the Kailua-Kona Pier. While this was my second visit to the Island Breeze Luau, it was David’s first. We also met another timeshare traveling couple there, which was especially nice since I had been speaking with her for several weeks leading up to our vacation.

The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that they had changed up their program since my last visit in April 2006. Kudos to the "Island Breeze Productions" folks for keeping it fresh and giving visitors a reason to come back on subsequent visits to the Big Island.

All of the pre-show activities were hosted out on the lawn adjacent to the hotel where the imu (in-ground oven) cooks the kalua pig in a wrapping of banana leaves. We learned how to crack open a coconut in a minute flat...make fish out of palm leaves...and how to do a basic hula dance. Audience participation certainly makes for a fun experience before dinner. If you need help loosening up, enjoy the bottomless canoe of delicious mai tais. For those who choose the non-alcohol version, they have a canoe for you too!

After the imu presentation, the Royal Court arrives on the sandy beach to the beat of the drum and welcome dancing of lovely ladies. The procession makes its way through the grounds for an impressive photo op, after which guests are seated until they are called back to the dinner buffet line.

The buffet meal has pretty much been identical at every luau we’ve attended. We have learned what we like and what we don’t so that we don’t waste plate (and tummy) space on unfamiliar items that aren’t to our liking. I personally load up on the pork, while David allows for the baked fish. The salads at the start of the line are delicious, but it is too easy to fill up your plate there before you even get to the really good stuff. Of course, they will tell you that you must sample poi. I agree, if you’ve never tried it, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. After that first try, I can assure you it tastes the same everywhere and you don’t need to worry about offending your hosts if you pass the next time!

Dessert almost always includes a coconut gelatin much like jello, as well as a white coconut cake and sometimes pineapple up-side-down cake. Mmmmmm...I love the up-side-down cake!

Once you have your dinner plate, there is probably 15 to 20 minutes to eat and refresh your beverages, before the show starts. Island Breeze does a nice job of telling the history of the South Pacific Islands, not only of Hawaii. I have always enjoyed luau shows and this visit was no exception. The music and dancing is said to be authentic and the choreography is well done and entertaining. The other couple who joined us had never been to a luau and commented at how surprised they were at the quality of the event.

Luaus are one of the standard discounted items you’ll find throughout Hawaii. I would never pay face value for one...I don’t think anyone else does either! This particular event has a list price of around $70 per person for adults. You can find discount coupons in many of the local tourist publications, as well as the Entertainment Book for Hawaii. Additionally, I would venture to guess that luau tickets are probably the number one "gift" given to those willing to take a timeshare presentation. The number of vouchers for tickets I saw at the registration desk was probably 4:1. We had bought our tickets in advance through eBay seller Hawaii Savers. We were able to get ours for essentially half price.

More information including up to date pricing and show dates can be found on their website: www.islandbreezeluau.com.