One word - Thank you for the lesson and the fantastic pictures. It's now on my bucket list. Such a stunningly beautiful place and lovely culture. I even like the chickens
Big Island is the other of my favourite islands. It has two International airports and we flew into the more modern one at Kona (yes, the coffee does come from there ). It was a very laid back place and the only real form of checking they did (apart from looking at our passports) was to check that our cases were not too heavy for them to load on the baggage carousel - maximum allowed under their Health and Safety is 50lb (23kg) No transport from the plane to the terminal and the terminal buildings were all airconditioned The two photos above were taken at different times of day (flying off to different islands) but the sunsets were lovely. We'd booked a car in advance and it only took 10 minutes to collect it from the hire company. Whereas Kauai is mainly tropical, Big Island comes in, mainly, four distinct parts. The West side is, comparatively, very dry (less than 9" of rain a year) with a more volcanic look because that side formed later. It has a lot more of the upmarket holiday resorts where some of the beaches are just black lava and others are white sand (coral). The East is mainly tropical with lush vegetation and has the Botanical Gardens. Inland just a bit from the North are the fertile pastures the Kohala area. The Parker Ranch is supposed to be the oldest and biggest privately owned cattle ranch in the U.S.A. You can go on guided horseback tours or ATV tours. The cattle are still managed by the Hawaiian cowboys (Paniolos) who originated from the Latin American vaqueros. Then there's the Volcano National Park which has a number of active volcanoes. So, if you only have the chance to visit one of the Hawaiian islands I would recommend Kauai if you're after a very slow paced tropical holiday with opportunities to visit some beautiful scenery. Or, Big Island which is faster paced (not a lot) with sun soaked beaches, tropical areas and the not to be missed Volcanos. There's plenty of other things to do on this island as it's pretty large.
We were very fortunate to be lent the use of a rather posh apartment for a month, and it was in one of the upmarket holiday resort areas on the West coast. They only charged six or seven thousand dollars a week! But it does give you access to all the amenities and the most expensive golf course on the island. Pity I don't play golf. It was a quite luxurious two bedroomed apartment (condominium) with views across the golf course to the sea. As you can see, the shore is virtually all lava and pretty rough to walk on. Fortunately the sea has, over the years, worn the sharp edges off the lava. There are two types of lava that are known in the Hawaiian language as a'a (pronounced ah ah - and a very appropriate sound) and pahoehoe (pa ho ee ho ee). The very rough, and dangerous, lava is a'a and the very smooth type is pahoehoe. Except where the a'a has been worn smooth it's not the sort of surface you would want to try walking on without tough shoes and wearing strong, long trousers. If you slip on it you can have your skin cut to ribbons and end up with bits of lava stuck in your flesh!
The East coast is quite tropical and there are many waterfalls to be seen. Also, all round the island are 'Lookouts' or 'Overlooks' which are places to admire the fantastic scenery. At the northern end of the Hamakua Coast drive (the name for a section of the coast that is full of lush valleys and tropical rainforest) is the Waipio Valley Lookout. This looks down into the valley where King Kamehameha I spent his childhood and the valley is known as the Valley of the Kings. Although it was once a highly populated valley (for its time) there are very few people living there now. You can get down into the valley on horseback or by four wheel drive - neither of which we had. The valley is surrounded by 2000ft cliffs and has a black sand beach. It was getting rather late in the day and was overcast when I took the photo. The Botanical Gardens and a number of famous waterfalls are on the coast drive and for over 100 years the 50 mile stretch of coast was where Big Island grew its sugar cane. In the 1800’s it was known as the “Scotch Coast” because of the large amount of Scots that worked the sugar plantations. Most residents along this coast are a mixture of Scottish, Japanese, Filipino and Portuguese whose ancestors arrived in the mid to late 1800’s to work as labourers in the booming sugar industry. A typical view along the coast road occurs at Nanue bridge (not Mork's nanoo nanoo ). Nanue Falls are visible in the distance and there are trails you can walk to the falls. From the opposite side of the bridge you can see where the river goes out to the sea. Just about a mile further along is to Honomu (Silent Bay). This is not quite a one horse town and is worth a stop. It doesn’t take long to walk the two blocks of the town which has just woken up from decades of slumber since the sugar industry faded. There are art galleries and some eating places and a Buddhist Temple that is at the end of the town where you turn for the Falls. The side road towards the famous Akaka Falls runs through the rain forest. At 442 feet the Akaka Falls is the tallest single-tier falls in the state of Hawai’i (Hiilawe Waterfall, at Waipio, is 1,300 feet high but does not do it in a single drop). It's a sheer drop encompassed by a semi circle of emerald mountainside ending in a mist shrouded pool.
At the Botanical Gardens at Hilo we were more than a little apprehensive when we were offered, at the entrance, the free use of their anti-mosquito spray for our arms and legs. Most of us acquiesced, though we still got bitten! I recommend that everyone wears long trousers and long-sleeve shirts. They also offered free use of their umbrellas but we were very lucky and it remained sunny all the time we were there (they get about 130" of rain a year). This is definitely a place not to be missed. The glorious exotic and colourful flowers that abounded in the gardens were amazing and we took lots of photos. The gardens run down to the sea at Turtle Bay which is another of the Hawai’ian historic places (lots of turtles on Hawai'i ).
On the West coast it's like being on a completely different island. There are plenty of things to do and see. At the northern tip there is Puukohola Heiau visitor centre, one mile south of Kawaihae down a dirt track (it was like that when we were there some years ago), and the historic remains of some buildings. You can see how barren this part of the island is. Not far from there is the Pololu Valley Overlook. The Pololu Valley is 12 miles from Waipio Valley with 5 valleys in between. There are no drivable roads through the valleys which once were inhabited and held the richest taro plantations of old Hawai’i. They are now abandoned and neglected. The walk down into Pololu is much easier than Waipio but it is still a long way down. We managed to exercise great restraint and didn’t walk down there! A little way down the road but set a long way back from it there is a Japanese Temple painted in striking colours. The ground and upper floor have a lanai (veranda) that completely circles the building. The railings of the lanais and the walls of the building are painted in lime green. The vertical posts supporting the building and the lanais are painted scarlet as are the lanai ledges, the window frames and the doors whilst the roof is painted in a brilliant azure blue. This may sound that it is very gaudy but the overall effect makes it seem right. Not far from there is The Bond Estate. This was a missionary estate and has been undisturbed since its establishment in 1841. (The only other undisturbed missionary district in the world is in Nepal!) There's a church, and a girls' school. The church was built by Rev. Elias Bond and his wife Ellen in 1841 whereas the earliest of the other buildings were built by Rev. Isaac Bliss, also in 1841. The Bonds then took over and built the Homestead in New England style. The Homestead was occupied by the Bond family until 1925 and all the buildings are on the National Historical Register. A community based organisation is working on the restoration of the buildings and a lot of the workers are volunteers. The renovation of the school buildings was almost complete when we were there and, we understand, the buildings will form a retreat. We were able to wander around whilst they were working and they have done a great job on the buildings. The grounds still need a lot of work to be done but it is possible that the people on the retreat may do this. The Homestead still needed a lot of work done on it and nothing was yet open to the public. We still had a nose around and the buildings were still full of the original furniture. We were asked not to take photos of the work being done but could take one of the general view. All the places around there were extremely laid back. We stopped in a town that used to be a bustling sugar town until the Kohala Sugar Company pulled out in the early 70's. It's trying to reinvent itself as a place for arts and crafts. The girls found the shops interesting and bought some small pieces of beaded necklaces. I sat in a comfortable rocking chair in the shade and would have watched the world go by, but nothing went by apart from two cats and one dog! Further down the coast Mrs Shiney said that she fancied a coffee and we were just passing a dilapidated place called The Coffee Shack. So, with a screech of brakes, I pulled in there. It turned out to be a well known café that served wonderful coffee. It was, literally, a shack and the rear terrace hung out over their gardens and a drop of 1,400ft to the sea. Just a small cup of coffee. There gardens were full of interesting trees and they grew their own Arabica coffee beans there.
Further down that hill were some Noni trees, the fruit of which is used by the Hawai’ians for diabetes. It was used for discomforts ranging from bruises and treating arthritis to constipation. The juice was extracted and used to cure sore throats. Steamed noni leaves were used as bandages and the fruit was fermented into a salve. Noni contains a healing element called “xeronine” and products are now sold in health food stores. When we were on that part of the island we went to visit a friend of Mrs Shiney who makes Hawai'ian flower essences (similar to the Bach Flower Essences sold over here). She suffers from Parkinson’s but seems to be coping fairly well with it. She said that she swims with the dolphins who help her a lot.
Also along that part of the coastline was one of the most important residences of the ali’i (royal chiefs) and the largest Place of Refuge. The royal residence/temple complex covered 20 acres and the Place of Refuge is marked by a, motarless, wall 1,000 foot long, 17 feet thick and 10 feet high that contained 3 heiau (temples). All this is part of the 180 acre National Historic Park which also includes the beach park. A visit to the Pu’uhonua is not to be missed if you want to get a feel for how things were in the past. It is a mixture of reconstruction plus the 450 year old remains. Stop at the visitors centre and pick up a map and brochure for a self-guided tour. On the walk through the visitors centre there is an exhibit mural and some buttons to press which will start recordings that tell you about the history and beliefs of the time. The royal grounds contain some reconstructions of the thatched buildings that were the residence and, for those of you who like board games, a replica papamu (stone playing board) for the very popular ancient game of Konane – a cross between draughts (checkers) and solitaire. This game is played with 50 black and 50 white pieces (lava and coral) and is played with two people. Instructions and rules about how to play it are sometimes available at the reception desk. The Pu’uhonua was a place of refuge for basically two different purposes. In times of war it was used by non-combatants and defeated warriors (whose allegiance would then be to the victor). The other purpose was for those people that had broken the Kanawai (laws and rules that governed everything in their way of life). The word Kapu was used to denote that which was forbidden or sacred. There was only one punishment for breaking the Kapu – death (they thought that breaking Kapu would cause the gods to bring tidal waves, famine, earthquakes or volcanic eruptions). The only way to escape punishment was for the offender to escape pursuit long enough to be able to reach a Pu’uhonua by sea. Once they reached there the kahuna pule (priest) had to perform the ceremony of absolution and the offender could then go home. The tall royal palm trees that surround the Pu’uhonua were usually planted to serve as a beacon for those trying to reach the refuge. Whilst we were there two Hawai’ian green turtles came to bask on the beach and it was good to see that everyone stayed the recommended 10-20 feet away from them as they are an endangered species.
