Hurrah for Hilo!

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Hurrah for Hilo! Wednesday 8th October 2008, 10.30 a.m.

Yesterday morning our flight left Honolulu at 9.20 a.m. and by 10.05 we were banking sharply down over crystal clear seas, fringed by rain forest to the old town of Hilo on the east coast of Hawaii, otherwise known as Big Island. We got off the plane in high humidity and heat at a pretty little one-storey airport planted with tropical flowers and surrounded by palm and banyan trees and we just knew that this was going to be good! Hilo is known as one of the wettest places on earth. It rains roughly two out of every three days; warm rain, cleansing rain, life-giving rain and we love the green lushness of it all. This is Hawaii, unspoilt and friendly. We have been here just twenty four hours now, had the best night’s sleep for ages and we’re about to go to the local farmer’s market and then after that we are hiking up to the nearest of many waterfalls in the rain forest (we saw several from the plane).
We are staying at Hilo Bay Hostel in downtown Hilo. The “Lonely Planet’ says “Put simply, this hostel is great. Perfectly situated downtown (walkable to almost everything), it occupies an airy historic building with hardwood floors, well-maintained rooms and real character.” It is the best place we have stayed in on the whole trip so far. The building dates from 1913 and was one of the few old Hilo hotels that survived the worst of the tsunamis that always threaten this coast. We have our own room and bathroom, the shared kitchen is spotlessly clean and well-equipped and the old high-ceilinged lounge with huge ceiling fans, sofas and a beautiful big dining table is the hub of the place. Nice people staying here, all ages and all nationalities and the owner, Scott, who hails from Brisbane but was born in Oregon, is the perfect easy-going host. This is a fantastic place to stay. We are staying here all week then getting the plane back to Honolulu to connect with our Fiji flight next Tuesday.
Yesterday we walked around Hilo Bay to a Japanese park by the harbour and then on to a little island called Coconut Island, connected by a small bridge. Young local boys were jumping off a tower into the sea. The tower and all the walls and pavements here are made of lava; the sand is soft, fine and jet black. In the harbour, just looking over the wall, we saw more pretty fish than we did in Hanauma the other day. Can’t wait to get the snorkels out (and the hostel has fins that we can borrow). We got back as the sun was setting over the volcanic peak of Mauna Kea, which provides Hilo with a dramatic backdrop. Another great thing about Hilo is it is so much cheaper than Oahu. We got a great Thai meal yesterday, chicken and aubergine green curry (with lots of coconut in it), sticky rice and big glasses of iced coffee for just $5.95. By comparison, in Honolulu the day before, we had paid $18 each for pizzas!
Tomorrow we are going on a trip with just one other person from the hostel to see the volcanoes (not in a coach but in a pick up truck owned by a friend of another guy, Earl, who works for Scott). Spoke to someone last night who went yesterday and she said it was awesome. Then there is still a lot more to see, including, just around the corner here, the Pacific Tsunami Museum. Hilo has been hit by two really big tsunamis plus several smaller ones from undersea earthquakes, one in 1946 which killed 159 people and destroyed everything around the harbour and again in 1960, killing 61 people and causing even more damage. The last tsunami was in 1994 and fortunately, thanks to early warning there were no fatalities just a lot of damage. The town gave up rebuilding by the sea after the 1960 disaster and instead they started to build farther back, leaving the front of the town as park and beach. The Japanese Park stands as a memorial to the Japanese Quarter that was completely swept away by the tsunami of 1946. So buildings like this hostel, which were once several blocks back are now, first and second line. These old buildings survived; those further forward didn’t.
Wednesday 8th October 7.30 p.m.

We are very tired! We went to the market then the Tsunami museum (pretty sobering) and then up to the waterfalls. It was further than we thought and all uphill. It was worth the effort, however, and we took a picnic. It didn’t rain but now it is torrential, which is fine but we are hoping for clear skies tomorrow for our volcano day. Today was a really great day and a great start to our Big Island week. It really is special here!

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Photos

Hilo coastline
First glimps of the black sandy bays from the air. We were on a small 50 seater jet.

Downtown Hilo
Low level Hilo (pronounced he-lo) has a lot of laid-back charm.

Outrigger canoes
Outriggers on Hilo town beach.

Hilo from Coconut island
Sleepy Hilo is the capital city of the Big island.

Japanese Park, Hilo
The park that was once a bustling town quarter before the 1946 tsunami.

Rainbow Falls, Hilo
There are waterfalls all over the Big Island. This one is right in the city of Hilo.

Wailuku River, Hilo
The Wailuku near Rainbow Falls. It flows on to become a wide estuary in Hilo Bay.