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Published: February 8th 2012
The Big Island? I suppose it's all relative and in respect to the rest of the Hawaiin chain, The Big Island is mammoth, large enough to become the namesake island for the entire state. In reality, Hawaii is barely a small fraction the size of Tasmania but let's not become too bogged down with semantics.
Having said that and whilst firmly brandishing my poisoned pen, if your sole exposure to the Big Island was Kona, you may be tempted to bestow another monicor, something akin to "The Feral Island". Some may consider Kona's "colourful local identities" as unpretentious, others probably figure the spirit of Mount Druitt or The Bronx will never die as long as these folk maintain a pulse.
Fortunately for the Big Island, she crams in a slew of alternative spicy attractions and was one sweet destination to dip the toes for the year or so ahead, so don't allow my distorted opinions on Kona dissuade you from visiting.
The blue chip headline act is the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Anyone who has ever seen footage of those "lunartics" (the puns are thick on the ground already) running and cycling across The Big Island's stark lunar
Waipi'o Valley
Long walk to the beachlandscapes during the October triathlon,will be aware of the harsh volcanic nature of sections of this island. The entire chain came into existence as the direct result of the types of volcanic activity on display on The Big Island and the aforementioned national park plays host to Kilauea, the world's youngest and most active volcano.
There are two basic options for viewing the National Park, air or terra firma. According to one local, there used to be a third alternative on those occasions when a lava flow would plunge off oceanside cliffs to spectacularly meet the mighty Pacific. That was until it was discovered that human flesh and splashed up molten lava aren't perfect bedfellows, meaning boat tours weren't such a savvy entrepeneurial idea after all.
So chopper or hike? A round table discussion weighing up pros and cons, a toss of the coin and we two procastinators decided to squeeze both into one long day, chopper by morning and hike by arvo.
This translated to an uncomfortably early start for the 2 hour drive across the island past the world's tallest mountain (go on, google Mauna Kea and tell me I'm wrong) to Hilo on the
east coast. The chopper was fired up and waiting for our group of four, our compadres being a couple from Oregon. Stanley in the back seat explained he was on the twitchy side seeing as this was to be his first helicopter flight since his time in the Vietnam War. I attempted to comfort Stanley with a few quips on the unlikeliness of being strafed by Vietcong crossfire in Hawaii 2012 but I reckon if Stanley had had a helmet, he would have had it firmly clamped under his derrière.
At this point I'll confess a mild disillusionment at the actual spectacle. My preconceived ignorant vision - rivers of red hot molten lava cascading down a vertiginous slope - fell flat. The lava was in fact coated a steely grey, resembling enormous blobs of thick mercury crawling along at a pace roughly the equivalent of Greece's economic recovery. Slowsilver. Regardless, it's a genuinely impressive, if expensive, show from above and along with our pilot Zac's informative input, was a gilt edged guarantee to the best seat in the house.
As for plunging into the park on foot, the few hours of one afternoon was always going to prove
Kona foreshore
Afternoon in Kona inadequate to fully appreciate the grandeur. To lend justice to the park's myriad of offerings, an entire day would need to be devoted to delve into some of the extensive hikes. We were left to follow roads and flounder between viewing platforms.
How do you describe the views? Look, volcanoes are like the ugly sister who just happens to be a great athlete and intelligent to boot. Impressive no doubt, but at the opposite end of the scale to glamorous. The tones are bland but the sight of cavernous calderas puffing out the earth's innards does pique the imagination. The endless "plumes of fumes" being belched from the fissures of Kilauea revived memories of Rotorua minus the olfactory challenge.
The Big Island is of course much more than a single volcanic national park but I'd better allow Penny some room to move in relating some of the other highlights.
Oops! Almost forgot to incorporate the title. It's simple to imagine the waters of Hawaii were purposely created to provide a role model for the rest of the world's coastlines. The first duckdive and everything feels right on an almost primeval level and you begin to question why
Waimea village
The 19th annual cherry blossom day all sealife doesn't migrate here post haste. If Hawaiin water temperatures and clarity are the ying, then its sublime air temperatures are the yang. Wave quality is almost a side act to floating around on a slab of fibreglass. Of course a few waves does help and a couple of fun sessions were snuck in although the swell never really pulsed, which was just as well considering access in and out at most breaks can be a painful challenge. As per script, I'll be bringing home a scar or two as proof. Over to you Penny.
Starting a world tour - day 1. The weeks leading up to our departure were hectic, so arriving on the Big Island at our apartment in Holualoa was a welcomed opportunity to catch up on some sleep (maybe too much, 11hours fllowed by 10 hours the next night) and melt into local life. I didn't know what I was expecting from The Big Island, just that it was the home of the Ironman Triathlon, but what I didn't expect was the harshness of the volcanic landscapes. However, I really have enjoyed living,walking and driving amongst it.
Plenty of highlights over the last
'A' Bay
The whale watching day week including:
Waimea- a neat and tidy rural Hawaiin country town.
Hawi - smaller version of Waimea with cutesy farmer's market and an early Byron Bay hippie feel and great tacos.
Waipi'o Valley coastline plunging into the east coast depths.
The week wouldn't have been complete without an introduction to Walmart. Who needs Disneyland when you get all the rides for free at Walmart. Able bodied people hassling each other for the prime automised trolley to carry them around the centre. We mere tourists were simply annoying speed bumps for those shopping aisle revheads hunting down basket loads of 2 minute noodles. Gary reckons we should make a point of visiting a Walmart in every destination for the best show in town, Maui Walmart, here we come.
Penny
More images at:
www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com
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Bottlo
non-member comment
Hello!
What a great read! I'm sitting here with a glass of Tempraillo (from the Barossa not Spain - pretty tasty non the less)and thoughly enjoying 'Big Island, small waves'. Looking forward to the next instalment. I'll summarise for the Jymknutz Friday Morning!!! Taks care