Today is actually our second day on the “big island”, but we are on the other side of the island. We are in Kona today. This is much more of a tourist location than Hilo, despite what our guide said yesterday. We had to use the lifeboats to get to shore since the water is to shallow for the ship to dock (they anchor and then ferry people back and forth to shore). Conversely Hilo has a deep port and everything that is shipped to this island is first offloaded in Hilo and then driven across the island. That is why [View Full Entry]

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Auch wenn ihr uns vermutlich Schreibfaulheit unterstellt, und damit vermutlich sogar gar nicht mal Unrecht habt, waren wir die letzten 3 Tage doch gut genug beschäftigt…und WLAN gabs auch nicht, daher hier eine kurze Zusammenfassung . Seit Donnerstagmorgen sind wir auf Big Island oder Hawai’i unterwegs. Wie der Name schon sagt, ist diese Insel groß, ziemlich groß sogar. Für den ersten Tag nahmen wir uns den Norden vor. Unser bestellter Kompaktwagen ist zwei drei Nummern größer ausgefallen und wieder aus dem Hause GM - ein Pontiac G6. Schicke Rentnerschaukel und obendrein edel [View Full Entry]

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Now, this is what I called a real "adventure". Standing on the Green Sand beach, two miles from Ka Lae (South Point) admiring its rare beauty, I can't believe we made it here. Twenty four hours ago, I didn't even know the existence of such thing (green sand beach). See, I am one of those people who just don't have time (and quite lazy) to have a planned itinerary. I devoured the entire book of "Big Island Revealed" during my 8 hour flight to the paradise. "Green Sand Beach is a real gem, literally". "It is a difficult hike to get [View Full Entry]

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Lava, by definition, molten rock expelled by volcano during eruption. Lava and volcano are definitely not the vocabulary I need to use in my daily life. Growing up in Taiwan, I am quite familiar with "dead" volcano. Now, living in a metropolitan area of Houston, lava and volcano seem so distant, impossible, unimaginable. Until, my trip to Big Island, where I accumulated many many of the "once in a life-time" experiences. Here are the summaries: First time seeing an active volcano: wow....... "it's alive! It's smoking". "It glows at night". First time seeing a lava field: this is when [View Full Entry]

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Hawaii Trip April 2009 Weds, Apr. 1 April fool’s day! I kind of got fooled this day. Set out to go south from Kailua (We’re actually staying in Kailua, not Kona. There is a Kona, but Kona is a designation of the area, as well as a town. The island was divided by the natives into mokus, or districts. Kona was one of those districts. The larger town into which everyone flies and in which most visitors reside is actually Kailua. Anyway, got a bit of a late start, heading south on the Hawaii Island beltway, HI hwy 11. Passed through [View Full Entry]

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friday morning, we left the beautiful arnott's lodge for the road up the coast to the north, to the waipi'o valley. we start off the day by taking highway 19 north, passing by the 4-mile scenic route at onomea where the lush foliage of the rainforest brushed against the car and where the views were absolutely amazing. we also did a quick detour to the akaka falls near honomu off of highway 220. driving past what seemed like a ghost town, we arrived at a small parking lot and did the quick 1 km walk into dense rainforest to see the [View Full Entry]

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on a bright thursday morning, we woke up at 7am to begin our long day of driving and exploring the south side of the island. we first drove northwest of hilo and visited the rainbow falls, which are literally right beside the parking lot (no hike required!) - of course, because of its proximity to the parking lot, it tends to be engulfed by gynormous tour buses filled with the type of tourists that don't want to do a lot of walking... a bit further down the road, we then visited the pe'epe'e falls and boiling pots, which are a series [View Full Entry]

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the four of us adventurers (dorinda, dave, helen and me) left maui this morning at 9am for bigger better things on the big island. arriving in hilo, helen had already reserved a car and we were quickly on our way to arnott's lodge, the hostel recommended to us, where we were fortunate enough to see our first geckos of the trip!!! after checking in to the deserted hostel, we went to the weekly farmers market to pick up some produce, including some fresh pineapple, avocados, and even the hawaiian specialty: spam sushi. that's right, i said spam sushi. now, some of [View Full Entry]

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Since 1986, when I first visited the Big Island of Hawaii, I have been captivated by Pele's song. Unlike other large rocks I have encountered, the Big Island is alive. It breathes, it strecthes, it coughs, it sometimes wakes with a start from a nap, and like all living things, it is unpredictable. Buying a chunk of the Big Island is a bit dicey - either you're a millionaire or you're in a lava zone, and I'm no millionaire. The south side of the Big Island is separated into 2 regions - Ka'u (pronounced ka-ooo), a dry, temperate area which consists [View Full Entry]

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After a wonderful winter of mucking out hot tubs for skiers at Killington Ski Area in VT, I was able to complete my purchase of an acre of rough lava, ohia, and scrub in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates in the Ka'u District of the Big Island. Knowing there would be much work to be done (and remembering my travel partner's need for a hot shower!), I decided to get us a place a bit more on the civilized side than our last visit's accomodations (see my first blog!). While banging any number of boards with rentals on the Big Island, I [View Full Entry]

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