Blogs from Kailua-Kona, Big Island, Hawaii, United States, North America - page 8

24 & 25th June ’12 Kailua-Kona For the first time we actually managed to visit a couple of places and learn a bit about Hawaiian culture. On the first day we headed north along the coast highway past lots and lots of lava fields. For miles there were various names and dates picked out in white stones, at first I thought they were memorials and some may have been but the majority turned out to be a kind of graffiti saying things like Gazza loves Shazza (only with more Hawaiian sounding names). We were heading to Pu’ukohola Heiau – The Temple on the Hill of the Whale, a war temple which was built 1790-91 by the Kamehameha l , who became the King of the Islands. Prophecy told that Kamehameha was destined to rule all the ... read more

On Sunday, March 25, Tom and I took a short flight from Honolulu to Kona on "the Big Island" of Hawaii. Our first impression upon arrival was that we were landing on the moon! This is because the airport is built on a huge field of lava that gives it a bare, moon-like, appearance. We discovered that Hawaii is an island of 5 volcanoes, 3 of them now extinct. Kilauea is still very active, and because of this, smoke, or what the locals call "vog"( volcano smog), covers the southern part of the island, as you'll see from the photos.(Note: There are 50 photos in all, so please scroll down to the bottom of this page and go on to subsequent pages to see them all.) We also learned that the island is very agricultural, growing ... read more

It took me forty six years to find paradise, the sort of place that feels as comfortable as home, but is exotic to keep you interested. The big island of Hawaii is the island paradise among the archipelago that is the state of Hawaii, at least as far as I could judge. And who am I to judge? Oahu was crowded and overrun with cars, while the big island had fewer tourists on more space, and with more to do. The big island is a science nerd fest for me: snorkeling on the reef with tropical fish, an active volcano, telescopes on a very tall mountain, and a verdant rainforest, so I'll have to return to paradise sometime soon to take it all in again. You can only get to paradise by taking chances, and not ... read more

Finally made to the big Island, flew into Oahu on thursday oct 27th, and left fot Kailua on Friday. Kailua is slowerpace than Oahu, and as beautiful as well. We had a change to drive up & down the Island, went from the south to the north, west & east. The only issue with the big island is the lack of food, unless you want to eat burgers. We visited the volcanosm Waipio valleym Hilo, South Point, Black sand beaches, Akaka falls, and all the good beaches on the big Island.... read more

The Big Island of Hawai'i is certainly one of the most geologically interesting places I have been in the world. From the moment we picked up the car from Kona airport and started driving the 110 miles to the town of Volcano (not a very creative town name!), where we were staying for the first two days of our stay on the big Island, we realised this was no ordinary landscape. The drive from the airport goes through some tropical jungle and amazing beaches along the coast, which then suddenly becomes completely dry, dead, barren land and then becomes mountainous and rocky. We also encountered fierce stormy weather and blazing sunshine during the 3 hour drive. This island was completely schitzophrenic! Our lodge in Volcano was a supurb tropical retreat, and the owners prepared us an ... read more