They call Hawaii “The Big Island” with cause — it stretches approximately 90 miles across and almost 270 miles in circumference. A mountainous interior with few trans-island roads further complicates exploration. While the island of Hawaii offers a dizzying diversity of adventures, scenery, and even climate zones, enjoying them (especially for those on a brief vacation) presents a traveler with a formidable challenge.
When Hawaiians and Kama’aina (longtime Hawaii residents) give directions, they point Makai (toward the sea) or Mauka (toward the mountains). During our vacation in Hawaii last winter, my wife and I explored the Big Island’s bounty by moving concentrically from the coastal perimeter to the inland mountains.
MAKAI
Hawaii boasts a rainbow of beaches — white, gold, black, salt and pepper, and even green. According to Hawaii statute, the beaches “belong to no one and everyone.” That means there must be free public access to all beaches. With Kailua-Kona as our base, we sampled wonderful beaches that made for easy day trips. Our favorites:
Hapuna Beach: Considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, a post-card perfect crescent of golden sand met pounding turquoise waves, with a fringe of palm and shrub forest framing the scene.
Spencer Beach Park: A stunning salt and pepper beach with gentle waves in a lovely park-like setting. Just next door stands an important historic site, Pu’ukohola Heiau. King Kamehameha I built this sacred stone compound in 1790 to garner favor with the war god, Ku, and help him defeat his rivals. Entry into the museum was free and included a downloadable audio tour.
Pololu Valley Lookout: North Kohala bursted with verdant vegetation — a startling change from the dry fields a short distance south. At the end of Route 270, a steep trail led down to a fine black sand beach along the water, rewarding our temerity with unbelievable views of the sea surrounded by towering green cliffs. Two nearby villages provided rewards of their own — the arts and crafts shops in Hawi and the original statue of King Kamehameha I in Kapa’au (identical to one in front of the Judiciary Building in Honolulu, a frequent visual for the TV show “Hawaii Five-O”).
Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Park: Called the Place of Refuge, it once provided asylum for those who broke kapu, the rigid system of laws that governed Hawaiians’ lives and social hierarchy. Those who broke kapu often paid with their lives, but if a law-breaker could outrun the king’s lynch men and reach the refuge, priests there would absolve him of his sins and he could return safely to his previous life, presumably wiser and more law-abiding. Tall, frightening-looking wooden carvings of gods guard the refuge, either welcoming or warning off those who come there.
Punalu’u Black Sand Beach: The most easily accessible black beach on the island, this picturesque beach seemed to invite us to dig our bare feet into the richly black lava sand.
Kamakahonu Beach: A sheltered beach located behind the King Kamehameha Courtyard Hotel in Kailua Village provided easy snorkeling. The shallow cove teemed with Yellow Tang, multi-colored Butterfly Fish, spotted Boxfish, and striped Sergeant Fish. We rented snorkel gear from Boss Frog ($9 for the day) in the center of town, benefitting from the knowledgeable staff’s help in selecting just the right masks.
Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park: Without a doubt, this became our favorite beach. We encountered more sea turtles than people on the quiet, rocky shore. As we waded in the shallow water, sea turtles swam around us. The gentle honus then hauled themselves up onto the beach for a siesta. We counted almost a dozen sleeping giants, with seven of them nestled close together.
MAUKA
Looking upward from Kailua-Kona, we often saw dark clouds clinging to the mountains. The Hualalai range, a volcano that last erupted in 1801, acts as a giant net trapping bad weather and sheltering the town below. Driving up that mountain, we entered a different climate zone — a cloud fern forest with much cooler temperatures. Our Mauka adventures took us to:
Holualoa: A charming village with shop after shop selling exquisite arts and crafts made by local artists. The shockingly pink Kona Hotel had a little exhibit in the lobby, recounting the history of the place. A long, elevated walkway behind the hotel led to two very tiny, very pink restrooms perched over a precipice with amazing views of the valley below. At Holuakoa, an enchanting outdoor restaurant nestled beneath the broad branches of an ancient Koa tree, we ate one of our best meals — delectable slow-roasted kalua pork over a thick slab of sweet, gritty cornbread.
Buddha’s Cup Coffee Farm: World-renown Kona coffee is grown on about 650 small, independent coffee farms like this one in the mountains above Kona. For $10, Nancy Blank, a conversant guide, took us for a spin around the 80-acre farm in an open-top, four-wheel drive vehicle. In March, the coffee trees were abloom with tiny white flowers. By June, Nancy told us, the coffee beans would be ready to pick. Back at the main house, we learned about the roasting process and enjoyed a coffee tasting along with complimentary rum cake. We bought a few bags of Buddha’s Cup as the best Hawaiian gift possible for our friends back home.
Kealakekua: This tiny hill town felt like a step back in time. The town’s centerpiece, the Aloha Performing Arts Center built in 1932, presents plays and concerts. Surprisingly, the town possessed more second hand stores than we’d ever seen in one place. A few of the shops affiliated with charities, which made buying vintage aloha shirts even more appealing. The original Donkey Balls Factory, a chocolate confectionaire, gave out free samples, which pretty much guaranteed a purchase.
Paleaku Peace Garden: Near the town of Captain Cook, this seven-acre sanctuary engaged all the senses. Profusions of flowering trees and bushes surrounded Buddhist sculptures, creating contemplative nooks for meditating or simply listening to birds.
The Painted Church: Just down the road from Paleaku, we found another type of sanctuary. Between 1899 and 1904, Father John Velghe lovingly painted the interior walls and ceiling of the little wooden church with frescoes of stories from the Bible and from the lives of saints.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Hawaii’s most popular and spectacular attraction offered over 150 miles of hiking trails. We chose Kilauea Iki Trail, a four-mile loop through a lush forest and across a lava bed left by a massive 1959 eruption. Walking across the smooth moonscape of the lava bed, once a roiling molten lake hundreds of feet deep, we saw vegetation tenaciously growing through surface cracks. Particularly striking, the Ohi’a trees with their lovely red flowers against the gray landscape. As we walked, we noticed tiny glints in the lava bed. Scooping up a handful of dirt, we discovered miniscule peridot gemstones, which Hawaiians refer to as Pele’s Tears.
At the Jagger Museum, a small museum within the park, we explored the science and the legends explaining volcano formation and dynamics. By far the most popular exhibit contained several seismographs. In amusement, we watched visitor after visitor jump up and down in front of the machines, triggering “eruptions” recorded on chart paper by the rapidly racing seismographic needles. Of course, we had to set off eruptions of our own.
Outside the museum, we encountered incredible views of Kilauea — the most active volcano on Earth. The ring of the caldera, clearly visible from there, created amazing photo ops, with every visitor vying for a picture from the best vantage points.
Stopping for dinner at Volcano House, the only hotel and restaurant inside the park, we had an amazing view of the Kilauea crater from our table. In the fading light of dusk, the smoke rising from the caldera changed from white to pink. As the sky blackened, the caldera’s fire shone brighter — a ring of fire billowing great red plumes across the night sky.
TOP OF THE WORLD: MAUNA KEA
Roughly in the center of the island, Mauna Kea granted us only glimpses of her crown on clear mornings, gathering a robe of clouds about her throughout the day. Mauna Kea would be the tallest mountain on Earth (over 30,000 feet) if measured from its submerged base 17,000 feet below on the ocean floor to its peak (for reference, Mount Everest is only 29,029 feet). At 13,796 feet above sea level, this volcanic mountain seemed quite tall enough. Mauna Kea, which means white mountain, last erupted 4500 years ago. While still considered active, it poses a low threat according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Instead, true to its name, the head of this sleeping giant was covered in snow, not fire.
The tallest point on an island 2500 miles from anywhere, Mauna Kea is home to 13 international observatories. Far from light pollution and high above the cloudline, the clarity and darkness at the mountain’s summit provided unobstructed views of the stars and planets that make up our universe. Eager to visit the summit and stargaze ourselves, we were initially disappointed. When, as recommended, I looked at road conditions on the visitor center’s website (http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/current/road-conditions/) before heading out for our early March trip, I learned the access road was closed because of hazardous snow conditions. Foiled by a blizzard on a tropical island!
When we finally made the trip, we stopped first at the Onizuka Visitor Center, located 9200 feet above sea level, for information and to acclimate to the elevation. Wanting to experience sunset at the summit, we began the arduous drive up about an hour ahead. The rangers at the visitor center recommended only 4-wheel drive vehicles attempt the climb, and we definitely saw why. Though the road winds around the peak to lesson the verticality, it was still quite steep and in parts the pavement gave way to loose gravel. Our audacious daughter and her intrepid jeep mastered the steep drive up (and back down in the dark).
At the summit, we gazed down at the cloud skirt below us and in awe at the diamond-blue clarity above and around us. Objects — the observatory buildings, snow, rocks, people, us — all stood out in vivid dimensionality. The dropping ball of sun unfurled broad streaks of gold, orange, and red across a boundless blue sky. No one moved until this high cathedral mass ended.
After dark, a ranger at the visitor center led a free, public stargazing program. In that clear, thin air the great mantle of stars draped over us appeared closer and more radiant than I’d ever experienced. The ranger used a laser to point out planets and constellations visible in the night sky, and talked about the astronomy and astrology of the stars. Visitors took turns looking through the center’s telescopes to get closer views of the celestial objects.
Driving back down the mountain, we opened the car’s sunroof to savor the last glittering shards of unfiltered starlight. From rainbow beaches and sleeping honu to Pele’s fire and pale green tears to the majesty of a pristine sky, we’d reaped a bounty of memories Makai to Mauka.
looks pretty damn nice from my january in NYC perspective at the moment…..
Clay
I “bursted” with envy for your journey to the top of Mauna Kea.
On the bucket list, fershure.
best,
John