Aloha friends! This past weekend, I spent 3 full days on the Big Island of Hawaii. I lodged in Hilo, home to the University of Hawaii. And after talking to some friends and reading a bunch online, I decided to rent a 4WD Jeep Wrangler, and I'm definitely glad that I did.
Saturday morning, I got an early start and drove about an hour and a half to South Point, the most southern location in the United States. There was a great 35 foot cliff jump into crystal clear blue water, with a few sea caves to explore down below.
After that, I went to look for the secluded green sand beach nearby. Getting there meant either a 5 mile round trip hike (which I wouldn't have been opposed if I had more days there), or off roading through the maze of different tracks (this is one of the times where 4WD was a must). I decided to follow a local who was shuttling a few others in his truck since he knew which tracks to follow, and all he charged me was a banana and cold bottle of water. It was definitely the most dangerous off roading I've ever done, and I'll admit I was pretty nervous, especially being in a rental. But once we made it to the beach, the view proved worth the trek. The sand was a rich olive green from the olivine mineral which is abundant in the nearby volcanic cinder cone.
My next stop on Saturday was Volcano National Park. I spent the afternoon driving around to all of the different volcano sights, including the museum, the hot steam vents, the lava tubes, the fields of past lava flows, and the spot down by the ocean where you the lava flow met the road. Looking out at miles and miles of black lava rock is a pretty eerie feeling. After sunset, I headed back to the museum, where I was able to see the bright orange glow of Mauna Kilauea's caldera.
Sunday morning, I drove down to Puna, which is kind of known as the island’s outlaw town. I even heard someone refer to the locals as punatics. I made a quick stop at Lava Tree Park, where the fast flowing lava once covered the trees, leaving behind molds of hollow tubes of lava rock. My next stop was Ahalanui Beach Park, where I took a quick swim in an ocean fed pool enclosed by rock that is volcanically heated to a warm 90 degree temperature. After what felt like a refreshing warm bath, I drove about north 2 hours to the Waipio Valley. It is a beautiful site that was once a meeting place for the Hawaiian chiefs. At a time many people lived there and the valley floor was known for great farming. But the valley was wiped out by a tsunami in the 1940s, and in the 1960s became inhabited by hippies and others looking to live off the grid. The valley is still home to 50 or so residents who aren't big fans of outsiders or tourists. I read that they pretty much govern themselves, without much connection to the rest of society. The only way down into the valley is on an extremely steep and windy road that drops 900 feet, and all of the rental car agencies ban you from taking your car down it. So it's either choose to take the grueling walk, or hitch a ride with locals headed to the valley’s beach. I chose the latter. The sand at this beach was black and consisted of very tiny fragments of lava.
After watching some locals surf, I followed a couple from Oahu to poke around the valley a little bit. The people living down there put up all sorts of signs to show their discomfort with outsiders, so I was sure to keep some distance. As we headed towards the back of the valley, we caught a glimpse through the fog of the two towering waterfalls. I also finally tried a Lilikoi fruit, which I had seen in the forest on past hikes, but never really knew what it was until my new friends from Oahu showed me. Very tasty.
Sunday evening I ventured up to Mauna Kea, a one million year old volcano, one of the five that formed the island. The mountain is 13,800 feet above sea level, but measured from its base, the mountain is actually more than twice the size of what Mount Everest measures base to peak. As I ventured up, I passed a number of locals who had loaded up the beds of their trucks with snow, and were hurrying back down to share with friends and family. As I passed the 12,000 foot marker, there were local children sledding on boogie boards! I would have never imagined seeing all that snow in Hawaii. Luckily, my friend Andy had warned me to bring warm clothes, because when I reach the summit, it was FREEZING. There were a number of huge telescopes scattered across the summit, because Mauna Kea’s high altitude, dry environment, and stable airflow make its summit one of the best sites in the world for astronomical observation. I hung out at the top for a while to watch the sunset.
On my way down, I stopped at the visitor’s center which was about 9,000 feet in elevation. For the hour or so that the clouds were cleared, I saw the most stars I’ve ever seen. They had a few very nice telescopes setup for the public to use, with one focused on the moon and another on Jupiter. It was really cool to see them both in so much detail. There was also a woman with a high grade laser (the kind that is banned by the FAA) and she was pointing out the different stars and constellations.
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