Even though most of us have been to Hawaii, have seen Elvis in “Blue Hawaii, “Magnum P.I” or “Hawaii 5-0” on TV, have heard “Tiny Bubbles” or the “Hawaiian Wedding Song”, we would like to share some of the outstanding aspects and observations of Hawaii. We were going to wait until we finished all the islands, but have decided to do 2 blogs instead (December on Hawaii and Oahu, and January on Maui and Kauai).
The state of Hawaii is comprised of eight islands represented by the eight stripes in the state flag. The islands were created by volcanic activity (and still are being created!) and are on the Pacific “rim of fire”. Hawaii has lush tropical jungles and stark lava-covered rock. The Pu’u O’o vent of the Kilauea Caldera (in the Hawaii Volcanoes National park) is the site of the most recent eruptions, with lava flows that wiped out an entire town and most of the homes there. Since 1983 when this volcano reawakened, the lava has created an additional 45 square miles, making it the newest land in the United States. It is possible to get close enough to the lava flow to get burned and especially breathtaking at night. What a primordial show!
The Big Island has 10 of the 15 types of climate zones in the word (not the coldest ones.) Elevations go from sea level to 13,000+ feet mountain tops. The Kona area receives only 10” annually, while Hilo is the wettest city in the United States, with an annual rainfall of 120” (but usually during the nighttime or in short bursts.) This results in a tropical jungle, prolific flowers, lush rainforests, numerous waterfalls, and breathtaking rainbows. Is it any wonder that they chose the rainbow for the license plates?
Crops here are plentiful and include pineapple, bananas, guavas, papayas, mangoes, avocados, taro, coffee, and coconuts. Apple Bananas were new to us and are much smaller than a regular banana and much sweeter. The sugar industry was once a major plantation crop but is now grown only on Kauai.
Flowers and blossoms are unique, exotic, and prolific here as you can see from a few sample photos. Poinsettias grow on bushes, some like hedgerows! And the Big Island is the Orchid Island.
Honolulu is a vibrant city with a blend of races and cultures that makes up Hawaii. There is the hustle-bustle of a city as well as a quiet relaxed setting of swaying coconut trees. Honolulu has 80% of Hawaii’s population, not counting the tourists. Shopping includes more high-end stores like Tiffany’s and Cartier’s than we remembered, but the local stores are still operating as well. We did not find prices to be extremely out of line for any commodity.
Since we were there the week of December 7th, a real highlight was our trip to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial and the Pearl Harbor survivors we met there. There are still ~3 quarts of oil leaking from the battleship each day, visible on the water surface. There are markers in the harbor where each battleship was located when blasted. We toured the privately owned “USS Missouri” battleship on nearby Ford Island. We saw the exact spot where Mac Arthur and the Japanese signed the treaty ending WWII (when the Missouri was in Tokyo Harbor) with a copy of that document on board.
We also visited the Punchbowl National Cemetery. It was in a crater with beautiful views and had a wall of murals depicting the Pacific battles in WWII. People left live flowers at the graves since they grow in everyone’s backyards. Ernie Pyle, the WWII news correspondent is buried there.
To complete Oahu, we stayed on the north shore at Turtle Bay, close to the Bonzai Pipeline where the Billabong surfing contest was in process. The entire area is dedicated to surfing and surfers. The road along the North Shore was beautiful and dead-ends at a nature preserve with ~20 albatross nests. On the drive to the North Shore were numerous gorgeous beaches including “From Here to Eternity” beach and many others that Hollywood filmed.
Our activities included snorkeling, hiking, watching waves, eating the local seafood (Ahi, Ono, Mahi Mahi, Monchong, and Opakapaka are some of them), watching sunsets from beachside cafes, looking at flowers, birds, & turtles, looking for monk seals, dolphins and whales, sampling the Mai Tai’s, poking around small villages, looking at scenery, and visiting museums and historical spots.
South Point on the Big Island is 500 miles south of Key West and is the southernmost point in the 50 United States. It sits on lava rock and has nothing going on there except that distinction. That and the swift current that will take you to Australia if you make the mistake of getting caught in it. Hawaiian fishermen tie their boats to the tie points in the cliffs to prevent this. The water is too deep for anchors.
While the Big Island isn’t known for its beaches, they do have black sand beaches (from the lava rock), green sand beaches (from olivine), salt and pepper beaches, and more normal sand-colored as well. The resort area (NW part of island called Kohala) has the best tourist beaches on this island. Kona has the best snorkeling opportunities with calm, clear water. While snorkeling, we saw hundreds of fish of many varieties along with sea turtles, eels, and colorful living coral.
We stayed in a bungalow on a banana plantation (Kona) and at a yurt in the flowering jungle (Hilo) surrounded by plants and flowers, with complete privacy on all sides. Funky, which fits us. As someone told us, we knew not to look for you at the Ritz.
Each island has its own uniqueness and we want to experience it all. We’re off to Maui next and hope to hear from you soon. Happy New Year!
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