The main plan coming into this trip was to relax, get away from Covid, and from work, and to see some different things we might not get to see again. With that being the goal, the result was a resounding success. To be honest, if Hawai’i was six hours closer, I would be back in a heartbeat. The food, the attitude, and the environment left nothing to be desired. Overall, we managed to see and do as much as we wanted on the trip, maintaining a good balance between sightseeing, hiking, and relaxing. I could probably fill up one or two more posts on some of the things we did, but for the sake of convenience, I will keep it simple and just mention a few things here which I would absolutely recommend you do if you go to the Big Island.

One of the day trips we took was to the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy Visitor Information Station, which was roughly an hour and twenty minutes from our hotel. The Visitor Information Station is situated on Mauna a Wākea (Mauna Kea) which is a 13,800 foot (4200 meter) sacred mountain, and is home to numerous observatories. Although the ride up was intimidating with the road being pretty steep and narrow road, it actually was fairly easy. The road wound its way up the mountain before you reached the visitor center and station, 9200 feet above sea level. In non-Covid times the visitors center would have been open, but unfortunately…Covid.

Once we arrived, we parked the car and walked up a nearby hill which provided an amazing view. Looking out you could see that you were literally above or at the same height as the clouds at this height. The mountains towered over the expanse of the valley, which spread out for miles. The road cutting through the valley floor looked like a slender thread. Meanwhile scattered about the bottom of Mauna a Wākea itself were remains of old volcano cones. The whole experience really was something special. If you had a four-wheel drive you could make it all the way to the top, and if you had winter clothes, you also could stay up there to watch the sun rise, set, and see the stars. I mentioned winter clothes because at 9200 feet (2800 meters) the temperature was 62F/16C degrees in June, while at the top it was 40F/4C during the day and can dip below freezing at night. Meanwhile the temperature back at the hotel when we left it was 86F/30C…

Another place we visited while on the Big Island was the Waipiʻo Valley. We were a little hesitant to go there because of a few thigs we had read. The valley has historical and religious significance to the Hawaiian people, and we had heard that they frown upon outsiders traipsing all over. Another reason for our hesitation was that the road was extremely steep and narrow. Without a four-wheel drive vehicle with good ground clearance, you were not getting down to the valley floor nor were you going to make it back up. The parking area at the top of the ridge was limited, and if you weren’t there early you weren’t getting a spot. If you so much as thought about parking even a tiny bit of your tires on someone’s lawn, you were getting towed. We debated for a bit about not going, but in the end decided making the hour and a half drive would be worth it, even if it was for the drive alone.

We arrived early, and after finding a parking spot, meandered over to the lookout to see the view of the ocean, valley, and surrounding cliffs. While taking some pictures we met the local ranger, “Ranger Rocky” and talked with him for a while about the area, and the hike down to the beach and valley. He was super nice, and helpful. He encouraged us to hike down to the beach and valley, but recommended we bring plenty of water and wear sneakers since the road was extremely steep. And he wasn’t lying…To get to the actual beach it was roughly a two-mile hike, which took us about 50 minutes. Normally that isn’t bad, except on this hike the elevation drops 800-900 feet, and the grade of the road averages 25% and includes some 45% grade sections, all of which is steep enough to destroy brakes if you drive. And if you drive, the road is a one lane, but with pull-offs because those vehicles going down must yield to the ones coming up.

In reality the hike down wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it certainly wasn’t fun. After skirting some massive mud pits in the bottom stretch of the road, we arrived at the beach and mouth of the valley. Leaving our stuff under some trees, we walked around taking in the views of the cliffs above us and the valley and beach in front of us. The surf was rough, so we didn’t spend too much time in the water, just enough to cool off. After catnap in the shade, we grabbed our stuff, and headed back up the road to the car. The way up took just over an hour, and was a bit more difficult, leaving our legs burning and us both exhausted and hungry. We hopped in the car, cranked the ac, and headed off to the town of Honokaa were we found a great restaurant called Cafe il Mondo, which had some great looking Italian food, and more importantly some cold beer. We ordered a Greek calzone, a Meatball calzone, and a pair of Kona Big Wave Golden Ales which all turned out to be amazing. Full and satisfied with the days adventure we grabbed the car and headed back to the hotel.

The last adventure which I’ll mention was to the Captain Cook Monument and was one which we had also been looking forward to. In case you weren’t aware, Captain Cook was and English explorer and was one of the first white people to “discover,” aka visit, Hawai’i in 1778. On a subsequent trip to the island, he was killed during a disagreement with the residents of the island. The memorial is a 27-foot-tall obelisk was set up as by his fellow countrymen in 1878. The waters near the monument are excellent for snorkeling, and the shoreline itself provided some stellar views of the ocean and coast to boot.

There are two ways to get to the monument, via a hike, or a tour company with a boat. For us dealing with a crowded boat wasn’t worth it, so seeing nature and not getting COVID won out. If you hike, which I recommend, wear good shoes, get up early to get parking at the trail head, bring plenty of water, and a bag for you snorkel gear. The trail is roughly 4-mile round trip, through a mix of terrain including jungle, open rocky fields, and woods. Although there was a 1200-foot elevation change, the trail wasn’t bad and was mostly shaded except for the part which goes through the fields. The hike took us just under an hour on the way down and about 70 minutes on the return trip. In between we spent time on the shore relaxing in the sun, and even snorkeled for an hour-and-a-half in some of the clearest water I’d ever seen (outside of my trip to the Azores). There were Puffer fish, Parrot fish (Red and Blue), tons of Yellow Tang, Needle fish, and Moorish Idols. You didn’t even have to swim much, just float around to see what you needed. None of these colourful fish are anything like the trout, bass, and other gamefish I see in murky river and lake water where I live. What we saw snorkeling was just like something you would see on one of the nature programs on National Geographic channel.

When we finally made it back to the car, we decided we might as well grab a late lunch/early dinner before heading back to the hotel. We made a stop at Teshima Restaurant, a Japanese restaurant on the Hawai’i Belt Rd (Route 11) which we had driven past a few times on the way to some of the places we visited. I ordered the “No. 2 Teishoku”, which included Miso Soup, Sashimi, Sukiyaki, Fried Fish, Sunomono, Tsukemono, and Rice. The food was exceptional, and we were glad we stopped. Finally, it was time to head back to the hotel and continue with our Hawai’ian adventures. If you ever get the chance to visit Hawai’i, don’t let the flight dissuade you. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.