DAY 2:Walks, Cancellations and Good Food
Showery morning but all the dark clouds and rain were on the Hilo(east) coast and further south around Kona. Online reports and radio confirmed that Volcanoes NP was closed with roads damaged; power lines were down and many roads were impassable due to flooding.We had escaped that but the ocean was very whipped up by the wind. We also heard that many flights had been cancelled.
Headed down to the Beach Club but the bay was now too hazy, so we did the lovely walk out to the Mauna Lani Auberge hotel, which took us by the ancient Royal Fishponds of King Kamehameha where we saw some fascinating fish.
The ones I recognised were Puffer Fish(lots of these), a Moray Eel, Angel Fish, Yellow Tang and Parrotfish. There were also some larger fish jumping out of the biggest pond which may have been Mullet or Milkfish? The ponds are still maintained today.I family we chatted with had a very knowledgeable young son with them who told us the Puffer Fish was the most dangerous in the world to eat: only top chefs, and careful ones at that, could prepare it safely otherwise – curtains.The fish is 1,000 times more poisonous than cyanide, the toxins being in the skin and organs. Sounds too much like Russian Roulette to me!
Mauna Lani Auberge Hotel was another stunner of a resort.
They had a beautiful traditional canoe on display in the vast lobby.
Got Lattes from the shop and sat out one of the many empty loungers by the beach admiring the scene.
Then a walk along the shore to a reconstructed Hawaiian building and a peek at the mega expensive, gorgeously situated, Canoe House restaurant.
Our first trip cancellation beeped on my phone– the Mauna Kea Summit tour was off and for the foreseeable future! Not only were there blizzards but the summit road was badly damaged. Following that, came the cancellation of our Snorkelling boat trip to Captain Cook Bay! Again, weather meant the trips were off for days to come with big swells on the ocean.No chance of re-arranging though I tried.
Decided on a late lunch at the Lava Lava Club at Waikoloa , on a now showery afternoon. The place was mobbed. Spicy Margarita to start with (I had a sip, as I’d offered to drive.)To be honest, I wish places would just serve a plain Margarita, my favourite cocktail, it’s much nicer!
Tasty food there too – BBQ Pork Ribs for Chris and Pineapple Chicken Rice for me then Macadamia Nut plus Pineapple Ice Cream. Really friendly staff at this place.Good buzzy atmosphere.
There was a turtle swimming just offshore, I could see its wee head even from our elevated seat in the bar area.
The whole area was busy, despite the weather, with lots of craft anchored in the bay.It certainly was not as ‘sedate’ an area as those we had been so far.
Mid evening, our phones both rang out loudly as a Government Emergency Alert came in, followed by a grim warning about storm conditions, flash floods and the hazards of travel throughout the island.
Day 3:Petroglyphs and a Copper Bar Dinner at Mauna Kea Resort
Raining on and off but not too bad. Fishponds walk and a stroll along the low cliffs from the Mauna Lani Beach Club which was really quite spectacular given the churning ocean. The whole area is quite beautiful and must really be set off when the big mountains are clear.
Brave surfers…
Managed a walk to the petroglyphs at Waikoloa which were very interesting to see though some are relatively new, it seems.
Bit of shopping then home to change and get ready for our dinner out at the Copper Bar in the Mauna Kea Resort. This was also with the (forlorn) hope of seeing Manta Rays.The hotel has set up a light over a section of bay below a viewing area in order to attract them into the shallower water.
No valet charge ($40) if you were booked for dinner, thank goodness. We had an excellent meal here, in the covered, open fronted balcony area with great views over Hapuna beach and the ocean.
Volcano Rolls to share as a starter were superb, beautifully presented – shrimp tempura, unagi, topped with spicy ahi, jalapeno, bubu arare, black tobiko, spicy aioli, unagi sauce.
Then Spicy Tan Tan Ramen for Chris, an excellent noodle dish, loads of flavour; in contrast, I had a hankering for a good old Burger and Fries; a quality burger it was too. Really excellent food in a beautiful restaurant. There was live Hawaiian music but again, sadly, it was quite unremarkable.
It was raining on and off (it had been torrential at times earlier) as we wandered down to the Manta viewing area, now in darkness, but the sea was so churned up, it was impossible to see anything at all.What a fantastic idea however, to light up that corner.
Leaving Day: Mauna Kea Visitor Centre, Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park and The Painted Church
Our final day! The forecast looked good for the morning so we checked out early, albeit the storm was still raging further south. Drove up to the Mauna Kea Visitor Centre (sitting at over 9,000 ft) on a morning that started bright and sunny. A very unusual drive up through ranch like farmland, everything getting greener as we climbed. Then a signposted turn off for our destination…
It was a very different landscape from volcanoes we have visited( and hiked)in Europe – Mount Etna(11,000 ft) in Sicily and Vesuvius(just over 4,000ft) above the Bay of Naples.These are cone volcanoes and quite spectacular from a distance re shape, compared to the more gentle, broad outline of shield volcanoes such as Mauna Kea.However, at nearly 14,000ft the latter is also the world’s highest mountain measured from its base. Impressive!
At this point I noticed that we were very low on petrol and some rather ‘tense’ words were exchanged between us both, to put it mildly! I’m always keen to top up while Chris is happy at times to run on fumes (as I see it.) He insisted we had more than enough to get to Kona where we’d find fuel but I really felt quite stressed given the distances involved and also where we were.
The Visitor Centre was much smaller than I imagined and it didn’t take long to explore the exhibits. Chatted with the staff who confirmed that the summit was shut to all and would be for some time. Walked up to the top of a small hillock on a trail above the Centre and and which started o the opposite side of the road…
but the views soon disappeared as rain set in more seriously.However, I was delighted to at least have made it up here, given the all round weather situation!
Next stop was a café for lunch which our hosts had recommended (in a very useful info sheet they had left in the apartment) – The Coffee Shack on the Mamaloa Highway with great views over Captain Cook bay (in clear weather.)
The rain was now bouncing off the road and café parking was a nightmare.It’s a popular spot with only a small section for cars at the front entrance. Got parked further along the main road which was very busy with fast moving traffic.
No tables however in this rustic wee place with a minimum 45 min wait to be seated (outside in the rain on a bench.) That didn’t appeal so we got carry out lattes and I bought a Macademia Nut Pie which I have to say was the only baked good that took my fancy.
Coffees were ultra strong. The pie was not bad but the pastry was water based rather than butter and quite tasteless. I do think we are spoiled at home with so many great home -made cakes and traybakes on offer in cafes.
Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park
I had been so keen to see this site and luckily, the rain had lessened a bit as we pulled into the fairly busy parking area.We also seemed to have visited on a ‘no fee’ day.
It’s a beauty of a location for this deeply spiritual site, once a place of refuge for defeated warriors, non combatants or those who had broken sacred laws.
The carved statues, representing Hawaiian gods, were superb albeit not the original but the artistry was wonderful.Quite a sight.
The whole area is enclosed by a near 1,000ft lava wall, impressive in itself.Smaller fish ponds were nearby and there were two replica thatched structures, including a canoe house, where items were on display.
A short drive the took us to The Painted Church of St Benedict, with views over Kealakekua Bay.Beautiful inside. Outside the church, was a statue of Father Damien ministered the leper colony on Molokai in the 19th century.
Got fuel on the outskirts of Kona where there was a LOT of water on the roads and in fact, flooding in many places. We’d also entered a very busy, traffic dense area compared to Kohala.
Pretty hungry now, we picked up some hot take-away food in a supermarket – Korean Chicken plus rice, which was actually very tasty – plus some fruit and water.
The Kona coast was quite built up and not really, to my eyes, hugely attractive with varying levels of quality re apartment complexes and the hotels. It was all a bit cheek by jowl and with that highway running alongside it all too.
We did try to stop off at one hotel but we couldn’t access the car park – it was completely under water. Conscious that we didn’t want to get caught out trying to get to the airport, we made straight for it after that! We were ultra early but at least we had arrived.Fortunately flights had resumed, as I had been checking frantically most of the afternoon in case we might have to find other accommodation for the night.
It was a sad end to our time on the Big Island and the Kohala area had impressed us both far more than I’d thought it might. We didn’t see it anywhere near its best but even in grey and wet conditions, it held a lot of appeal and clearly offered some amazing sights.
Rain had certainly hit us where we had least expected it but…we took our chance with winter in Hawaii and with the exception of the Big Island, we felt we did well.It was still a great trip and as I said, I still feel a thrill that we finally visited the islands (well, 3 of them) and made what was a BIG trip for us, happen.
Aloha Oe, Hawaii.
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