Kohala Coast

Ahh. We are ending our trip in resort country. I’m hoping that finalizes our relaxation process. I don’t know if we will even leave the resort to be honest, but there are a few things around here to do if we feel up to it. Our hotel is actually located near a ancient fish ponds (read: birds) and a petroglyph field and there are free tours of it daily at 10:30, but we may be able to see this on our own schedule. Though we will be staying on a great beach for snorkeling etc, word is that Hapuna beach just up the way is the best beach on the island (and has been named by magazines as the best beach in the world), so we may want to drive up there for some of our fun in the surf. Doug said it has nice waves and to go early. I’ve also heard that it is really fun to visit all the resorts and see the grounds. The nearby Hilton has quite a lot of art and other cool stuff to see on the property. There’s a luau. Hmm. Honestly though, I am thinking of just camping at the resort beach these last precious few hours in Hawaii. Kiholo Bay is recommended for snorkeling. A water tour group is based at our hotel, so it won’t be too late to get on a boat tour. We can do a snorkel, sunset sail or rent a kayak from them.

Driving North Kohala

I’m not sure how we are going to time out things still, but regardless, we will be making this drive to get to our next hotel and there are some things I haven’t covered. First is the 4 mile scenic Onomea drive, which happens to house the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, which I think is going to be on my must see list. Everyone raves about What’s Shakin for lunch near the Botanical Garden as well. Laupahoehoe lookout will also be worth stopping at. Next is Tex Drive In – near where the horse tour of the Waipio Valley starts. Malasadas and Plate Lunch. Need I say more? If we don’t go on the horse tour, we should at least stop at this look out on the drive north.


Once we round the bend, about 2 hours drive from our hotel in Hilo, we’ll be in waimea – cowboy country. Waimea doesn’t have a lot for us, but it will be worth stopping and getting out of the car for. Think ranches and celebrity chefs. Odd Ralph Lauren combo. After we stretch our legs, I propose we drive the scenic route and head north on Kohala Mountain Road. The towns at the northern tip of the island are cute with shops, galleries, and a restaurant Doug really likes called Bamboo. From here we can check out King Kamehameha’s statue and the Pololu Valley Lookout (and hike?). The drive south is on the coast and features Hawaii’s largest Heiau (sharks here at sunset) and the Lapakahi State Historical Park. Other treats include the Pua Mua Palace Botanical Garden, Anuenue Ice Cream and Hamakua Macadamia Nut Factory.

It’s worth noting that we can always do this extra drive once we are checked into the hotel. Doug likes the views going in reverse. Or we could just skip it. It’d be cool to see the whole island though.

Hilo – Waterfalls and Tigers and Gardens, Oh My!

Hilo is a fairly large town, world renown for its farmer’s market. I can’t wait to see what fruits they have! But overall I think we will mostly explore this towns restaurants rather than sights. We probably will want to enjoy the Lili’uokalani Japanese Garden and adjacent Coconut Island. For a fruit picnic maybe?

Downtown, Wailoa State Park features a pretty pond, King Kamehameha Statue and an arts center. Other artsy spots include the East Hawaii Cultural Center (free) and the local gallery scene. If it’s raining, there are quite a few museums here. We will probably skip the Pacific Tsunami Museum. I don’t need to be paranoid about the weather. The Lyman Museum might be worth a look at least at the cool house it’s in. Same with the free Mokupapapa Discovery Center on coral reefs. The somewhat pricey Imiloa Astronomy Center does actually look worth the cost.

The real attractions in the Hilo area are seriously waterfalls, tigers, and gardens. In addition to the waterfall we are staying at, there are 2 more in town (Rainbow and Pee Pee Falls with Boiling Pots) and one with a great hike about outside 45 minutes north (Akaka). All are highly recommended sights. Hilo is also home to a fine zoo featuring Namaste, the white tiger. As for gardens, we already covered Lili’uokalani, in addition there’s the World Botanical Gardens and the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden, plus Nani Mau and Pua Mau. But those are the big ones. My coworker said the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden was her favorite sight on the island. Also apparently waterfalls and gardens equal rain. We will want to bring the Gettysburg Umbrella on this trip.

I don’t know how we are going to time our days in Hilo to include outside sights and which outside sights we’ll end up doing as we drive on. An hour and a half north of Hilo is the Waipio Valley – or Valley of Kings, it’s both gorgeous and virtually inaccessible by car. But we are thinking about trying to do the horseback tour as a way to see it. There's also a shuttle and wagon tour, but they don't come as highly recommended. I think it's going to be awfully difficult to pick and choose what we actually do, since we clearly won't have time for everything and timing things out to drive efficiently is going to be tricky too. If we do opt to do the helicopter trip to the volcano, it leaves from Hilo, so that would cut into some of our time here. Well like two hours of it.

Hilo also boasts some good eats – vanilla lunch in an orchard anyone? Sumptuous Thai takeout, great sushi, and the Seaside Restaurant overlooks a good birding pond. People rave about the plate lunch portions at Café 100 and Café Pesto is known for fresh gourmet bites. Amazingly, Ken’s House of Pancakes is frequently mentioned as a must eat. This will be pretty welcome to us after our time in South Point, where restaurants are pretty scarce and we will likely be doing all of our own cooking. I think we will want to buy a small styrofoam cooler, since I can't live on beef jerky and doritos (aka stuff we did not need to worry about spoiling in the heat) the way we did on our honeymoon. LOL! Also this prompted me to figure out how we might score lunch in the volcano area, and apparently there are quite a few options. We will still probably want that cooler.