Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge

What an amazing day. Definitely one of our favorites of the whole trip. We did so much that organizing these photos for this blog post took forever. I went ahead and made a few different photo albums, so people can just look at what interests them. We scheduled our big birding day for our second day on the island because we figured it would be the easiest day to wake up at 5 am. This was pretty smart because really we woke up at 4 am with no trouble and had plenty of leisure time before setting out.

This trip was a tour with Hawaii Forest and Trail, which we choose for several reasons, first of all as you can see from the sign there is no public access in the refuge, second you see way more birds with a guide, and third most rental car agencies frown on taking your car on the mountain road we drove on, yet Saddle Mountain Road as it is known is one of the more scenic on the island. It was totally worth the money. Our guide, John, was absolutely fabulous, our companions were equally enthusiastic about birds, and we saw nearly all the endemic Hawaiian birds. Best of all, I actually took this picture of the I'iwi below. I had one that was sort of my buddy and followed me around! You can see from my special I'iwi photo album, that I really got a lot of time hanging out with this bird. (Though please note, I do have a pretty good lens on my camera).

The I'iwi is one of the Hawaiian Honeycreepers and you can listen to the birdnote about them (and hear what they sound like) here. The I'iwi and other Hawaiian Honeycreepers dine on the Ohia blossom of the Lehua Tree, which of course, like most things in Hawaii, has a lovely romantic myth that explains why the blossom and tree name are different. The Lehua Tree only grows above 3000 feet and the I'iwi won't descend below 4000 feet in an effort to steer clear of mosquitoes, which really made going to see it all the more pleasant. Our guide John told us that the Lehua Tree grows at an extremely slow rate and the gigantic ones we saw were so tall that it really craned my neck to look at some of them. He believes that the Trees in Hakalau are "some of the oldest angiosperms on Earth." I had to look that up, it means flowering plants.

So we set off from Kona just after 6 am, and headed up Saddle Mountain Road, which truly was gorgeous, and made a quick stop at a golf course for birding (it really is amazing how many species of wildlife like to hang out on golf courses, when we were in Hilton Head there were Ibis and Alligators strolling the courses and Joe tells me he regularly saw monkeys on the courses in Malaysia). This golf course offered up quite a few beautiful birds including the endangered Hawaiian state bird, the Nene goose. See the golf course album here. Saddle Mountain Road was an interesting mix of pretty views, military outposts, and farms. The oddest thing for me was that this area is home to tons of wild farm animals. It kind of blew my mind really, since I have really only seen domesticated farm animals. Hawaii protects all its wild animals, so these can't be hunted or taken for food. We saw wild sheep, goats, cows, turkeys, and chickens. I know there are also feral pigs on the island as well, but they are damaging to bird populations so there are fences to keep them out of the area we were in. The most impressive of this whole bunch was a wild bull that we saw. He took one look at our van and seriously considered fighting it to keep his territory. I was kind of a bit scared! Nothing like the docile dairy cows I'm used to seeing! Our Saddle Mountain photo album is here.

Our second stop of the day was the Mauna Kea State Park, where we were able to have a snack, use the restroom, and meet up with another tour member. John took Charlie and I around to learn about some of the trees and tell us about how some of the birds have adapted to them. Plus we had white pineapple for the first time, wow that is good. The new tour member was Gerald from Austria. Charlie and I really liked him. He was on his third trip to Hawaii and only had one more Hawaiian bird left to see on his life list, so we were kind of setting out on the birder's equivalent of Everest to see that bird on the trip, which also meant we got a slightly longer tour. We arrived at the refuge around 9 am and set out on our hike. We started up high, and walked downhill for about two miles total, and then hiked back out. Though birding is a pretty slow moving activity, so it took us about 4-5 hours to do this hike, including a picnic lunch. We mostly stayed on a path, but also did some grassy side trips to visit specific trees. In the end we were incredibly successful, seeing nearly all the endemic birds including the one Gerald wanted to see. Our checklist for the day is below. When we got back to the van at the end of the day, John had ice cold towels to cool off with and lava cake for us to eat. So perfect. Plus he had us back in town in time for us to have our sunset dinner on the Lanai. Such a perfect day. Our Hakalau photo album is here.

Life is Easy in Sunny Kona

We're back! Most of you already know this, since we are oh - about a month late in posting about the trip. I was beginning to think we never would, but we've been so inspired by our friend's Jill and Morgan blogging about their anniversary trip to the SW (they were smart and brought a computer with them) that we are finally taking action. So we have a ton more pictures than we can fit here, so the links in the page go to more pictures. Or you can view the whole day one web photo album here. I suggest doing both.  

Life is easy in Kona. Even the end of the airplane journey had a relaxed tone, which may have something to do with the free Mai Tai they gave everyone before landing, but nonetheless I have never been to a more casual airport. It doesn't even have walls or gates. You just get off the plane on the tarmac and they open all the doors. Plus it's full of jasmine plants, the kind I've tried and not succeeded to grow in a pot at my office. The other big bonus of flying to a small airport is that our rental car agency was waiting for us with the shuttle, since ours was probably one of maybe 10 flights in a day. Amazingly, the whole arrival and rental car thing was so easy, that we were on our way to town before we were actually even scheduled to land.

We've got a few hours to kill before we can check in. Since Hawaii is 3 hours earlier than Seattle (it's 3pm to us and noon here) lunch is in order. Since Kona is home to the original Kona Brewery, it's a no-brainer as to where we are going to eat. We got a great outdoor spot and enjoyed the boldness of the mongeese and local house sparrows as they deftly steal food from diners. Charlie enjoyed a decadent club sandwich with his Longboard Lager. I felt very proud of ordering the organic Oceanic Wit with the vegan Hippie Stack Sandwich, but honestly I think he enjoyed his food a bit more than I did.

After lunch we tooled around town, enjoying the chance to stroll around and see historic sights, including the first church, King Kamehameha's compound, and Hulihee Palace. I was pleased to see the official start to the Iron Man World Championships as people were already all over town training for the event. And of course we could not pass up the chance to enjoy shave ice, especially not when "Scandinavian Shave Ice" was on offer. The Scandinavian secret is the giant scoop of Macadamia Nut ice cream in the center. Wow.

Soon it was time to do our grocery shopping and check into the condo for the evening. We could not have been more thrilled with Sea Village. That view at the top of the page really is the view from our lanai. No joke. And we had a view of the town, very pretty at night. And we could drink Kona coffee on the deck in the morning and end each day with a sunset cocktail and dip in the pool. Perfect.

So here's the thing about Kona. They aren't kidding about the sunset. Everywhere I've traveled it's always sunset, sunset, sunset and I obligingly go to check it out and then I think, obviously these people have never seen the sun set over the Olympics in Seattle. But it's the real deal in Kona, with a perfect western view of the sea, the sun sets in all it's glory for everyone to view straight on. After seeing this on our first night, we vowed to stay on Seattle time as much as possible, and do everything with the sun for the rest of the trip. Which was no problem really as I woke up at 4:30 in the morning the first few days. And yes, that is a paddleboarder in the sun ray there. Very cool.

 

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.

The Puna District and the Lava Viewing Conundrum

Billed as the “real” Big Island, the Puna District offers a lot of great natural attractions and small town charm. I had planned on stopping here en route to Hilo, but given that this is where the lava flow is and that it is way off the beaten path, we may want to come here for the second half of our volcano day – or even most of our volcano day since we could also try again with the volcano when we are en route to our hotel in Hilo. The lava viewing site here is about an 1.5 from our hotel in South Point and we would want to try to see the lava in the evening. We could also drive here from our Hilo hotel if it comes to it, but there's a lot to do in that area too. Such problems for a girl to have.

The conundrum illustrated geographically:

What are the other cool things to do in Puna? Pahoa Town – a charming place to grab snacks or do a little shopping. People rave about the Mexican restaurant Luquin's here. Liloki margaritas for me and pigs raised by the restaurateur for the ultimate in locally grown for Charlie.

Lava Tree State Monument – dubbed "Pele’s sculpture garden," these are some cool petrified trees.

Mackenzie State Park – has an ironwood forest, therefore may have interesting birds.

Ahalanui Park – has a geothermically warmed pool for swimming.

Waiopae Ponds – awesome snorkeling at interconnected tide pools. Some of the best on the island.

Kahopo Pool – another geothermically warmed pool, way lesser known than the Ahalanui Park, couldn't even find a picture. Cape Kumukahi Light House - No picture of these either, but it's near the sea pool and is home to the world's freshest air.

Steam caves – naturally occurring saunas courtesy of the volcano. As cool as this sounds, it does kind of freak me out.

See all these things on the map: Another solution to our timing conundrum might be to just do the helicopter tour. People tell me it’s the best money you can spend on the island and it’s not as pricey as I would have thought. Flights leave every hour until 4:30 pm from Hilo. We miss out on the night viewing, but I don't know that we need it given we get so close to the lava. I'm still not sure how that would time out in our itinerary, but it would be cool. I also still kind of want to go kayaking and horseback riding too. And maybe on a catamaran. Yikes. No money for food on this trip! LOL.

Volcano Day

We are lucky to be staying so close by the volcano that we can spend a full day here. There are a ton of cool hikes, views, and even a winery. Oddly enough, the actual best lava viewing is outside the park right now and may make our day a little tricky since the best time to see that is at dusk. Note to self: bring headlamps and water. Lots of water. Maybe NUUN too. The lava viewing site is a conundrum actually because there is a lot to see near that lava viewing site that I had thought we would do on a different day. Hmm. More on that later.

Inside the park, there are two main areas to see – the Kilauea Caldera and the Chain of Craters Road. There is also a 30 mile round trip drive to a very high lookout on Mauna Loa, which could be cool especially since on route there is a hike that is supposed to be good birding.

Everyone recommends we start at the Visitor’s Center to get the scoop on conditions and watch a video, which really I could skip in favor of seeing the real thing. It’s a 30 minute drive from our hotel to the center. It opens as early as 7:45 am. It’s on Crater Rim Drive, where everything seems to be. Adjacent to the Visitor’s center are a number of trailheads and the Volcano Arts Center. I am thinking we will prefer more short hikes over one long one, in which case there is one trailhead here that could be cool, but isn’t my highest priority. It’s the Iliahi or Sandalwood Trail, a shady 1.5 mile loop with a view of the caldera.



Crater Rim Drive West of the Visitors Center boasts the most active volcanic overlooks. There are three and the closest to the steam vent is at the Jaggar Museum (no admission fee).

Crater Rim Drive East has two overlooks of an older crater, the Thurston Lava Tube, and the trailhead for the Devastation Trail, a 1 mile roundtrip out and back that I think we will want to go on because the nene (Hawaiian Geese) like it. I know we freaked out in that lava tube in Oregon, but I figure we will at least check this one out. I think headlamps will be better than a lantern.

Chain of Craters Drive – The old site of the lava flow. We could still drive down this, just to see and we might see some, and then stop at the Pu’u Loa Petroglyphs Trail, a 1.5 mile round trip out and back to a particularly good petroglyph viewing area. At the end of the road, we can still hike the 1 mile to the old lava viewing site. I’m not as sure about this though because I want to see the new site and there are other petroglyph fields and it’s a 40 mile roundtrip and would take at least 2 hours to do everything. There is a cool sea arch to see too though.



Mauna Loa Road – I’m not sure about the long drive up to the lookout. I think it is mainly for people who are going to backpack to the summit. I suppose if it’s clear it could be great? Two things on the road though that I do want to do: Kipukapuaula Bird Park Trail – a lovely shady 1 mile loop for birding. People have said “dress in khaki like a ranger and the pheasant walk right up to you.” Also cool sounding is the tree mold exhibit, where lava burnt a tree, but the hole is there. Nearish to here is the Volcano Winery, which of course we have to go to. It’s open from 10-5:30.


If we do prefer a longer hike, the 4 mile Kilauea Iki Trail through the crater sounds like a winner.