I thought I would group all the places to see on the big island into one entry so you will see some things here that are located on the dry side and some on the tropical side. We are staying on the dry side until the end of August, then switching to the tropical side for September. Keep checking back for additional content.

Starting off the morning, I produced a quiche that can be paired with fruit for a breakfast, or a salad for a lunch or dinner. 4 eggs, 2 cups milk, 2 cups cheese, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and salt/pepper makes the basics, then whatever else you want to add. I added fresh spinach, tomatoes and feta (in this case 1 cup feta, 1 cup parmesan). No crust to lower the carb content, but what trips it out is to butter/flour the pie plate but use bread crumbs instead of flour – that makes the crust. One hour in 375 degree oven.

On one of our driving trips, we drove alongside the northern coast. Pololu Valley is a must see. Beautiful lookout post from high above with a historic trail that goes down the canyon to the water. Because of the steepness, we didn’t go down the trail, but the view from above was stellar. On the way out, we stopped by a roadside kiosk that sold fruit smoothies and other treats. They had live music and donkeys, lol.

Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site is located on the northwest side, not too far and just north of Waikoloa Village. The historic site contains temple ruins, hiking trails and a small museum. The walk to the temple was closed, but I’ve read that it is a very special place for Hawaiian’s and some of the locals are allowed to access it for prayer. Apparently the bay that surrounds the area is full of sharks that you can see from the visitors center, but we saw none during our time there. Pretty interesting though.

Directly adjacent to Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site is Spencer Park. This is a great park for swimming as it is a sandy beach and relatively calm waters. Unfortunately, we didn’t swim, but we watched a stellar sunset!

Another Thea Joanna gem. She told me what she had for dinner and I just had to recreate it! This is her take on Spanakorizo (Greek spinach & rice). She decided to add tomatoes which I thought was brilliant! Start with the holy trinity (onions/garlic/olive oil), I added a green pepper, chopped 3 tomatoes and a tablespoon of tomato paste. Added greek seasonings, salt/pepper, then the cooked rice. Mixed it all together, then added fresh spinach, dill, parsley and some water. Cooked until the spinach was done, then squeezed 1/2 a lemon. Paired with horiatiki salata and you have one heck of a healthy meal.

Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation is a coffee plant up in the cloud forest high above Kailua-Kona. Massively tall tree ferns – David was in hog heaven. Learned all about the coffee making process. Bought some chocolate covered peaberries – they pack a punch!

You can’t be on the big island without visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. This will be our first trip of many as we plan to visit again when Ariel & Francisco arrive to spend some time with us on the wet side. The good news is I have a season pass so we can go as many times as we like for free! Crater Rim Drive is a nice drive for exploring as there are many pullouts and trails that you can hike around in. If you visit, plan to come in the early evening so you can see the lava flows more easily.

View from the visitors center
at one of the trail heads on Crater Rim Dr.
at the end of devastation trail

Devastation trail is a fairly easy 2 mile round trip hike on a mostly paved surface to the closest viewing point of the Keanakākoʻi Crater which has active lava flow. It is also the most popular trail so best to go during the week. We visited on a friday, but got to the parking lot at around 5:30pm so there were still some open spaces. When the lot fills, you get diverted to a lot farther away or be placed in a holding pattern until a space opens up. The hike was really nice and the weather cool (make sure to bring a jacket).

While we were watching the lava, David overheard a guy on his cell phone commenting about the number of people to the person on the line…..”it’s like they’re handing out government cheese!”.

Our Airbnb on the wet side of the island is situated off of road 137, just a block and a half from Kehena Black Sand Beach. The road is approximately 11 miles long in total. It used to be a longer road, but on either end, lava covers the road making it impossible to continue. It is really quite the sight. Our next destination used to be a black sand beach, but it is no longer as it was completely covered from the lava flows of 2018. Before 2018 you could drive down to the beach, swim and see sea turtles. Nowadays a portion of it is used as a weekly Farmers Market where you can buy meats & vegetables, baked goods, trinkets/jewelry and other food items. All situated on top of the lava. Beyond that you can walk on a trail to the beach, which is now more like a cliff looking over the ocean.

artwork?
Native historical art
plants growing amongst the lava

The beach is long gone but still beautiful

I produced another quiche. This one more like a western omelette. Same base ingredients as the quiche listed above, but instead of spinach, tomatoes & feta, I used green peppers onions, ham and cheddar cheese. This one came out looking really nice.

A must see is the Mauna Kea Observatory area. The actual observatory is at 13,796 ft and requires a 4 wheel drive and oxygen (kidding) to get there. We went to the visitors station which was at 9200 ft and saw the most amazing amount of stars. It was quite a difference in temperature from the tropics of Kehena. We left Kehena around 4:00pm in shorts, sleeveless tops and flip flops. Since it was 1 1/2 hour drive, we stopped in Hilo for dinner, then proceeded to the visitor center, arriving just before closing at 7pm. It was upper 80s and 100% humidity when we left Kehena. Upon arrival to the visitor center, the temperature had dropped to the mid 40s. Good thing we were equipped with layers of warm clothing. There was a light rain and fog when we arrived but cleared up by the time full nightfall arrived.

And yes, these are actual photos/video that we took. No touch ups.

So the lava flow thing is incredibly interesting. First of all, I wonder how any home can be insured on this island, even the $25M homes on the dry side, but especially in the Pahoa/Kehena area of the island. That being said, I watched the NOVA documentary on the 2018 eruption that affected this area and Leilani Estates (a subdivision just north of us) in particular. So on one of the hot and humid afternoons where the only relief was in our air conditioned rental car, we decided to take a drive to Leilani.

Just along one of the streets in Leilani Estates
Still steaming
one of the fissures
Leilani Estates

It was unbelievable what we saw. About half of the subdivision is under lava. You can drive down a street and then the street just stops. There were several streets like this.

The last place we visited was the Holei Sea Arch. This is a 90-foot arched rock formation in a volcanic cliff, with dramatic sea views. From our Airbnb, if there was a road, would only have taken about 5 minutes to get there. However, no road, only lava, so the only way to get there is by way of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park entrance, which is one hour north, then 45 minutes back to the coast.

The drive to the Sea Arch was perhaps more stunning as the arch itself.

The arch will eventually crumble into the ocean but others will most likely replace it. It was really beautiful to see, especially seeing the waves crash into it.

new lands from previous lava flows head into the ocean
Hawaii
By Aug - Sep 20222 Comments on Places to See on the Big Island

2 Replies to “Places to See on the Big Island”

  1. Hello, Mariam and David! I’ve been enjoying your latest Hawaii adventure blogs! What beautiful pictures! Keep ’em comin!
    Wishing you continued safe travels and exciting experiences as you make your way to Greece!
    Please stay in touch.
    Love,
    Anita

    1. Hi Anita!! Thanks so much. I have more to put up but internet is very slow. Hoping to have more up by the end of the week. Love and miss you bunches!

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