Day 3 - Kaholo - the northern tip of the island

 Aloha!

Sunday morning. Some clouds, but warm as always when we left for the North Kona District, which is plastered with big resort hotels, villages of their own, which many tourists probably only leave for a half-day excursion. Located across the street from the Marriott Waikoloa Beach Resort, are the Kings’ Shops - an outdoor mall - and, they had "Lei Day Festival" (usually on May Day) going on today. A stage (left photo) was built up for music and hula dance (photos below), there were lei-making demonstrations, vendors, artists, etc. 

 We stayed for one musical presentation, checked out nearby Queens' Shops then, looked at the ancient Alanui Aupuni Trail (below), which originally connected the island's settlements, and, left north afterwards.

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 "Wild Animals Crossing" is a common traffic sign on the island - it refers mostly to goat, sometimes to donkeys (but didn't see any of the latter, but many, many wild goats!). We took Waikoloa Rd., a curvy mountain road, which leads up to Hwy. 190 into Waimea, and, from there on Hwy. 250 further north. Many curves and narrow, it brought us up to elevations of 1,000 m, and, to the northern-most tip of the island. Landscape is lush and green, it's ranchland, pastures, very idyllic and great views!

We stopped in Kapa'au first to greet King Kamehamea, famous emperor who was born in the area in the first half of the 18th century. The flag on the right is the Hawaiian State flag.

 

 

 

 

On to Pololu Valley Outlook, with Mauii and its volcano within one's reach - see photo above, volcano is in the background! In reality it's should be about 50-60 mi. as the crow flies, but, unfortunately, no ferry connections!. Pololu is located on the western tip of the island. A trail goes down to a river which flows into the ocean, but also from the outlook views are gorgeous (photos below)! 

 

On the way back we found a nice resting area with a food vendor and tables and chairs to sit. On a little  stage a musician was playing "hula sounds". We got us  shave ice, a popular Hawaii dessert made from shaving blocks of ice and a topping of fruit (here: pineapple) sirup. 

 

 

Upolu Point, our next stop, is the northwesterly projection and there is also an airport, mainly used by parachutists and sky divers. Driving to the airport took us through a wind farm and cattle pastures. Since no activities were going on this time, we drove on to  Lapakai State Historical Park - which was new and an interesting surprise for us!

This old Hawaiian settlement from about 700 years ago, at Koai'e Cove, shows impressive remains of buildings, family homes, community buildings, boat houses, a fishing pier, etc. The community once lived of fishing, farming and salt making. The settlement is huge and is at the same timea  Marine Conservation District. The trail was pitturesque, lined by coconut palms and lava stones, and, it is also considered a paradise for snorkelers.

 

South we drove to Kua Bay, just north of the Kona Airport. We had considered to take a swim, but, being a popular beach for tourists, it was crowded on a Sunday afternoon and we skipped the thought. Just looked at the bay with its turquoise water and moderate waves.  

Called it a day at Ola Brewing - the second brewery in town - and had a well-earned beer in good company of a little critter, a gecko. It's been really humid-hot all day, 85 deg. F. at least, hotter than before and a shower was highly recommended. When we drove up to our cottage it started to rain and rained most of the evening. Crazy weather here: even when it rains, it doesn't cool down, same for nights. Flower photos taken in the rain, in front of our cottage (ginger) below.

 

Day 2 - Northern Kona and Waimea

The sun was out this morning, temps are the same all the time, no matter whether it rains or not, even at night it doesn't cool down much, always around 20-25 C.  After breakfast, we left at 8 am towards Waimea, on the northern slope of Mauna Kea, one of several volcanos on Big Island - two of them still active. The road we took went through a lush and green landscape (cattle pastures) with gorgeous ocean views, passing the Parker Ranch,  the famous first cattle operation on Hawaii, and, still today an important private cattle operation. Waimea is known as paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) country, and is now a thriving artsy community with a farmers' market, our first stop this morning.

 Got us baby (apple) bananas - which taste so much different from the sweet, slimy stuff we get at home! - and Ulu bread (made from breadfruit). We visited the old-fashioned Paniolo Museum (pics below) and then drove on to find one of two chicken places on Big Island. Huli-Huli Chicken is roasted chicken with a special marinade. They are roasted street-side, usually on Saturdays, and, the vendors can be seen from far away because of the smoke. Got us a whole chicken (good for two meals).

 

 

Down towards the coast we drove then ,,, to the Hamakua Macadamia Nut factory (right photo). The macadamia nut industry is huge on Big Island with two major processors: Mauna Loa and Hamakua. The state of Hawaii is the largest producer of this delicious nut in the United States! Many different variations are available, we love the Spam version (Frühstücksfleisch) and got Chili in addition, but there are many sweet varieties as well.

 

A little history lesson afterwards: Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. During the late 1700's, the island of Hawai'i was in a bloody civil war and this place tells the epic story of the rise of King Kamehameha who unified the Hawaiian islands. The great temple of Kamehameha the Great (ca. 1736-1819), Pu'ukohola Heiau (photo below), rises above the ocean and is a silent testament to the most renowned king of Hawai'i. Nobody, but Hawaiians, are allowed to get up to the temple for certain ceremonies, but there is a trail, telling the story.

 

Nearby Spencer Beach State Park is our favorite beach on Big Island. It's not touristic at all, to the contrary: it's a local families' beach, especially on weekends. Grills are set up, families gather, anniversaries are being celebrated. It's a beautiful beach, mellow waves, flat to get in, warm and nice, with some shade, thanks to big trees.

 

 

What a nice afternoon we spent there, dozing, bathing, watching people, before we drove back through the barren volcanic zone (old lava flow) of North Kona district. Cul-de-sacs lead to fancy, huge hotel resorts along Hwy. 19 - wouldn't want to stay in one of these,,, 

We arrived back to our cottage in time to enjoy the sunset at 6:45 pm (much earlier than at home!) and enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken, kimchi, ulu bread and Kona IPA on our patio.

Day 1 - Kailua-Kona

Well, it rained some more this morning, and, though we were up early, we only departed at about 9:30 am to do some grocery shopping at Safeway - breakfast items and some other staples. Always amazed how expensive food is on Hawaii, even the local fruit and baking goods! Stopped by at Walmart as well, since they have a good "Hawaiian souvenirs" department, before we drove into downtown Kailua- Kona, the second-largest settlement on the Island of Hawaii after Hilo. 

 

 

 

The community was established by King Kamehameha I. as his seat of government when he was chief of Kona before he consolidated the archipelago in 1795. It was later designated as the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Hawai'i, and, later moved to Lahaina, then to Honolulu. 

The Huliheʻe Palace (right pic) is located on Ali'i Drive, the main axle along the waterfront, lined with restaurants, shops, little malls and bars (photos above). It was the former vacation home of Hawaiian royalty and originally built out of lava rock in the first half of the 19th century. 

Kailua-Kona is located on the western slopes of the Hualālai volcano next to the ocean. Thanks to the airport and its central location it is now the activity hub of the west coast of the Big Island. Cruiseships anchor here (none present today), but most guests stay north of town, where all the white sand beaches and the big tourists' resorts are located. In Kailua itself black lava is dominating and, Ironmen (the triathlon) starts here.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park with its royal fishponds (left photo) was our next stop. Closeby the airport, this is an old Hawaiian settlement on the beach, where, in addition, Green Sea Turtles are under protection. Walked the trail down to the famous fish traps and petroglyphs. Some of the coastal pools provided an underground water source and two fishponds and a fishtrap were used for food production. Remains of kahua (house site platforms), ki‘i pōhaku (petroglyphs), heiau (temples), graves, and a network of historic trails are to be seen.

Still being tired from our long flight yesterday, we ended our explorations early: In the late afternoon we drove to Kona Brewing - which turned 30 this year! - for Happy hour with pineapple/BBQ-pork/goat cheese pizza and an IPA. Wouldn't necessarily eat this kind of pizza at home, but it fits well with Hawaii,,, and, it tasted yummy!

 

Back "at home", in our cottage, we studied the surrounding plants a bit further (on the left pic a Crinum Asiaticum - a lily), caught up with work, took a nap and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. Below the view from our patio.

Aloha!

This was my view this morning from bed at 6:30 am ,,, not too bad,,, like in a tropical rain forest. We have our own "island cottage", surrounded by tropical plants, and with many windows. Bathroom is partly open. Outside: around 80 deg F, but ,,, cloudy!!! On our previous two visits on this island, in Feb. and Oct., and, it's not been as warm and humid, but mostly sunny. We'll see how it turns out. 

All night the Coqui frogs were croaking, but slept okay, about 7 hours, with some interruptions. The coqui is a small tree frog with a round body. Their distinctive “ko-kee” sound is loud and consistant. They are found on ground level, in trees and bushes, and, are considered invasive by the government, since they came from Puerto Rico and do not have natural predators on Hawaii. Eating huge quantities of insects causes the loss of insects as pollinators among other things.

Foto: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/coqui

In the morning, birds took over and frogs went to sleep. And, we got up much too early, longing for coffee,,, but, now it's even raining!

Yesterday, our plane departed SFO about 1.5 hours delayed, and arrived one hour late, at 8:40 pm. Smooth flight, and, again, center seat stayed empty! 80 deg F (27 C) when we arrived at Kailua Kona, an "open-air" airport, very humid. Luggage arrived quickly, took the shuttle bus to the rental car facility, and, even there we got our car at Alamo's in a jiffy. To our surprise, they even had a "choice line" of SUVs and we chose a pretty new Nissan Rogue. 

The drive to our first AirBnB only took about 15 min, but neighborhood roads were pitch-dark and drive up to our designated parking a bit steep,,, Found the entrance, code on key-pad worked, and, in we were! After about 28 hours on the road/in the air, we were pooped, unpacked, sat a bit on the patio and called it a day.

In the air again ,,,

Our 80th trip to the U.S.A.! Escaping our very icky weather for the last two weeks, was really enticing! All went smooth on our way over to the airport, MUC, 1:20 hours drive without real traffic jams, which has become a rarity! Left our car in a new parking garage (which has offered a good rate when booking long in advance), took the bus to the terminal building and all went quick there. 

Plane departed on time, and, again, we were fortunate and the middle seat between us wasn't taken. This fact, and, Eco Plus gave us some more space to stretch out. The B777-200 was about 80 % full, there was the usual "chicken or pasta", an "afternoon snack" (pic) - more wrapping than contents – and a dry pizza-dough something before landing. Flight was long - almost 12 hours -, but okay. We flew an extremely northernly route today and into SFO via Canada down the coast.

Watched some of famous French chef Julia Child's TV series, read some Mark Twain (about Hawaii) and, eventually, arrived on time in cloudy, windy San Francisco. Flew over the Oakland Bay Bridge and downtown on the photo below.

From landing to our new gate it didn't quite take us 30 minutes - new record time! Went through immigration (with Global Entry) in minutes, luggage came 5 minutes later. MUC should take that as an example!

 

 

 

 

Inspected SFO's new outdoor terrace (above), but it was pretty windy. Had time to burn since our plane to Kona (Big Island) was about 45 min. delayed. Checked and answered emails, got us coffee and waited. Another 6 hours to go!