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.