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Big Island
Picture Hawaii Islands  Large Picture Active volcanoes, snow capped mountains, tropical forests, world class diving and gorgeous beach and golf resorts ... Click an icon in the Map of Big Island for more pictures Kailua Town is the second largest town on the Big Island behind Hilo with the busy Keahole Airport. This rapidly developing tourist hub which sprawls 20km south along Alii Drive offers lots of hotels and restaurants. There are a few small beaches in town although much of the coastline is rocky. The main attraction is excellent snorkelling, lots of sightseeing and day tours and perpetually sunny weather. The west coast of the Big Island has the States best coral reefs and fantastic visibility with thousands of endemic fish and lots of unusual caves. Both scuba diving and snorkelling are excellent off Kailua and the Kona Coast. The calm and deep waters off Kailua Town are legendary for game fishing, with marlin (billfish) the prize catch. Casting for bone fish and other more edible fishes is also good of the shoreline. Kamakahonu Beach in the heart of Kailua Town with the restored Ahuena Heiau on the western point. The temple was the residence of the great King Kamehameha in the last years of his life. The protected bay has good swimming. The popular Kahaluu Beach State Park has the areas best snorkelling for beginners with a huge variety of colourful fish. Situated along Alii Drive south of town, the surrounding area is heavily built up with tourist developments. White Sands Beach along Alii Drive is one of the most popular beaches in Kailua. The sands here are stripped away every March and April to reveal coral rocks. The lagoon here is excellent for swimming and water activities. The marina at Honokohau, 5km north of Kailua Town, is a busy spot. Here game fishing charters, dive boats and sailing cruises depart each morning for the sheltered Pacific Ocean. A temple rises out of the lagoon at Honokohau, just north of Kailua Town. This secluded beach area is ideal for a quiet day out from the bustle of Kailua Town but there are no accommodations or restaurants here. Kailua Town hides beneath the cool slopes of Hualalei towering almost 3000 metres over the town. The slopes are ideal for growing coffee and macadamia nuts and there are several beautiful bed and breafast guesthouses on working farms. Kona Coffee is world renowned and there are several Coffee Showhouses up in the hills. View over Kealakekua Bay and the Captain Cook Memorial on the far side of the bay, burried here after he was slain by Hawaiian warriors for upsetting ancient protocal when he visited a religios temple in the by. The Temple can still be seen and the bay has some of the islands best snorkelling. Pu'uhonua O Honaunau is a historic park with a temple complex covering 20 acres, one of Hawaii's largest. Sitting on the coast, there are three large temple platforms, one of which was carefully restored in 1961 from historical sketches and using only traditional building methods. The South Kohala Coast has many great beaches set alongside the otherwise barren and dry west coast. Some are of fine white sand, others grey in colour and this one is a mix of coarse black lava rock and bleached white coral. The protected beachfront at the Four Seasons Resort . The coast to south has many secluded cove beaches that are inaccessable by road and can be reached by the coastal walking track. Leatherback Turtle comes to shore to lay its eggs and rest. Turtles are a common sight along the remote Kohala coast where several mega resort complexes have been built. The exclusive Manua Lani Resort on the South Kohala Coast boasts a dozen fine restaurants and two championship golf courses. There are several other huge self contained resorts along this coastline but no towns or guesthouses. Prince Golf Course, one of a handful of championship golf courses sculptured from the lava fields on the dry west coast. The Kohala Coast. There are a handful of large resorts along this sunny coastline. Hapuna Beach offers both a scenic white sandy beach with great swimming and snorkelling as well as some love coastal walks along black lava cliffs. The State Park has good public assess and there's a large resort on the north end of th bech. The Puukohala Heiau, a National Site built by King Kamehameha in 1790. The temple measures 30 by 70 metres. Beyond at the end of the road are Pololu Cliffs with a trail leading down to a secluded beach and beyond into virgin rain forest beyond civilisation. Waimea Town, otherwise known as kamuela, is surrounded by rolling hills ideal for cattle farming. the town has regular rodeos and beef features dominantly on the menu. Waipio Valley is a swampy lush tropical envionment ideal for growing taro rootcrops, the staple diet of the eary Polynesian inhabitants. The mile long black sand beach at Waipio has some excellent surfing. The beach is hemmed in either side by steep cliffs where waterfalls tumble directly into the sea. The communal village of Waipio is free of vehicles and most people live apart from the modern world, growing food for subsistence and working as artists to earn a little money. Naalapa Falls tumble form the high mountains to the river basin at Waipio Valley. The vibrant valley has been inhabited for over 1000 years and there are many remains of ancient villages. Mauna Kea, at 13796 feet, is the tallest in Hawaii, has state of the art observatories and is snow capped from December to April. Neighbouring Mauna Loa stands at 13677 feet, but from its base 18000 feet below sea level, is the largest mountain in the world. Akaka Falls, on the wet east coast of the Big Island. Although there are no large resorts this side of the island, there are lots of bed and breakfast guesthouses that make a good base for exploring the region. The town of Hilo is typically shrouded in rain clouds. Hilo Bay has a protected beachfront good for sailing but the mai attraction here is the tropical environment, botanical gardens and the town market. Hilo was once a busy port but having lost much of the trade to Kailua on the west coast, it is now a town on the decline on the rainy east coast of the Big Island. The town retains much of its raw character and has little tourism making the few hotels here very reasonable priced. Rainbow Falls on the outskirts of Hilo Town is an attractive easily accessable Park. A little further upstream are the Boiling Pots, naturally bubbling jacuzzis. Lava Tree National Park formed in 1790 when lava flowed through the forest and hardened around the trees before moving on, leaving lava crusts where the trees once stood. The caldera of Kilauea at Volcano National Park has been oozing from the volcano almost continuously since 1983 making it the most active volcano in the world. Getting up close to the lava flow at Kilauea, an unbelievably hot experience. Depending on the gradient of the land, the lava flows at a very slow pace in its descent towards the sea. Visions of encroaching nature, a past lava flow covers the old Crater Road. There are several excellent walking trails around the park to summits and lava tubes and guides can take you to the edge of the lava flow. The black sand beach at Panaluu along the remote and barren Kau Coast. This is the southern most point of Hawaii and the youngest region of the island group. Off the shore in the deep ocean another island is slowly being created. The new settlements springing up out of the lava fields are a testiment to mans passion to conquer nature and live in quiet surroundings. The south coast offers raw natural beauty, some secluded beaches but few places to stay. |
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