Hawaii Trip, the Big Island

December 29, 2024

First stop of our trip, the Big Island. Also known as the island of Hawaii.  Had my first Mai Tai of the trip. More to come Im sure. Takes 2.5 hours to get to our bungalow in the rain forest but on the way we stopped at a black sand beach.   Don’t really like black sand I have to say. 

Day two on the Big Island 

Went through the park early to see the sun rise.  Stopped of at a place to see the steam vents where steam comes out of the cracks in the ground.  This is happening non stop so it’s easy to see.  Really cool.  We wanted to see the lava from the Kīlauea volcano, but we couldn’t see the hot lava during daylight.  Still fun to watch the steam vents.  The volcano is active but has been quiet for the past week or so.  That could change at any time though

After riding through the park we headed south to see the Green Sand beach.  Maybe we like that better.  It is actually the farthest point south in the United States.  It was a long hike to the beach but well worth it!  Great to see the beach and we got our first hike in for the year.

Last stop of the day was to go back to the park to see if we can see lava from the volcano.  I took a picture.  Very far away.  You will have to trust me it is molten lava from an active volcano.

Day three on the big Island took us on a drive along the volcano crater drive.  A 36 mile round trip drive where we saw lots and lots of lava.  The ride ended very close to the ocean which was very cool.  The lava is amazing.  Especially how it flows to the ocean.  Along the way we stopped to check out a lava tube.   These are formed when lava flows underground and the outside of the lava flow hardens.  Check it out.

I broke this island trip into two pieces because we stayed in two locations and they are vastly different. Today we traveled to the Westin resort in Hapuna Beach (northwest side of the big island).  A very beautiful 3-hour drive to get here.  Stopped to hike to another black sand beach but this one was far better than the first one.  It was outstanding actually.  Tough climb though.

It’s Sunday morning.  We are doing laundry in the hotel.  Thought I’d provide an update.  For the past few days we have been hanging at the beach and/or pool enjoying ourselves.  Been on several walks around the beach and golf courses.  Last night we went swimming with the mana rays.  We only saw one but also saw a very rare monk seal.  Only 1100 in the world.  This was apparently a rare sighting according to the native.  That was cool. No pictures of the snorkeling but I am providing some random pictures from the last few days.

A picture from the lobby this morning. Looks like a great day.  We go snorkeling again today so I will post some pictures tomorrow most likely.  We pack up and head to Maui tomorrow and I will start a separate post for that island.

The snorkel trip was a huge success.  Not only did we see lots of bright colored fish but we saw at least 6 whales on our ride to and from our snorkel location.  Saw several whales breach.   Could not get pictures but I got a few from our trip. 

On the way out of town we stopped at a roadside hut that sells and makes malasada’s   These are wonderful little treats very similar to donuts but with no holes   They are puffy, sugary and chewy all at once.