We visited the Big Island over the course of two days / stops. The Island of Hawaiʻi is the official name for the Big Island, but it goes by several other names depending on who you talk to. In fact, people use all of the following names for the same island: “The island of Hawaii” “The Big Island” “The Orchid Island” and “Hawaii’s Island of Adventure.” Personally, I like the Big Island.
Our first stop we made on the Big Island was on the western coast in Kailua-Kona. Here we just explored by foot from the ship (and bus) along the coast. We wound up at a lovely beach (Kahalu’u Beach Park) where Matthew, John, and I did some snorkeling. The water was a bit cold and rough so it wasn’t the best snorkeling, but it was Matthew’s first time doing it so that was a win in our books. And there were plenty of fish to see so that was fun.
After snorkeling, we enjoyed a little time on the beach just relaxing and people watching before heading off to explore some markets and meander through the town.
Our second stop on the Big Island was on the eastern coast in Hilo. Here we rented a car to explore a bit more of the island. We immediately set off for Hawaii Volcano National Park. You can’t talk about the Big Island without a discussion of volcanoes and lava. There are six volcanoes that have worked together over the last (give or take) million years to create the Big Island. These volcanoes formed one after the other and partially overlap. From oldest to youngest their names are: Mahukona, Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. Three of the volcanoes are still active: Hualalai, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world with its last eruption in 2018, while the other two could erupt at any time (dunh dunh dunh!). And if they erupt, watch out – the fastest recorded lava flow on the Big Island was the 1950 Hoʻokena ʻaʻa flow of Mauna Loa which advanced down a 5º slope through thick forest at approximately 6 mph. In fact, eruptions from Mauna Loa have often endangered Hilo. One time this led to a spectacular (but futile) show of power by the air force. Because an eruption in 1935 was threatening Hilo five bombers of the 23rd and 72nd Bombardment Squadrons of the U.S. Air Force dropped bombs in the path of the lava to divert it away from Hilo. It didn’t work, but, fortunately, the eruption stopped 6 days later and Hilo was spared from disaster. More recently, during the last active phase of Mauna Loa, Hilo was under threat again. Flows from this eruption headed rapidly towards Hilo again but stopped about 2.5 miles from the outskirts when the eruption ended after three weeks. As for the remaining volcanoes, Mauna Kea is dormant, Kohala inactive, and Mahukona has probably never breached the ocean surface.
While there was no flowing lava for us to see, we did witness steam coming out of vents all over the place. We also drove down Chain of Craters Road where we saw the remnants of lava flow. Fun fact: there are two different kinds of solidified lava you can encounter on the Big Island: pāhoehoe (pronounced ‘paw hoey hoey’) and ʻaʻā (pronounced ‘ah ah’). The most obvious difference between the two is that pāhoehoe flows are smooth, and aʻā are not. Pāhoehoe means “smooth, unbroken lava” and ʻaʻā translates into “stony rough lava”, but also to “burn, blaze, glow” or “fire”. The surface of aʻā lava is sharp, rough, and ‘clinkery’, while Pāhoehoe lava surfaces have more smooth, billowy, or ropy crust. Pāhoehoe flows typically can change into ʻaʻā flows depending on the speed of the flow and the amount of gas present in the flowing lava, while the opposite (aʻā to pāhoehoe) is much rarer. I don’t know about you, but I’ll never remember that. 😉
We also walked through the Thurston Lave Tube. While we have lava tubes in Oregon so this was nothing new to us, it was still cool.
We also screamed into the Pauahi Crater – the only crater in the park where you can hear an echo (and you definitely hear the echo, loud and clear – just imagine the things the boys decided to ‘test’ out by yelling into the abyss…).
After we got our fill of volcanoes, we headed to Punalu’u Beach – a beautiful black sand beach. Located on the southeastern Kaʻū coast, Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach is one of the most famous black sand beaches in Hawaii. The sand was jet black – hard to show in photos but amazing to witness firsthand.
While there, we got to see around 5 or 6 large honu (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles) basking on the beach. They block them off with ropes to protect them from being disturbed by tourists (like us) so we kept our distance, but it was neat to see them from afar.
After the black sand beach we decided it was time to see a waterfall, because you can’t visit Hawaii without seeing at least one big waterfall. We opted for Rainbow Falls, in part because it is located within Hilo town. The Rainbow Falls – called “rainbow [seen in] water”, or Waiānuenue in Hawaiian – cascade 80 ft over a lava cave that, according to legends, is home to the ancient Hawaiian goddess Hina, the goddess of the moon.
After the falls, we did a little shopping for toiletries and things we forgot to pack – so nothing special at that point. Then back to the ship for a late lunch and a little school / work time. All in all, we considered the Big Island a successful visit.