Big Island, HI

On our recent trip to Kona, my wife and I visited the Kona International Market, a mostly outdoor shopping complex of vendor stalls. When there is a cruise ship calling in the port of Kona, free shuttle service is offered from the parking lot next to Kamakahonu Beach in Kailua-Kona. We availed ourselves of this service and rode the shuttle to the market, which took about ten minutes.

My wife and I visited this beach when we met her Mom and sister in Kona for Christmas. This is a nice little beach in the heart of Kona town, right off Ali’i Drive. This beach is right next to Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, and offers many different activities, including swimming, snorkeling, snuba diving, kayaking, and boating. So it’s sort of like the busy beach hub of ‘downtown’ Kona.

After viewing Kilauea Iki, which was impressive enough, we made the short drive over to the main Kilauea volcano. Kilauea is many times larger than Kilauea Iki! While we were there, we marveled at the amount of gases wafting from the ground. There was no actual lava flowing while we were there, but so much gas! As it turns out, only a couple of weeks after we visited, we saw on the news that Kilauea experienced a major lava eruption.

Kahulu’u Bay, Kona, Big Island, Hawaii.The bottom was covered with corals—yellow lobe corals, pinkish cauliflower corals, and a few other types I don’t know the names of. Other bottom-dwelling creatures include two or three varieties of sea-urchins, sponges, crabs and shrimp. We even saw a moray eel with an attendant cleaner shrimp!
There were many interesting things to see, and the water was clear and warm. One of the coolest things we saw had to be the green sea turtle. We were swimming along when all of a sudden my wife says, “Look over here!” We look, and a gigantic turtle is lazily grazing seaweed from the ocean floor, in only about four feet of water. We took some pictures and video of the turtle, and let him (or her?) go on his way.

The Nautilus shop wasn’t doing any boat dives that day, but the shop’s owner told us he’d take us on a local shore dive, and we heartily agreed. We left from the shop to our dive spot of the day: Leleiwi Beach Park, about a fifteen minute drive from downtown Hilo. My wife and I were the only divers that day—just us and the shop owner. When we arrived at the park, we unloaded our gear and carried it to a grassy spot near the water.

The main drag is called Keawe Street, and there are a number of restaurants here. There are also several small boutiques and artist shops selling local crafts and artwork. A large beach park fronts the center of town, and while we were there a rock band was performing on a stage there, next to a huge banyan tree. In the way of historic landmarks is a clock that is still set at 1:05, the exact time the tidal wave of 1946, which occurred on April Fool’s Day.

How amazing would it be to say that you got to spend the night on a volcano? That’s exactly what my friend Dee and I did and it turned out to be one of the craziest and most surreal experiences we’ve ever had – but one that I would do again in a heartbeat! It’s actually completely do-able if you happen to be on the Big Island of Hawaii and you venture to the part of the island where the town of Volcano is located

We settled in for a fantastic spectacle. For the next forty minutes, three different mantas swam around our group and through the light beam shining up from the bottom. The lights had attracted a school of small baitfish which congregated in midwater, and the mantas were feasting. These majestic animals were a sight to behold. They are magnificently large—about twelve feet across from wingtip to wingtip– but they move with a fluid grace that is difficult to describe.

Tired of the usual date night that consists of dinner and a movie? Have you run out of ideas for somewhere out of the ordinary to take your significant other? How about a romantic yet adventurous (and even a little cutting edge) evening that involves the ocean and lava? If you happen to be on the Big Island of Hawaii, you’re in luck…you can take your date out and not even spend a dime, while impressing her or him with a very unique night out!

How many of you have seen a beach with green sand before? Would you like to? You can if you go to the southern part of the Big Island of Hawaii and you don’t mind a bit of a hike. Believe me, it’s worth your time, effort, and sweat!