HAWAII (Part Two, The Big Island) -January 11-12

On to part two of our trip...

On Wednesday Morning we got up nice and early (very early) to catch our flight from Honolulu to Kona (on the big island of Hawaii).  The MAIN reason we decided to go to the big island was because Hawaii has all of two dairies and both are located on the big island.  And if you haven't noticed from all of our past travels, we ALWAYS have to fit in a dairy or two along the way.  Luckily, there were a lot of other things to do on the big island, so I didn't mind heading that direction.

Kona, Hawaii LDS Temple

This was a great picture Greg got of a cow with her new calf at the first dairy we stopped at.

Another fun dairy picture.  Cows and oceans together are not a sight we see very often!

Akaka Falls

After getting into Kona around 10:00 a.m., doing a little shopping, driving to the other side of the island, and visiting the first dairy and Akaka Falls, we were ready to find our Bed and Breakfast in Hilo and go to BED!

Our Bed and Breakfast was right next to Kulaniapia Falls.  We were able to walk out the back door and right down to the falls.  On a more ideal day we could have gone swimming, but it was almost dark when we got there, a little cold, and we were BEAT!

This was the view of the falls from the door to our room.

Thursday, our last day, we enjoyed a great breakfast and then had to make a decision...the Volcanoes, or Waipio Valley.  We didn't have time for both (since we still had to visit the other dairy...).  We decided on Waipio Valley and I think we made a good decision.

It was AMAZING!!!!

The Waipio Valley is the boyhood home of King Kamehameah I.  It is also known as "The Valley of the Kings."  There used to be thousands of native Hawaiians living in it, but now it has less than 100 residents.  It's very hard to get into the valley and requires 4 wheel drive, hiking, or horseback.

view from the top looking down into the valley

another view from the top

I have to admit I freaked out a little driving down into this valley.  IT WAS STEEP!!!  Several tourist were on foot and I had decided that was the way to go.  Greg, being the sensible one, refused to walk it, forced me into the jeep, and off we went.  I was pretty sure we were going to die.  Once we got down into the valley (safe and sound), I think I thanked Greg several times for making me ride.  That would not have been a fun walk and I'm pretty sure I would have turned back 1/2 way which would have been a huge shame because it was the best part of our whole trip (the valley, NOT the drive down)!

It was so remote and...I don't know, primitive I guess.  Greg said it reminded him a little of the Philippines.

Can you see that little house way back there?

This was the river that led to the Hiilawe Falls.  We had been searching for a road or a trail to get to the waterfall.  After stopping and asking a tour guide, we found out that the trail was this river.  He said that sometimes we could follow it on the right side, and then the trail would end and we could follow it on the left.  And sometimes there wouldn't be a trail, so we could swim.  It was about a 2 hour hike to the falls from this point.  As much as we wanted to go to the waterfall, we didn't have time for a 4 hour hike.  And we definitely weren't prepared for a hike that required swimming gear! 

 

We had to settle for this very distant picture of the Hiilawe Falls.  This is the tallest waterfall in all of the Hawaiian islands.  It's about 1,300 ft.

Hiking to this waterfall is now on our bucket list!  We definitely want to go back someday and hike to that sucker!!!

This gives you an idea of what we were driving through down in the valley...this road actually looks pretty good.  I have some video where we are bouncing all over the place because the roads were so rough!

And THIS is proof that my "freaking out" was for good cause.  It's probably hard to tell, but THAT, my friends, is a vehicle that obviously didn't make it down into the valley safe and sound.  It was lying at the base of the road up above and covered in moss, so I'm not sure how long ago it happened, but it must not be worth hauling up out of the valley.  I'd be lying if I said this didn't freak me out a little more!

At the other end of the valley (from the Hiilawe Falls) was the ocean and....BLACK SAND BEACHES!!!

It was amazing!

This is a view looking back up the river into the valley

THIS is what allowed us to get safely down into the valley.  We were very glad we upgraded our rental to an SUV.  It came in handy several time during the two days we were on the big island. 

After our visit to the Waipio Valley, it was time to head back to Kona to catch our flights home.  I had to throw in these next pictures to show what a difference the scenery is from one side of the island to the other...

We really wish we would have had more time on the Big Island, but we were anxious to get home to our kids.  7 days is a LONG time to be away from them!

So, Hawaii was a HIT!  We loved it and we want to go back.  We would definitely want to visit the big island again...see the volcanoes and hike to the Hiilawe Falls!!!  It would be fun to visit one of the other islands too.  So fun!  Happy 10 years too us (almost ;)!!!