Visiting an active volcano
When arriving at Big Island - our third Hawaiian Island on a row - we first weren't planning on taking a helicopter tour. But when looking into the brochures and talking to some people, we changed our mind. It just offers a unique way to see the active volcano landscape,...
Meeting sea turtles (Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park)
If you ask my husband, he sticks with Hawaii as being his favourite holiday so far. There's of course a lot to love about Hawaii and one of the reasons is its fauna and flora, with sea turtles being one of them… Hanauma Bay, Oahu Snorkelling is the most popular...
(Night) snorkelling with manta rays
This was an amazing experience! You know the big manta rays, right? They are huge (not dangerous). There are a few different possibilities to see the min action. We opted for a night snorkel (really an evening snorkel), which starts at sunset.
The principle is as follows: you get into a small boat with your snorkelling gear until you’re somewhat away from the shore. The crew pulls out a device that goes into the water with spotlights shining down from it, in order to get the plankton up to the surface. Then you get into the water (although the sun has set, it’s not cold – this is Hawaii, remember), grab onto this device – one next to the other and on both sides of the rail. Then you stretch your arms out, belly flat on the water and a floating device is being put under your feet. The idea is to get you horizontal onto the water, so you can take a good look at everything that’s going on in the water, but without touching the rays. The plankton is dinner for the rays, so they come on up from below and swallow the plankton at just a few centimetres beneath you. It’s really something different!
Of course, at that time we didn’t have a Go Pro yet, so we weren’t able to get any pictures or videos, so you’ll have to take our word for it, but if you want to get an idea of what to expect, there’s quite a few You Tube videos that you can check out. Here’s an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqkWHKGQ5cE
Hiking in Waipio Valley
To get to Waipio Valley, turn off of the Hawaii Belt Road (Highway 19) onto Highway 240 at the town of Honokaa. Follow Highway 240 for about 9.5 miles where it dead ends at the valley’s lookout point. If you don’t have a 4 Wheel Drive vehicle, don’t drive any further. The road into the valley is paved but very steep. We parked the car near the lookout and took the one mile walk down. As it’s a very steep one, going down takes you less than half an hour, but going up can take somewhat more time…
Once you get below, there’s 2 options. Turning right will take you towards the black sand beach, which is pretty cool. Near the eastern end of the beach is the Kaluahine Falls, which is sometimes on – sometimes off.
Going left will take you at the bottom of the road that descends from the lookout and winds back into the lush reaches of Waipio and towards 1,200 foot Hi’ilawe Falls. It is possible to hike all the way to the falls by roughly following the stream but the trail is not well worn and you have to cross the stream a couple of times, which can be pretty deep. We actually didn’t make it all to the falls, but the hike itself was worth it for sure – this really gave you the feeling of being walked on a Jurassic Park movie set…
Hiking to the Captain Cook monument and going for a snorkel (Kealakekua Bay)
If you ask my husband, he sticks with Hawaii as being his favourite holiday so far. There's of course a lot to love about Hawaii and one of the reasons is its fauna and flora, with sea turtles being one of them… Hanauma Bay, Oahu Snorkelling is the most popular...