Big Island Part 1

Before leaving for the mainland I wanted to take a quick trip over to the "Big Island" - Hawai'i. I arrived with no plans, a rental car and my desire to see some freaking lava. As it turns out, when you don't have any plans, you don't have anywhere to stay. For whatever reason, I didn't realize that would be an issue until it got later on the first day. After scouting out some areas I picked a beach, ate some animal crackers and figured I would try to sleep in the car. What I hadn't planned on was the massive party some locals were throwing. Music blared, cops came and cavorting locals partied on.

The next morning I decided I would check out Pololu Valley. It's essentially the Na Pali coast for the Big Island. The hike in was fairly easy when I went, its very steep and I can see how it would be very difficult after a decent bit of rain. The trail drops you into the far west side of the valley and from there you are free to explore wherever you want. The geography was unreal. Black sand beaches that turn into rock beaches, low lying sandy areas, steep hills to camp on top of, small trails leading everywhere on the valley floor, swings set up on random fallen trees and this feeling of remoteness I can't describe. 

The coastline and interior of Pololu Valley.

Of course, I wanted to see the other side of the valleys, so I started driving over to Waipio, The Valley of the Kings (epic name). The drive takes you up through some mountains, I got to look down on where I spent the previous night and feel the coolest air I've felt in the last three months. Unfortunately for me, visitors are not allowed to hike into the valley as it is privately owned by Hawaiian families. The drive out to the valley is totally worth it though, the view is absolutely stunning. A fertile valley stretches back out of sight, several small buildings dot the floor and a waterfall plummets off the cliff into the sea. Kamehameha had it made growing up in there, it's good to be the king. 

Waipio in all her glory.

Earlier in the day I booked an AirBnB in Pahoa, a small town on the south eastern part of the island. I made my way down the coast, a beautiful drive along the slopes of Hawai'i with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean most of the way. I made it down, got some local knowledge and crashed in a bed for the first time in 101 days (96 of which where in the Hawaiian islands). Was it the most comfortable bed ever? No. Did it feel like the most comfortable ever? Yep. I got to sleep under a ceiling fan and had one of those square floor fans blowing on me all night. It's funny how easily I think we can be spoiled, but how much we can actually deal with. I had forgotten how much better sleeping in a bed was. In the morning I woke up, rolled around on the bed for a minute and then shot down to the Kapoho tide-pools, which happened to be about a block away, at the end of the neighborhood I was staying in.  

This was the most easily accessible and peaceful snorkeling I have ever done. The pools stretch far back from the ocean with several lava rock barriers at varying distances that eliminate any wave action in the access pools. Some of the large lava rock chunks had broken off and fallen into the water, forming natural ramps. Getting in was a breeze. Immediately I was greeted by a Moorish Idol, or Kihikihi, and several other reef fish. Most were completely unfazed by my presence and let me swim very close before moving just a few inches away. Epiccccc. I did manage to explore outside of where people normally stay (big surprise) and beached myself on lava rocks. 

The Kapoho tide pools, another magical spot on this island. 

I hopped back in the car to get a peek of Kahaka Falls, north of Hilo. I'm rarely disappointed, especially out here in Hawaii, but this place left me wanting a little more. It's a short paved trail that takes you to an overlook of the falls. It's absolutely gorgeous, and certainly worth seeing, but I was expecting to get closer, see more and maybe even jump into the pool at the base. On the drive back towards Hilo, I saw an intriguing little sign that read "Scenic Route". I took the bait and made a left hand turn. At one spot there was a cool little waterfall spilling out of tunnel into a pool. I did what any normal tourist would do and pulled over, climbed down the cliff to the pool and began exploring. I ended up following the flow of water down the stream for whatever reason and, before I knew it, I was at the top of a pretty decently sized waterfall. I accidentally found my own waterfall. Hawaii is cool. 

Note added Feb 15 2023 - Sadly the tide pools in this videos were covered up by lava in the 2018 eruption of Kilauea. I’m so thankful I got to see them and I’m even happier I took videos so they can live on.