Archive for the ‘Hawaii’ Category

WHAT TO DO IN HILO, HAWAII

Posted: February 3, 2010 in Hawaii, Semester At Sea, USA
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Being my first visit to the Islands of Hawaii I was completely unaware of the extreme diverseness of the islands. They are not like your typical tropical islands that I am personally so accustomed to, like the ones of the Caribbean. Hawaii is an island of extremes. I met a local on the beach in the Big Island of Hawaii, who said, you could wake up and go for an early morning surf, drive up 2 hours to the top of Mauna Kea for a bit of snowboarding and still make it down in time to catch the late afternoon surf. Well, when I heard that, my jaw dropped… they have snow in Hawaii? Surprisingly, during the winter time their largest mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, along with countless others actually do get snow.  Throughout the duration of our conversation, it had rained twice in 5 minute intervals that only contributed to the crazy diverseness of the islands, as the weather cannot exactly make up its mind if it wants to be tropical or not. Within a 45 minute time frame you can take a walk through the rainforest, drive through the prairie lands, stand on top of hardened molten lava, take a dip on a black sand beach and stand on top of a volcanic crater watching the land around you steam, all while getting a tan.  The island almost seems overwhelming and violent. Where should you start?

 THE LIST OF WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IN HILO, HAWAII

 1)      Richardson’s Beach: A local black sand beach. This beach was created from the left over lava that had previously taken over the area. Now what remains is fine black sand with large lava formations that are fun to climb, and have created little pools of water that currently inhabit large sea turtles. Not the small kind though, we are talking about the big guys who just swim right up to you. Don’t worry, they don’t bite, but they are curious and may be too friendly. The beach is not known for being overly tourist-y, the majority of individuals there that we had met were all locals who came to enjoy the impressive and uninterrupted wildlife under water. The snorkelling and coral found 20 feet from the shore line was some of the best snorkelling I had ever done.

This beach is a short taxi ride from the Hilo Pier or a 30-45 minute walk from there.

2)      Hitchhike: If you’ve ever wanted a personal experience with locals where you can count on the security of safety. Hilo is the place to do it. Within 5 minutes of sticking out your thumb on the side of a road, a local will pull over and is more than happy to drive you where ever you want.  Some of my friends had hitchhiked their entire way up the mountains which is a 2 hour drive. I was able to find a ride back to the ship with a local on the beach. He offered and piled my friends and I in the back of his truck. Even the taxi drivers go out of their way to accommodate you, most give you free rides if you promise to call them later on for another ride. (Which you should!) They will give you their personal phone number and give you great tips and tour deals for your stay.

3)      Volcanic Activity: There is the traditional, Volcano National Park, which is nothing short of impressive. You can visit the top of the volcanic craters, and watch the eruption unfold before your eyes. An eruption that has been going on for 23 years! My advice: Do not limit your volcanic experience just to the volcanic park. I suggest you go out again after dinner when the sun has set and watch the lava flow down the mountain, and if you’re lucky, you can watch it fall into the ocean. A spectacle I’ve only seen pictures of and heard was incredible.

4)      Geothermal Hot Springs: End your stay, or evening with a visit to this hot pool that is warmed up by the volcanic activity of the island. The pool is a secluded little area of the ocean and surrounded by palm trees. We had gotten there at around 1 am and hoped the fence… there are no lights at night, just the moon to light your way and a sky full of stars. It was beautiful. This is a must and a must at night after hours.

Happy Travels.  I hope you keep finding the way off the beaten track.

DAY 12: A tour through Hilo, Hawaii

Posted: January 31, 2010 in Hawaii, Semester At Sea, USA
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As we pull away from the shimmering city lights of Honolulu and embark on a 10 day trek through the pacific towards Japan, all I can think about is what adventures lay ahead. With such a little taste in my four day excursion through two major cities of Hawaii, I can’t help but crave more.

Our first glimpse of land was the city of Hilo on the Big Island of Honolulu. With the whole island at our finger tips, we decided to use this port as a buffer point for the rest of the trip. It was time to hit up the beach and soak in the rays. Nearby was a local black sand beach: Richardson’s Beach. Besides the fact that the sand was virtually all black, the lava formations created fun obstacles to climb, and created little ponds where live sea turtles roamed. We aren’t talking about the little kinds; we are talking about the BIG GUYS. They are so used to people that they will just swim right up to you and circle you.

The snorkelling was incredible there. (If I could, I would put up pictures). Some of the most colourful fish and coral were just a couple of meters from the shore, and the lack of tourists in the area allowed some preservation of the area. We met a local Hawaiian man on the beach, he must have been in his late forties but he introduced himself to every one of us and told us stories of Hawaii’s history and heritage. He was a social person, very into befriending the foreigners and his life moto was sharing. He introduced himself to us as Cool, his English name was Gordon and his Hawaiian name was Wakili.  

After a long day in the sun with Cool’s company and with pizza that was delivered directly to us on the beach, Cool offered to drive us back to the ship. All 9 of us! I won’t lie to you when I tell you this: there was no sense of hesitation when we all piled into the trunk of his pick-up truck.  Sitting there like packed sardines, we joked about never making it back to the ship and ending up in a sex trafficking operation, but ten minutes later we pulled right up to the pier and hoped out. He even gave us the name and number of his friends who could pick us up later that night for a private tour. Which, we didJ

10:15 pm after our first dinner official dinner on main land another 8 of us jumped into a shuttle bus and set off to see the sights! I was exhausted and slept on the forty-five minute ride to our first location, but once we got there we actually were able to see real lava pouring down from the active volcano that has been erupting for over 23 years now. Usually you can see the lava fall right into the ocean but for some reason that only Mother Nature knows, that ended about a week ago and is now all the way back at the top of the mountain working its way down again. The lava kept changing shapes and colours, lighting up all the steam and clouds around it bright reds and oranges. Teresa, our tour guide, (** Whom is amazing beyond beliefs) told us how the lava just keeps adding up to 75 acres of land mass to the island per year, which is a significant amount for such a small island.

Around 1 am we ended up at these geothermal hot springs, at this point I was ready to pass out from exhaustion. Teresa went right up to the hot springs and just jumped in yelling at us all to get in. Two minutes later after a minute of hesitation we were all in our underwear jumping in! There were no lights anywhere to be found, the only source of light we had was one flashlight and the moon. The pool of hot springs was surrounded by palm trees that outlines were lit up by the stars that took over the sky. The water was extremely warm too and little fish kept nibbling at our feet out of curiosity.

It was actually amazing. Getting out was another story. We had no towels or change of clothes since it was such a spontaneous decision and had to go through security to get back on the ship holding our undergarments in our hands with our hair soaking wet. We did get some funny looks, and I have to admit, walking back to the ship commando wasn’t the most comfortable experience.