piles_of__paper

We were in the South Kohala coast for a week around Thanksgiving 2015. We rented a condo at Hali'i Kai in and around Waikoloa. The property was great. We spent one day at "A" Bay. It was busy, and the water was overrun with kayaks, pedal kayaks, SUP, etc. in that Ocean Sports was running a special that day. They had a flat fee of about $35 per person to rent whatever you wanted for 4 hours. They had the special three days out of the week. Thought about doing it, but we didn't. The waters were a bit overrun, but I can see the fun in it.

For the beach we otherwise went to Mauna Kea. There was a lot of wind during our stay, and there was a bit of surf at that beach. We have been there before at other times of the year and it was very calm. So we enjoyed some boogie boarding. It's a very beautiful beach.

We hiked down to the beach at the Waipio Valley. That was scenic and fun. We also went to Pololu. My wife hiked down. I skipped it due to an arthritic knee and pain on the descent. It just wasn't worth it to me.

We had a great lunch at the Bamboo Restaurant in Hawi. Fun place and great food.

Otherwise we mostly ate in having loaded up at Costco near the airport.

The highlight of the trip was a sailing trip with Kohala Sea & Sail. They operate out of Kawaihae. There aren't nearly as many charter operators in that area like there are around Kona. They run a 34' single hull sailboat. We went out for an afternoon cruise that turned into a whale watching/sunset cruise. We had the boat to ourselves plus the skipper and one crewman. It was great. If you are north of the airport I suggest checking them out.

sf7307

Tagging onto your report because we were there the same time - it was windy, wasn't it? We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Kohala Suites (nice property). We hardly ever do "activities" when we're in Hawaii, but this time we did both the Submarine tour out of Kona (fun, but the water isn't as clear as I'd like), and the Flumin' Da Ditch ride out of Hawi (also fun, laid back, great guide, we learned a lot). Had a Village Burger (good, but not as great as I'd been led to believe), and meals at Pueo's Osteria (very good) and Café Pesto (good). All breakfasts were in the condo, lunch was wherever we happened to be - good BLT at Kohala Coffee in Hawi. We did do the Pololu hike, which was great and not as hard coming back up as I expected it to be. Our favorite beach of all was White Sands (also called Disappearing Sands and Magic Sands). Even though it was packed (weekend), the sand is like silk, and the ocean had just enough waves to make it fun. We also went to A-Bay (pretty, but the sand isn't nearly as soft) and Hapuna (same). We had drinks at sundown at Lava Lava Beach Club a couple of times - if you can get a chair on the beach, it's a great way to spend and hour or two. Sunsets were spectacular.

annikany

My husband and I were also there! Yes, it was very windy! We stayed at the Kona Bali Kai in Kailua Kona. Can't say enough about the lanais in the oceanfront units. Lots of sea turtles flopping around, surfers and beautiful sunsets. We also ate in a lot having stocked up at Safeway. The ride up to the Waikoloa area was windy for sure and we saw quite a few goats in the lava fields. One adventure was a trip up Mauna Kea. Scary being above the clouds but I am glad we did it. The drive up was beautiful.
Love the BI.

FaceInTheCrowd

I'm curious as to what's being said about the current dengue fever outbreak. Anything in the news there about "hot zones" or is everything just being swept under a rug?

Inakauaidavidababy

http://www.bigislandvideonews.com/20...since-weekend/

sf7307

As I said on another thread, nothing was being said to tourists about the outbreak when we were there. I found out about it on Fodor's, and only saw any mention when we were there in a local newspaper I picked up in a coffee shop.

annikany

Our hotel had a sign posted by the elevator regarding the confirmed outbreak. We sat out one night by the water but never saw any mosquitos. I'm from Upstate NY and know what it's like to have mosquitos! We have to be very careful because we have mosquitos that carry EEE in our area.

fdecarlo

I think this is what happens when you try and "control" coqui frogs on an island.

sylvia3

From Wiki:
"Coqui frogs were accidentally introduced...from Puerto Rico in about 1988. Aside from being a major noise nuisance, the frogs pose a threat to Hawai'i's island ecosystem."

FaceInTheCrowd

Thanks, sf7307 and annikany. Good to see that some tourism industry businesses are making at least some effort to make visitors aware of the outbreak, though it doesn't seem to have been a problem/concern for either of you and piles_of_paper. We're headed there next spring, so hopefully we won't have to worry about it at all. I've never yet packed long sleeved shirts and long pants for a Hawaii trip, and don't plan to start now.

"I think this is what happens when you try and "control" coqui frogs on an island."

Wonder what will happen if they try to control the goats and turkeys. :-?

fdecarlo

> From Wiki:
> "Coqui frogs were accidentally introduced...from Puerto Rico in about 1988. Aside from being a major noise nuisance, the frogs pose a threat to Hawai'i's island ecosystem."

If the Wiki story stops there, it's incomplete. The island subsequently tried (and as far as I know, still is trying) to control these frogs, and it looks like they wound up trading a noise problem for a mosquito problem. Dengue virus is endemic to tropical islands including Hawaii and doesn't pose any special threat to the public, except when mosquito populations are higher than normal. There might be other reasons for it but I'm sure the frog control had something to do with it. Insects are their main food source.

sylvia3

Actually, the fever has been brought in from elsewhere, as evidenced in several sites.

sylvia3

In 2001, according to the Disease Outbreak Control Division of the State of Hawaii (sorry, can't c&p the link)