Big Island Family Trip Report - Part 2
Jul 6th, 2006, 01:32 PM
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Big Island Family Trip Report - Part 2
Saturday, June 24
Went to see the 9a.m video at the National Park and listened to a ranger presentation. Happened to luck into a hula/storyteller presentation at Volcano Arts Center and very much enjoyed it. A combination of young and old dancers with tales of ancient Hawaiian mythology. Had some lunch at the nearby golf course and then drove the rim of craters and stopped at the museum and steaming sulpher vents, walked the lava tube and devastation trail. It’s an amazing place, and if you go to the Big Island, I would recommend you spend a couple days there! Had pizza at Kiwee Café – excellent.
Sunday, June 25
Parents woke early and hiked the “bird walk” through the forest just past the park entrance. Then grabbed the kids and hiked the Kileau Iki trail about 4 miles along the rim of the caldera and then down into the crater and over the old lava lake. Many steam vents…and ferns and plants trying to make their way back to life in the lava. Beautiful in a moonscape sense.
Relaxed in the afternoon and then that evening went out for the hike to the lava. It’s a tough walk (especially on the way back in the dark) to go all the way, and we were amazed to see people bringing their young children out. The lava is sharp and if you fall or slip, you get cut. Nevertheless, it’s magnificent, and you certainly don’t have to hike the whole way. There are many stopping points. The park service has a lot of information available to prepare you for this hike.
Monday June 26
Left for the Puna/Hilo area. Stopped at the rainforest zoo, which was a nice surprise. Beautiful grounds and interesting animals. Spent the afternoon at the Kapoho tide pools (a little disappointing after the great snorkeling on the other side of the island) and the thermal hot pools down the road. It’s beautiful driving in this area with the huge monkey pod trees creating a big canopy over the road. The road along the ocean floods at high tide, so be aware of that. We stayed in Puna in a cottage at Paradise Vacation Rentals that we heard about from some Hawaiian friends. Nice simple cottage with a full kitchen, pool and tennis court on-site. Lots of animals: goats, pig, dogs. Kids loved it!
Tuesday, June 27
A stop at Hilo Hatties for a couple gifts and then up to Imiloa Observatory at the University of Hawaii for the exhibits and planetarium show. I highly recommend this. We learned so much and there are many hands-on exhibits for kids. It's an interesting effort to tie together ancient Hawaiian traditions and myths with the volcanoes and space exploration. Good planetarium show. This is a new museum, so I didn’t see much about it in any guidebook or web-site, happened to find out about it there. Do check it out! Drove around by the Hilo beaches later, but the day was cool and cloudy and no one was in the mood for a swim.
Wed., June 28
Checked out early and stopped at the Hilo’s farmers’ market. We snacked our way around the market. A wonderful display of fruit, veggies, and other merchandise. We could have easily skipped Hilo Hattie’s and bought all our gifts here. A couple of us went to the Tsunami museum (interesting) and a couple went browsing in downtown Hilo and out to lunch at Ocean Sushi. (Good and cheap) Then, on to the Tropical Gardens (even the kids enjoyed this), Akaka Falls (o.k., but being a Californian I compare all waterfalls to Yosemite…and this just isn’t that good), and Waipio overlook (pretty). I very much enjoyed the ride up the Hamakua coast. We arrived in Waimea at our cottage by 5:30. Very nice place with animals again, horses and dogs this time. My kids were in heaven. Quite nice cottage with just a kitchenette. Called Mana Ranch.
Thursday, June 29
Horseback riding at Paniolo Adventures off of Hwy 250. A two-hour ride across hills and pastures with beautiful views. They provide the horse, boots, coats and guides. (You can do some real riding, not just nose to tail.) Then back down to Hawi for a snack and back one last time to Hapuna.
Friday, June 30
We had a late flight so checked out and went to the Hilton. Saw their dolphin program, which was very entertaining. Just bought drinks and snacks at the bar and sat for about 2 hours watching the dolphins jump and interact with people. A free show. You can get a day pass for $80 for a family of four, but the kids didn’t feel like swimming in the pools, so we didn’t bother. We walked around the grounds of this immense resort, and I can see that it might be especially nice for families with small kids. Then, off we went…saw our last sunset at the airport and took the red-eye back to California! We were there for almost two weeks and still didn’t see it all. Next time…
Went to see the 9a.m video at the National Park and listened to a ranger presentation. Happened to luck into a hula/storyteller presentation at Volcano Arts Center and very much enjoyed it. A combination of young and old dancers with tales of ancient Hawaiian mythology. Had some lunch at the nearby golf course and then drove the rim of craters and stopped at the museum and steaming sulpher vents, walked the lava tube and devastation trail. It’s an amazing place, and if you go to the Big Island, I would recommend you spend a couple days there! Had pizza at Kiwee Café – excellent.
Sunday, June 25
Parents woke early and hiked the “bird walk” through the forest just past the park entrance. Then grabbed the kids and hiked the Kileau Iki trail about 4 miles along the rim of the caldera and then down into the crater and over the old lava lake. Many steam vents…and ferns and plants trying to make their way back to life in the lava. Beautiful in a moonscape sense.
Relaxed in the afternoon and then that evening went out for the hike to the lava. It’s a tough walk (especially on the way back in the dark) to go all the way, and we were amazed to see people bringing their young children out. The lava is sharp and if you fall or slip, you get cut. Nevertheless, it’s magnificent, and you certainly don’t have to hike the whole way. There are many stopping points. The park service has a lot of information available to prepare you for this hike.
Monday June 26
Left for the Puna/Hilo area. Stopped at the rainforest zoo, which was a nice surprise. Beautiful grounds and interesting animals. Spent the afternoon at the Kapoho tide pools (a little disappointing after the great snorkeling on the other side of the island) and the thermal hot pools down the road. It’s beautiful driving in this area with the huge monkey pod trees creating a big canopy over the road. The road along the ocean floods at high tide, so be aware of that. We stayed in Puna in a cottage at Paradise Vacation Rentals that we heard about from some Hawaiian friends. Nice simple cottage with a full kitchen, pool and tennis court on-site. Lots of animals: goats, pig, dogs. Kids loved it!
Tuesday, June 27
A stop at Hilo Hatties for a couple gifts and then up to Imiloa Observatory at the University of Hawaii for the exhibits and planetarium show. I highly recommend this. We learned so much and there are many hands-on exhibits for kids. It's an interesting effort to tie together ancient Hawaiian traditions and myths with the volcanoes and space exploration. Good planetarium show. This is a new museum, so I didn’t see much about it in any guidebook or web-site, happened to find out about it there. Do check it out! Drove around by the Hilo beaches later, but the day was cool and cloudy and no one was in the mood for a swim.
Wed., June 28
Checked out early and stopped at the Hilo’s farmers’ market. We snacked our way around the market. A wonderful display of fruit, veggies, and other merchandise. We could have easily skipped Hilo Hattie’s and bought all our gifts here. A couple of us went to the Tsunami museum (interesting) and a couple went browsing in downtown Hilo and out to lunch at Ocean Sushi. (Good and cheap) Then, on to the Tropical Gardens (even the kids enjoyed this), Akaka Falls (o.k., but being a Californian I compare all waterfalls to Yosemite…and this just isn’t that good), and Waipio overlook (pretty). I very much enjoyed the ride up the Hamakua coast. We arrived in Waimea at our cottage by 5:30. Very nice place with animals again, horses and dogs this time. My kids were in heaven. Quite nice cottage with just a kitchenette. Called Mana Ranch.
Thursday, June 29
Horseback riding at Paniolo Adventures off of Hwy 250. A two-hour ride across hills and pastures with beautiful views. They provide the horse, boots, coats and guides. (You can do some real riding, not just nose to tail.) Then back down to Hawi for a snack and back one last time to Hapuna.
Friday, June 30
We had a late flight so checked out and went to the Hilton. Saw their dolphin program, which was very entertaining. Just bought drinks and snacks at the bar and sat for about 2 hours watching the dolphins jump and interact with people. A free show. You can get a day pass for $80 for a family of four, but the kids didn’t feel like swimming in the pools, so we didn’t bother. We walked around the grounds of this immense resort, and I can see that it might be especially nice for families with small kids. Then, off we went…saw our last sunset at the airport and took the red-eye back to California! We were there for almost two weeks and still didn’t see it all. Next time…
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oliverandharry
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Jan 2nd, 2007 09:47 AM
