Hawaii – Honolulu, Lahaina, Hilo and Kona

Arizona Memorial

We are sailing out of Kona in an hour after spending 5 days in Hawaii – two in Honolulu and one each in Lahaina, Maui; Hilo; and Kona.  We were pure tourists in Honolulu, having never been there before except at the airport on the way to and from Indonesia.  It is an interesting city – multiculturalism at work – what a mixture of people and ethnicities! Our location guide on the ship is a good example – half Hawaiian, plus the other half includes Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, and German!  Kainoa is a walking melting pot on his own.  From what we could see, the mainland could learn something from the Hawaiians.  The public transportation system –“The Bus” – worked well for us on our second day of sightseeing.  Just flash your Medicare card and pay $1 per trip – with transfer included!  Being old has “some” advantages! 

On Day One we took a tour of Pearl Harbor and other military sites associated with December 7, 1941.  The Arizona Memorial and museums were interesting and moving.  Day Two was by bus to walk along Waikiki – we put our toes in the water as we walked along – (we had to do this once).  It was a beautiful setting with Diamond Head as a backdrop but a very crowded and touristy place. The water was surprisingly cold.  Next was the bus to Chinatown – oldest in the States and then on to the historic district with the State Capitol, Iolani Palace, Kawaiahao Church, Father Damien Statue, King Kamehameha Statue, etc.

The next stop was Lahaina on Maui – we rented a car and drove to Central Maui and the Iao Valley.  Within a few short miles we were into a rainforest valley with interesting rock formations – the Iao Needle was a short walk in a State Park near the end of the road.  The valley was the site of a great battle in 1790 when King Kamehameha the Great conquered Maui.  From here we started out the Hana Highway, knowing we did not have time to go all the way.  We made it about half way – fun driving if you don’t mind one way bridges and hundreds of hairpin curves – but fabulous scenery of ferns, plants, flowers, and sea views.  To avoid using the same road on the return, we turned off early and went to Upcountry Maui along a backcountry road.  This seemed like the real Maui with no hotels or tourists.  On the road back to Lahaina we looked for the whales that come to Maui from Alaska during this time of year but none this afternoon.  On the way into Lahaina in the morning, we had seen whales breeching from our cabin window! 

Hilo followed Maui.  We again rented a car and drove about 45 minutes south to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.  We made good time and when we got to the Visitor Center the parking lot was nearly empty.  When we came out, it was almost full!  Some of the loop road is closed due to toxic gases from the active Kilauea Volcano.  From the Jagger Museum we could see the escaping steam and smoke from the crater quite well.  We also stopped at steam vents.  At noon we went to the Kilauea Lodge in Volcano Village for lunch where we met Tony and Marie Hoke who live in Volcano.  Tony was one of the two Police Captains in Larkspur when I was City Manger.  Tony was the BEST - none better in all of the rest of my career. It was great catching up!

On the way back to Hilo we took a road over to the coast to the place where it ended due to lava flows.  We got lucky and a one lane road (more of a path) through the lava opened at 3pm each day.  We took it for a short distance to a parking area.  Some people are rebuilding in the lava fields – a County worker who was there to guard the barricade said these were not the original owners – but were “crazy people” who were rebuilding!  Back on board the Statendam, we watched a “ballet de baleines” (i.e. whale ballet in English) in the area just outside the Hilo Harbor!  Nice send-off from Hilo!

This morning we arrived in Kona on the west coast of the Big Island.  We had decided to cancel our car rental since we learned it was a long way by shuttle to the Kona Airport and that traffic is always bad in this area.  We took a “rock and roll” tender to the dock and then a shuttle to Kahaluu Beach south of the city.  We were expecting a beach but it was more of a lava flow with a narrow walkway into the ocean and a protected lagoon – with many people snorkeling.  It was an interesting place where we were able to see many fish even without snorkeling – but the main attractions were baby green sea turtles who were feeding on algae very close to the shore.  There were volunteer guides watching them and keeping people away – they are an endangered species and touching them results in a “hefty” fine.  I spent a long time next to the volunteer learning about them. Then back to town – a touristy place if ever I saw one – but we did stop for Kona Coffee and the ubiquitous chocolate covered Macadamias!  Back on board now and waiting to depart for Fanning Island in the Republic of Kirabati and then to French Polynesia.