Trip Review from TBI: 8/9-8/12
....Continued from Kauai Master Thread
Landed in KOA Sunday morning and did early check-in to the Fairmont. Two nights free thanks to the Visa Signature Fairmont card! Gorgeous hotel....really high class. Grounds spotless, staff at your beck and call. Rental car was from Alamo again through Costco Travel. Jeep Wrangler for 4 days ran $300. Couldn't find a better rate. The Wrangler is a MUST for all the potential off-roading....
Didn't do too much on Sunday after settling in - went to Napoopoo Park for some snorkeling. Tough to find parking - the snorkeling was OK, not great. Drove up the highway to mile marker 89 where we attempted to do the unpaved road to Makalawena beach. Is is NOT for the faint of heart! The road is full of boulders, hazards, potholes,etc.....we made it about halfway and then turned around. We could have continued, but decided it's best to turn around and not miss sunset by A-Beach. We ended up going back to Makalawena on Wednesday using the hiking trail. We drove back to Anaheomalu Beach for sunset which is supposed to be one of the nicest and picturesque spots on the island. It did not disappoint. Very windy though, but the sunset with all the curved palms trees was a great setting for a beach BBQ.
Monday the plan was to check out the Hilo side of the island. It's a long drive from Kohala Coast so if you plan on going to Hilo, make it a full day event. First checked out Anahalui State Park. It's a nice place to eat lunch, with picnic tables, and a natural pool area with underwater lava pipes to make certain warm spots. The tide was high when we went so no hot spots since the cool ocean water kept coming into the pool area. Drove out of the park, made a right at the first intersection and drove along a neat unpaved path past a lighthouse where these huge waves crash against the cliffside. We then checked out Rainbow Falls for a few minutes. Like Spouting Horn in Kauai, it's a nice spot to stop by if you're in the area, but don't go out of your way to see it. Then went to the Botanical Gardens. Nice flowers, etc....you can do the whole thing in about an hour. Ended the day at KoleKole State Park. Good quiet spot with tables to eat supper. They have stone BBQs set up there you can use (if you bring your own grates and coals). There's a little river with waterfall that people swim in and boogie boarders past the rock wall that ride the waves in.
Tuesday morning we got an early start to the day for kayaking in Kealakeauka Bay. Supposedly the dolphins are most active in the morning. This is TRUE! We got there at about 8 AM and got the kayak out to the bay by 9AM. The dolphins were all over the place, swimming under our kayak, jumping out of the water, etc....was pretty cool. Got the jump out of the kayak into the water to snorkel a bit with the dolphins. Then paddled a little further out to Captain Cook monument where the best snorkeling is supposed to be. There were a TON of fish there and the water was crystal clear. The best snorkeling I had was at that spot. We then checked out the Mountain Thunder Coffee Factory. Sampled some coffee and ended up buying a package of K-Cups and Macadamia Nut Coffee brittle (reallly good!) Several of their products are OU certified! Then went to the Kona marketplace to get some lunch at Falafel in Paradise.....we were very excited to finally have some fresh kosher food! After a half hour of looking for the place, we finally get there.....and it's closed! Apparently there were refrigerator issues and they were not going to open that day or the following day. So we missed out on that. Off to Mauna Kea for sunset! Looong drive on windy roads, up through the clouds into the fog, but it finally breaks open and we are at the visitors center. Sunset was cloudy and nothing to see but we were all hoping it would clear up for stargazing. About an hour later, the skies were clear and was littered with thousands (millions?) of stars. The big dipper seemed to take up half the sky. There was no moon which was good. Was an amazing sight. Checked into the Marriott for our final night. Would not recommend it. Not a great hotel - or maybe we were spoiled spending the prior two nights at the Fairmont.
Our last day, Wednesday, we went to do the Pololu hike near Waipio Valley. Not such a tough hike at and provides really amazing scenery. You hike down to the beach, and then back up. Each way is about 20 minutes or so. The hike back up is not easy, but not too strenuous. Use the restroom at the top before the hike - no facilities down there. Went back to check out of the Marriott. Had several hours to burn before our flight back so we went to explore Kiholo Bay for sunset, hoping to see turtles over there. Was really nice walk along the beach. Passed by the famous Bali house and the yellow house owned by the guy who invented the artificial pacemaker. He was sitting on his porch with his wife. Gave him a wave, he and his wife smiled and waved back. We didn't see any turtles b/c apparently we didn't walk far enough into the bay. Oh well. We had to get back anyway since the park officially closes at 7pm and we did not want to get locked in with our flight at 9:45.
To summarize: Great trip! Thanks to all those on the Dans Deals forum giving prior advice!