Seven days on Big Island - Help, where is my car!

As dramatic as the title sounds, the seven days on Big Island were not that bad, because we actually rented a car for the last two days.

First of all, some facts: Big Island is the 'southernmost' island of Hawaii and also the largest. It was the last island to be populated. The capital of Big Island is Hilo and that's where we ended up on 19.02. We flew from the island of O´ahu to Hilo in just 40 minutes. 

We arrive at the hostel, which seems to be straight out of an old western movie. I have to sleep in a female dormitory for the first time and I am already afraid of the first conversations where I can't rely on Julian's help. By the way, the security guy who keeps his eyes open is also sleeping in our hostel and scolds me when I try to walk into Julian's room as a matter of course. I stop directly in the door frame and go into reverse gear. When I go into my eight-bed room, I only have one roommate who sleeps for what feels like 24 hours - so no conversation necessary. ;-)

It's already dark when we want to explore Hilo outside. We head towards the beach and realize that there is no beautiful sandy beach here like on the first island. As we cross the street (we pedestrians have a 'green' signal), a driver passing by scolds us and tells us to cross at the signal. When we walk back to the hostel after eating at a restaurant, I get scared of Hilo. Where am I just getting myself into? 

The only nice thing about that day is that we meet Anton, who also comes from Germany, and that my bed is particularly wide and comfortable. 

I sleep really well on the first night and the next day, when we look at Hilo in daylight, the place is not that scary at all! The little town looks like something out of a western movie. We explore Hilo on foot and walk to Coconut Island Park. This is a tiny island that can be reached from Hilo via a small pedestrian bridge. Before that, we walk through Lili´uokalani Park, which is designed in Japanese style. There are many small ponds with different bridges over them. 

One thing that strikes me right away is that it is much colder and rainier in Hilo than on the first island. But it gets very hot when the sun shines. 

In the evening, we plan our further journey and book the flight to Los Angeles, as well as a train ride from Los Angeles to Seattle. This train journey will take 33 hours and runs along the west coast of the USA. 

The next day is not particularly eventful. We book the hostel in Los Angeles and then head to the Rainbow Waterfall. The path uphill is hot all the time, as we can't find any shade in the city. On the way back, we decide to take a different route through the city. Unfortunately, this route has even less shade and so we walk 14 kilometers in the hot midday sun. I feel like I'm melting. It was not very smart to walk the route in flip flops. Exhausted and probably two kilograms lighter from sweating, I return to the hostel. I had every reason to complain about the route: the weather, my stupid flip flops, my head was smoking under the cap, I felt like I was getting a total sunburn...

In the evening, we want to have dinner at a restaurant in our hostel street. It's called Pineapple and always has full tables - an indicator for us that the food is delicious. So after our walk, we reserve a table for the evening. The reason for this nice restaurant visit is our 2nd anniversary. <3 Later we realize that it's actually the 21.02. and our anniversary is not until tomorrow. But since it's already the 22.02. in Germany, we still celebrated. 

The next day we relaxed in the hostel and I read my book. We realized that you are kind of 'trapped' in Hilo if you don't have a car, so after just two days we had explored a lot on foot. Together with Anton, we come up with a plan to rent a car. 

The 'hotspot' Coconut Island becomes our running gag. When Anton asked a few days earlier at the tourist information what he can do in Hilo if he does NOT rent a car, the answer was: Coconut Island is a must-see. But you can already walk around and explore this tiny island in just two minutes. 

So that we don't spend the whole day in the hostel, we go out again and look at a bridge and the small shopping street. But now we have really seen everything in Hilo!

On 23.02., the day came that would overshadow the hike to Rainbow Waterfall. We don't want to be just in the hostel again, so we decide to go on a hike to a beach near the airport and a few miles past the must-see Coconut Island. The way there is very hot, as we can't find any shade in the city. On the way back, we want to take a different route through the city. Unfortunately, this route has even less shade and so we walk 14 kilometers in the hot midday sun. I feel like I'm melting. It was not very smart to walk the route in flip flops. Exhausted and probably two kilograms lighter from sweating, I return to the hostel. I had every reason to complain about the route: the weather, my stupid flip flops, my head was smoking under the cap, I felt like I was getting a total sunburn...

In the evening, we want to have dinner at a restaurant in our hostel street. It's called Pineapple and always has full tables - an indicator for us that the food is delicious. So after our walk, we reserve a table for the evening. The reason for this nice restaurant visit is our 2nd anniversary. <3 Later we realize that it's actually the 21.02. and our anniversary is not until tomorrow. But since it's already the 22.02. in Germany, we still celebrated. 

The next day we relaxed in the hostel and I read my book. We realized that you are kind of 'trapped' in Hilo if you don't have a car, so after just two days we had explored a lot on foot. Together with Anton, we come up with a plan to rent a car. 

The 'hotspot' Coconut Island becomes our running gag. When Anton asked a few days earlier at the tourist information what he can do in Hilo if he does NOT rent a car, the answer was: Coconut Island is a must-see. But you can already walk around and explore this tiny island in just two minutes. 

So that we don't spend the whole day in the hostel, we go out again and look at a bridge and the small shopping street. But now we have really seen everything in Hilo!

On 23.02., the day came that would overshadow the hike to Rainbow Waterfall. We don't want to be just in the hostel again, so we decide to go on a hike to a beach near the airport and a few miles past the must-see Coconut Island. The way there is very hot, as we can't find any shade in the city. On the way back, we want to take a different route through the city. Unfortunately, this route has even less shade and so we walk 14 kilometers in the hot midday sun. I feel like I'm melting. It was not very smart to walk the route in flip flops. Exhausted and probably two kilograms lighter from sweating, I return to the hostel. I had every reason to complain about the route: the weather, my stupid flip flops, my head was smoking under the cap, I felt like I was getting a total sunburn...

But such a trip can also be exhausting. Back at the hostel, I do nothing but recover.

On the penultimate day in Hilo, we pick up our rental car. This time we are not so lucky to get a larger car. Nevertheless, it's quite nice and sufficient for our tour with Anton to the Vulcanoes National Park. 

In the national park, we get information at the visitor center about what we can do. I am surprised that you can do almost everything in the national park by car. That means you drive to a certain point, park your car there, and then take a short walk to see the highlights. 

In the national park is the active volcano Kilauea. At the beginning, we can look at the volcanic crater to the north and walk a few meters before we look at the destroyed road south of the crater. After a short drive, we park and walk along this road, which is closed to cars. In the end, you can even get very close to the crater. Only after an exciting hike across the lava fields do we realize that we weren't actually allowed to walk across the entire lava field. We quickly climb back onto the sidewalk. 

Describing the lava is really difficult for me, and the pictures don't show how it really was. When you walk, it crunches under your feet, as if you were walking on broken glass that is breaking further. Sometimes the lava looks so porous that you think it would break directly under your foot. But it doesn't. Depending on how fast the lava flowed during the eruption, it also looks visually different. Sometimes it's quite smooth, like cake dough. Sometimes it's sharp and pointy. 

Back at the car, we drive down the entire volcano to the coast. Here, the lava fields of recent years line up. The different vegetation is particularly spectacular: sometimes small trees or bushes grow on the old lava fields, sometimes you see nothing but black lava. Arriving at the bottom, the road is closed again, as the lava has repeatedly flowed over the road into the sea from 1986 to 2018. Here too, we go for a hike. This time, the lava has built small hills that we climb. 

At one point, some palm trees were planted. We leave the path and walk across the lava field to get there. The palms are near the cliff. On many warning signs, it's written that you should not enter the cliff area, as the lava is undercut by the sea and can become unstable and break off. When a lava stone is thrown towards the sea in a very elegant way, Julian's bracelet unfortunately flies off and lands a few meters further on the cliff area that we didn't actually want to enter. But Julian just says, 'I have to get my bracelet back!' Anton and I agree that this is further proof why men don't live as long as women. Everything went well and we all return to the car. 

With all the excitement and amazement about this incredible landscape, I unfortunately didn't notice that I got a sunburn... And that two days before our Hawaii vacation is over. 

On the way up to the visitor center, we stop again to go through a lava tube. It resembles a stalactite cave and is passed through in no time.

After this excursion, we continue our way to the southern part of the island, as we want to make the most of our freedom with the car.

In the south, we visit a black beach where a turtle takes a break. At least three signs ask us to only observe the turtle from a distance, but you can already see a small crowd of people with cell phones on the beach. And there she is: the turtle, taking a nap and not moving. It's not until a wave hits her that she crawls a bit higher on the beach. I find it very strange that another warning on the sign states that you should not ride the turtles. Apparently, it must have happened before. Unbelievable! 

Afterwards, we drive back to the hostel. It was a really nice day, and we experienced a lot.

On our last day in Hawaii, we explore the northern coast and the center of the island by car. We stop at several viewpoints and drive to a second waterfall: the Akaka Falls. 

After that, we drive over the Kohala Mountains to the viewpoint Pololu Valley. According to the guidebook, a 10-minute walk leads to the beach. After just two steps, I decide against the hike, because the path is really steep and I start to slide with my sneakers. Besides, I don't feel like sitting in the plane to Los Angeles completely sweaty. The flight is in the evening already. So Anton goes down alone. 

After a refreshment, we drive back the beautiful route over the Kohala Mountains to get to Highway 200. This highway runs between the no longer active volcanoes Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Since Anton wants to hike on Mauna Kea, we make a detour to the visitor center of Mauna Kea. There is even snow on the volcano! Although the visitor center is still below the snow line, it is already really cold. 

When we make our way down, we drive through a cloud! But that sounds more exciting than it actually is. It looks like you're driving through fog. 

After bringing Anton back to Hilo, we drive to the airport and return the car. 

When the flight finally takes off, we are so tired that we fall asleep again and again. Unfortunately, a nap on the plane is not as relaxing as you hope it to be. 

In the end, we were really glad that we rented a car on Big Island! That way, we could see much more of the island. And in the end, Coconut Island was not the most exciting thing we could discover here! ;-)

Goodbye Hawaii! We really liked it here and would love to come back. 

<3 <3 Thank you for the great experiences! <3 <3

<3 A hui hou <3