Day 15 Big Island - Pu'uhonua O Honaunau & Two Steps Beach

August 6, 2022

Our last day on Big Island - sniff... 😥

After breakfast, we drive to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park. You're supposed to pay $5 for parking here, but the parking booth is unattended. The park doesn't charge admission either, perfect!

It's very hot today, with no wind at all and the sun burning. In the park with the Hawaiian tongue twister Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, you'll find one of the most authentic cultural sites in Hawaii. The 73-acre site with the attached visitor center offers interesting insights into the culture and way of life of ancient Hawaiians.

We walk along the designated path through the park, stopping at the statues, briefly walking in the scorching sun to the water, and quickly moving on, past the ponds, through the palm-lined property to the old houses / huts and back to the visitor center.

There are definitely nice photo opportunities here.

Apparently, it used to be allowed to swim and snorkel here, but now all access points and beach sections are marked off with tape and signs indicate a "rest area" for turtles.

We drive a few more meters to the overcrowded parking lot at Two Steps Beach and luckily, a car just left.

The rocks are occupied by tourists, so we decide to enter the water for snorkeling through the boat ramp and then snorkel around the rocks. The underwater world is great. Many fish and further out, intact corals. Unfortunately, we don't see any turtles or dolphins (they are supposed to be here in the bay), but we've had enough turtles in the past few days. In front of the rocky coast, you can see a ALOHA written in stones on the sandy bottom.

Around noon, we head back to the apartment, jump in the pool one last time, and then reluctantly start packing our suitcases. Our flight departs tomorrow at 8:20 a.m., which means getting up early!

A final sunset, today only from the balcony due to lack of time, then it's off to bed after our usual card game session.

Another week has flown by, but we still have 2 more islands to explore! 🌸🏝️🏖️🏝️