Big Island - West Coast

Due to the size of Big Island, we decided to explore the island from two locations.

So we stayed the first three nights at Pam's advocado farm. Even Google Maps led us astray and we stood in the dark in front of a closed gate that did not belong to the farm. After a phone call, Martin knew where he had to go. That meant going 100 meters back downhill, and then driving up the next narrow and steep driveway. Our strategy with the rental car worked again and instead of the smallest car, we got a Nissan Frontier Pickup 4x4 V6 4 liter. Comment from Martin: it grumbles quite a bit. So steep roads and gravel roads are only a problem in the rental company's terms and conditions, which are not explicitly mentioned here.

Every morning, Pam provided us with a fantastic breakfast, so we could explore the west coast well-nourished.

On the west coast, which is rightly called the sunny side, you can find the best hotels and most beautiful beaches. Since all beaches in Hawaii must be accessible to the public, none were off-limits to us. To our delight, we saw several turtles up close, resting and sunning themselves on the beach. In a bay enclosed by lava rocks with a fine sandy beach, we enjoyed a swim and then the shade of a palm tree. Only 15 km further, we parked the car on the roadside and hiked to the sea across an old lava field. We were speechless. A black beach with a lonely palm tree (called 'lone Palm' on Google Maps) in the surf - see photo.

The next day, we headed north to Waipio Valley, which we explored on foot, sweat dripping. Today, only 50 people live in complete seclusion in the valley. Fruits hung everywhere in the trees and bushes, like in a fairy tale. Once we went around the valley, there was another black beach, which you can see from the lookout point and walk up and down with a 30-minute walk.

The following morning, we packed all our things into the car and drove south to Volcano. To complement the color palette, we had to stop at the Green Sand Beach. Since our 4WD has too little ground clearance, we had to choose between a shuttle or our hiking boots. Anyone who knows us knows that we went with plan B. So we put on our shoes, grabbed our water bottles, and off we went. After an hour along the dusty and adventurous 4WD track, we reached the green beach. Took a photo and headed back. We arrived in Volcano at five o'clock and checked into our 'Sugar Mill Cottage'.