The white sand beach at Hapuna stretches half a mile which is not massive by any means. The beach is Hawaii Island’s most visited beach located just north of the Mauna Lani Resort. Because of the closed off location you do need to drive to get there. I’ve got to admit, having seen all the ranting and raving on the internet praising Hapuna Beach as ‘The best beach in the world’ or ‘The prettiest beach in the world’ I was really expecting a lot more. The sand may be white but it’s not as white as some beaches I have visited in Australia. The water is clear and the location is great for the sunset. There is apparently lots of fish around but I did not see nay fish life around. I’ve yet to see a real top 10 beach list with Hapuna Beach in it. they are mainly Hawaii or USA tourist biased reviews with little substance. The feet washing facility was broken and there was no running fresh water anywhere which was really annoying afterwards when trying to clear sand off myself. Continued…
Waipiʻo Valley is signposted from Highway 19 and is close to Waimea. Once in the Hamakua district it’s a short drive to a free car park where you can choose to drive down the steepest road in the USA in your 4 wheel drive or you can just take a view form the lookout point.
I took a look at the steep single lane off road down to the valley floor and i didn’t fancy it. There is a warning that only true 4 wheel drive cars are allowed down the road as it’s super steep with a gradient of 1 in 4. The beach at the shore of the valley is a black sand beach. The view is breathtaking and is worth a visit even if you don’t venture into the valley.
The restaurant reviewed is:
Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill
75-5995 Kuakini Hwy
Kailua Kona
HI 96740
(808) 327-0209
Kwai’s Dish
Real Turkey Wrap with Pineapple Slaw
Yiki’s Dish
Linguine with chicken breast & garlic tomatoes.
Exterior
Off a quiet road with a big sign on the roadside. Free car park.
Interior
Large windows are open to the view of… the car park. The inside is painted in summer colours of lime green and yellow with a bar area for a quick or lazy drink.
Service
Our waitress was a little slow to take our order but food came out quickly. The waitress could not recommend any dishes. Continued…
The above video shows a full tour of the Mauna Lani Resort on Hawaii Island. (You can even see Maui from the beach there!)
The Mauna Lani Resort (also known as Mauna Lani Bay & Bungalows) was where my wife and I decided to have our wedding ceremony and was our hotel for the duration of our trip in Hawaii. Rooms at the hotel cost up to $1830 USD per night so it’s not a cheap place to stay. The bungalows for family stays are even more expensive so expectations are high for the premium resort. Mauna Lani rarely disappoints with it’s high level of service, quality rooms, restaurants and even weather! It’s dry and warm most of the time due to it’s location on the West side of the Big island of Hawaii shielded from the wetlands of the East side of the Island. The ocean rooms look out onto a timeless picture of tranquility and peace. The sound of the ocean can be muted by the heavy patio doors or can be left open with the mosquito fence in place of glass.
The grounds are well laid out and design is classy throughout the building which is open to the sky. Continued…
The restaurant reviewed is:
Luquin’s Mexican Restaurant
Pahoa Government Rd
Pahoa
HI 96778
(808) 965-9990
Kwai’s Dish
Chili Rellenos, Carnitas
Yiki’s Dish
Chicken Burrito Deluxe
Exterior
Based in the small town of Pahoa just north of the observation area for the lava flowing into the ocean. Looks like an old western movie style building. Free parking on gravel next to restaurant.
Interior
Decorated to feel like an authentic little Mexican restaurant.
Service
Our waitress was friendly and explained Continued…
When Puʻu ʻŌʻō decided to erupt, many towns were forced to abandon as hundreds of homes and homes turned into lava rock. This crazy thought was a reality and serves as a reminder of how brutal mother nature can be. A visit to the end of route 130 shows the trail of destruction as parts of the highway is now lava rock and only a couple of buildings remain in the area. The drive goes on for a while which really demonstrates how far spread the damage was done. See the video below to see the destruction and the walk out to the lookout point.
At the end of the drive is a walk down to the coast a safe distance away from lava flowing into the ocean. Unfortunately from April 2010, the lava has changed direction from the the erupting Puʻu ʻŌʻō and is not flowing into the ocean anymore Continued…
Hawaii was formed by a string of lava flows from a group of volcanoes in the ocean. Some of these volcanoes are still active today including Mauna Loa which still forms land on the Island of Hawaii in Hawaii (otherwise known as the big island). The living history of Hawaii has been captured and turned into a small museum in the Hawaii volcanoes national park which is a world heritage site. It doesn’t really need much protecting though as anything built onto it would probably be melted down in the future!
Throughout Hawaii’s history, towns have literally been burned down by molten lava. In recent history the Kīlauea volcano took out Kaimū and Kalapana in 1990. These days, the main activity comes from Puʻu ʻŌʻō which has been flowing out into the ocean until very recently. Continued…
The restaurant reviewed is:
Ken’s House of Pancakes
1730 Kamehameha Ave
Hilo,
HI 96720
(808) 935-8711
Kwai’s Dish
‘The Pocho’ (Portuguese sausage omelet) with a side of hash brown. Coconut Pancake with side of ice cream. Passionfruit, Orange and Guava syrup. POG juice (Passionfruit, Orange and Guava)
Yiki’s Dish
Banana Pancake with side of ice cream. Chef’s choice (Spinach, sausage, herbs, onion mushroom omelet). Passionfruit, Orange and Guava syrup. POG juice (Passionfruit, Orange and Guava)
Exterior
Busy free car park which is prone to flooding Continued…
I have driven a lot of different cars over my driving years so far. This is mainly due to work and also use of rental cars instead of owning outright until recently. I had never driven a jeep before though as they are not a very popular car in the UK. In Hawaii though they are the rental car of choice. The Jeep Wrangler is a compact four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle vehicle produced by American automaker Chrysler, under its Jeep marque. A defining feature of all Wranglers is that they continue to use live axles both front and rear like their original Willys civilian Jeep form the 1950s.
When I first got a first look at the Jeep at Alamo in Hawaii I was stunned to see such an abused car being rented out again. The soft cover was not on properly, there were scratches all over the place and they had warning stickers on everything inside the car. Things did not get any better when I turned on the engine either. The ride height was really high yet it was still difficult to judge the width of the car. The handling was non existent and driving around in windy conditions was even worse with the wheel being turned every millisecond to compensate. The noise was intense too with the soft cover being blown to bits as the car was swaying side to side. I’m not a great fan of automatic transmission but being the USA I didn’t have any choice in that sense. Continued…
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