Hawaii Part Four

Our thirteenth day in Hawaii began early with a drive to the center of the island, heading toward the tallest peak in Hawaii, Mauna Kea, standing at 13,800 feet above sea level.

We really wanted to hike this beast but as we learned with Mount Quandary in Colorado we must acclimate to the high elevation a few days before ascending. We have been sea level for the entirety of our stay we decided it best not to attempt, and drive to the top instead.

We have a Jeep Wrangler as our rental this week, so we were both looking forward to the drive up to the top given much of the road past the visitors center is gravel and dirt, and really steep. It was really fun bumping up the road, kind of felt like we were back home on dirt roads, but it changed to pavement near the top, sad face 🙁

The views on the way up and down, and at the top were incredible, and was cool to the see how the landscape changed once we reached the alpine level. Nothing was growing at all.

Once at the top we were above the fluffy layer of clouds that had gathered around the peak, but we were able to see down to Kona and the Pacific Ocean, seemed like a million miles away.

At the summit and scattered at different locations on top are large observatories, used by the University of Hawaii, and even other countries like Great Britain, France and Canada. This I suppose is because neither have tall peaks like this and since Mauna Kea doesn’t have light pollution is a great spot to view into the depths of space.

After getting some photos we headed back down stopping by the visitors center to read some of the unique information, and a much needed restroom break. Heading back to the coast we found a coffee shop for a “pick-me-up” latte, birthday cake flavored for me and banana cream pie for Tammy.

The rest of the day was a beach day, and Hapuna Beach was a perfect spot. Very clean amenities and even grills and picnic tables, and two lifeguards on duty. The shore breaks were great, we had fun playing in and getting pummeled by them.

On the drive back to our condo we got to see a great rainbow, the colors were really defined and bright. Once back we enjoyed dinner with another spectacular sunset. Sad we have to leave on Saturday.

This morning was another early morning as we, including Ron and Vanessa, headed south of Kona to some really cool sites. The morning was sunny and warm, so we headed out with windows down ready for a road trip.

Our first stop was the Papakōlea Beach, also known as the Green Sand Beach. This beach was amazing with its emerald colored sand made by olivine, a mineral that is found in the earths mantle, but due to volcanos can flow out with lava and form these beautiful beaches. There are only four of these beaches in the world, this is the only one in the US.

The color was more emerald, but also with a sparkle, and just like other colored sand would change color when it gets wet. This was certainly a treat for us, and well deserved as we hiked over 2.5 miles to get there. To help us with our total time we gladly jumped in the back of a truck with locals transporting others to and from the beach. Saved a bunch of time over a hike back to the trailhead.

After snacking on a PB&J we made our way to South Point, just a short drive west to the most southern point in the US. This point is farther south than Key West and crosses over the Tropic of Cancer.

The waves were huge here, biggest we had ever saw in person. Huge swells breaking over into the black rocks. Such a site to see. As we left we saw folks jumping from South Point Cliff Dive, not for us but props to those that do it.

Just over 30 minutes north we headed to another gem, the Punalu’u Black Sand Beach. Just wow!! The sand was black as coal, and water was super clear. And what made it even better was the sea turtle we saw there. Seems these creatures frequent this beach, and we lucked out as one made its way out of the water so we could see it up close. These turtles are state and federal protected so we did stay clear the required 20 feet.

After leaving this awesome beach we had one more stop to make, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The drive there had us going up in elevation and cooler temps, but being this would be our first time to see a volcano it was a must. Kīlauea has been active for a bit now, letting off smoke, but seeing it so close was awesome. The yellow and green colors gave it an intimidating feel.

It would have been nice to see it spewing lava, but this was the next best thing. We did stop to get a t-shirt so we can say “we’ve been there”.

As we made it back to Kona and our condo we made a quick stop just before sunset to capture a photos before it was gone. For Ron and Vanessa this was their last sunset as they fly out tomorrow morning. Tammy and I however get one more day and sunset here, we done leave until 8:30pm tomorrow night.