This is a re-post of a story from Hawaii in 2018.
A newly discovered great drive. Classic food places. And lovely nature all around.
Hawaii Big Island is always a huge treat for me. It’s the Hawaiian island I know the least, partly because I haven’t been there as often as the others and partly because it’s so darn huge; as big as all the other islands put together.
We only had a couple days, and I wanted to stay in Hilo as we had visited there in 1968; the first year our family took a trip to Hawaii. My Mom has been gone for 15 years or so, but my Dad and my sister and I took the trip in her memory.
Ahalanui Beach Park, Hawaii. JIM BYERS PHOTO
We had hoped to stay in the same hotel we were in all those years ago. I thought it was the Hilo Hawaiian but once we arrived we asked around and found out we had stayed at the Orchid Isle, which was torn down some time ago.
That failure (by a travel writer who should know better) out of the way, it was time for a little exploring. It was a little rainy that day, as is often the case on the Hilo side of the island, but we hadn’t arrived looking to boost our tans so we headed out.
I didn’t have a big plan in mind for the three hours or so we had prior to dinner, but I’d read that were some cool sights in the southeast corner of the island, below the town of Pahoa. So that’s where I steered the rental car.
Pahoa looked like a lovely, casual town of the sort one often finds in Hawaii; surf shops and ice cream places and coffee shops in a tropical, beaten-down-by-sun-and-rain kind of architecture I find quite romantic. It felt a bit like Paia on Maui or Haleiwa on Oahu, both towns I love to kick around in. But we didn’t have time so kept motoring south.
After a few minutes the area turned into even more of a rain forest/jungle sort of affair, with thick vines hanging from lush, tropical trees and the rich smell of moist Hawaiian land. We pulled into a parking lot at the Ahalanui County Beach Park and headed down towards the coast.
Someone I hadn’t realized that the park contains a large pond that’s heated by nearby volcanoes; making the temperature an ideal degrees Fahrenheit or so. There were dozens of folks of all ages out in the water, oblivious to the light moisture falling from the sky and focussed instead on the embracing warmth of the water.
Huge breakers crashed into the black lava rock inches away, but the pool remained calm and steady; disrupted only by folks paddling about.
A few feet inland from the pool there’s a thick stand of towering, graceful palm trees and a covered area for folks who want to take shelter from the rain. My sister, Christine, had her DSLR camera slung around her neck, prompting a shout out from one of the local women who was sitting with a friend with a couple of paper bags on a picnic table.
“Hey,” one of the women called out to my sister. “You want to take a picture of two old broads drinking beer and smoking cigarettes?”
You can’t refuse an invitation like that, so she snapped a photo and chatted for a minute before we piled back in the car.
A memorial at MacKenzie State Recreation Area, Hawaii. JIM BYERS PHOTO
We drove west along an oceanfront road with rose and fell with the land and swirled in gentle curves past more thick groves of tropical forest, admiring the scenery and the jungle trees. It felt a bit like the road to Hana on Maui, but only a few feet above sea level and with hardly another car in sight. I think we drove for a half hour along the road on our visit and maybe saw 10 other cars.
Instead of traffic jams we spotted small homes with deep green lawns that were surrounded by palms, mango trees and broad-leaf banana plants. It was all I could do to stop from pulling over and handing over my credit card for a down payment.
After a few minutes of casual driving we came upon MacKenzie State Recreation Area, where we found high cliffs of lava rock that dropped straight into the blue Pacific Ocean, which was roaring loudly that day and sending massive spumes of white spray high into the thick air. My sister and I paused to take photos of a small memorial someone had built for a fallen friend, then walked around a bit before getting back in the car and heading back to Hilo. On the way up a lonely road that led back to Pahoa I spotted a hand-made sign in front of someone’s driveway that said, simply, “Good Morning.”
It was maybe an hour-long visit to the coast, but I’d heartily recommend it to anyone who wants to explore a part of Hawaii you don’t often see in the tourist brochures.
A typical view from the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Back in Hilo, we had dinner at a casual Mexican place called Lucy’s Taqueria, where they serve burritos the size of a football (and a larger Canadian football at that) and good chips and salsa for very reasonable prices.
The Hilo Hawaiian is a fine property, with nicely appointed rooms, a restaurant and a pool. They often have locals out front showing folks how to make flower leis or necklaces fashioned out of deep green ti leaves, and it’s fun to chat with them and learn about how they do their work.
Our room had a wide balcony overlooking pretty Liliuokalani Park and its Japanese-style pagoda and gardens and also Coconut Island, reached by a short pedestrian bridge. I could see a cruise ship and downtown Hilo off in the distance, across wide Hilo Bay.
The hotel is only a five-minute drive from the airport and maybe four or five into downtown, but it’s super quiet and very restful. There’s an inexpensive city golf course right across the street, and several small shops nearby.
Liliuokalani Park is a lovely spot in downtown Hilo. JIM BYERS PHOTO
The next morning we had a bite to eat at a fun coffee spot in town called Hilo Sharks, where there anti-Trump stickers on display and a cool, surf town/hippie vibe. Downtown Hilo is maybe a few blocks long and about the same depth, with weather-beaten wood buildings and a bit of a 1950’s western feel. I’ve quite enjoyed my visits, as the place is utterly without pretence and seems filled with people who are just happy to live in a beautiful part of a beautiful state.
Another great place, with huge Hawaiian-style servings and just about type of breakfast food you can imagine, is Ken’s House of Pancakes. It’s a classic diner that’s a remarkable value. If the coffee was a little better I’d give it a four-star rating. Instead, I’ll give it three and-a-half and suggest you stick with water or juice and get your coffee at Hilo Sharks.
Rainbow Falls, Hawaii. JIM BYERS PHOTO
I had a great time poking around the Saturday morning market, admiring locally grown fruits and vegetables and admiring hand-made necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry. The rain was coming down pretty hard that day but it was still a treat to look around and listen into the locals talk about their plans for paddle-boarding or eating or visiting with friends.
I also took a few minutes to enjoy Rainbow Falls, a magnificent waterfall that’s perhaps a five-minute drive from downtown.
We took the quick road from Hana over to Kona so I could give my sister a brief look at the town of Kailua-Kona which feels a lot like Lahaina, Maui to me. Some might find the place a bit touristy, but I love kicking around the t-shirt shops and places selling locally made soaps or Kona coffee.
We strolled past Hulihe’e Palace and admired the architecture, then paused to hear a group of local musicians playing ukuleles on the porch of a building next door. (CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO)
A tiny gecko at the Kona Beach Club, Hawaii. JIM BYERS PHOTO
It was a lovely, sunny day so we grabbed a seat at the Kona Canoe Club and enjoyed a fine lunch in the sun, overlooking Kailua Bay. We had a small gecko for companionship, although I think he preferred the packets of sugar on the table.
We drove north after lunch, pausing to admire the surf at Hapuna Beach and stopping for a coffee in the enjoyable confines of Waimea, a great little inland town in the north end of the island. It was raining again on the Hilo side of the island but we stopped briefly to snap photos of the rushing river at Kolekole Beach Park. There’s a cute village nearby, and a fun, scenic road (Old Mamalahoa Highway; look for the signs saying “Scenic Road”) that parallels the main highway that takes you past fruit stands and snakes its way through thick jungle growth and clambers over several one-way bridges; almost like a miniature Hana highway on Maui.
We drove past the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden but it was raining too hard to make for an enjoyable trip through the gardens.
Hapuna Beach, Hawaii. JIM BYERS PHOTO
We finished things off with a lovely meal at Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill that night.
Definitely a memorable trip. And one I’d love to take again.
On our final full day on the island I went for a walk near the Hilo Hawaiian. As I strolled over the bridge that leads to Coconut Island I looked down and spotted a turtle bobbing in the water.
My Mom was always fond of turtles and used to love watching them when we stayed at our favourite condos on Maui. I couldn’t help thinking she was somehow looking after me, saying “aloha” as she bobbed and weaved through the gentle waves of Hilo Bay.
I breathed a deep sigh and walked slowly back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
MORE INFORMATION: https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/hawaii-big-island
