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Vacation travel log - Hawaii - December 2006
For some, the idea of a Hawaiian vacation is a dream come true. For others it’s a long way to travel and a lot of money to spend to see some beaches, do some snorkeling and maybe catch a luau. So really… a tough sell for someone like me. I don’t even snorkel.
Kathleen had been there once and was interested in returning. I, of course, was a bit skeptical. After all, I don’t think they have any casinos on any of the Hawaiian Islands. But certain circumstances presented themselves and the next thing I knew I was booking a trip for December of 2006. Planning began over a year before the trip. Since our accommodations were for a 2 bedroom condo we invited dear friends Bridget Dunnigan and Rogers Williams to join us.
We quickly settled on Hawai‘i - The “Big Island” as opposed to Maui or Oahu (or any of the other islands for that matter). Less touristy and more to do. What do I know – you tell me Big Island, I’ll book Big Island. No really… I had no idea. Are you sure there are no casinos?
As the months ticked by and the trip got closer, I have to say I was getting more and more excited. Get me outta this town of gloom and doom. Plus “We’re going to Hawaii” is just so fun to say. Well our departure date didn’t come fast enough and some of that gloom and doom caught up with me. About a month before the trip, Kathleen decided it would be best is she didn’t go on the trip. While I disagreed, her reasons and other related questions are best discussed elsewhere.
Ok then… plans for 3. I put Rogers and Bridget in charge of entertainment and pulled myself together. I’m going to Hawaii.
In the predawn hours of December 4 I headed to the airport. Detroit-Chicago then a 9 hour flight with 2 bad movies from Chicago to Honolulu. One last hop from Honolulu to Kona, a rental car pickup and off to the condo. By the time I got there it was dark, so basically the whole day pissed away on travel. A quick run back to the airport to pick up Roger and Bridget with a grocery stop on the way back and pretty much it was time for bed. Early start tomorrow.
Before going further, let me just say that my preconceived ideas of a Hawaiian vacation included a fair amount of relaxation. Leisurely strolls, mai-tais and sunsets. And while that may be the norm for some, I was traveling with Rogers and Bridget. So let the adventure begin.
Tuesday, December 5 Having been briefed Monday night about our schedule for the next week, we were up and out the door before 6 am. Yes… before sunrise. This day was all about birding – a guided hike in the Hakalau National Wildlife Refuge. The day starts with a 2 ½ hour drive, much of it on crappy roads. In fact, about an hour of the ride was on Saddle Road – a road that cuts across the island and is so bad that rental car companies don’t want you driving their cars via this route. If you aren’t carsick yet, the next 45 minutes or so requires 4-wheel drive plus strong neck and abdominal muscles. What a great workout from sitting in a van. I think this is how rodeo guys practice before getting on a bull. Now I know why we had to sign that waiver. Can you say whiplash? Pass the Ibuprofen – or as Rogers calls it, Vitamin I.
Once at the refuge we had a wonderful hike and saw several rare species of birds. The refuge is not open to the public and there is a limited number of access permits allowed annually. Our small group of 9 (guide + 8 guests) were the only people for hundreds of acres. Garry, our guide from Hawaii Forest & Trail, was very good and knew a lot about the island’s geology, botany and (of course) birds.
Highlights of the day included a mid-lunch run down a path to see a rare bird that Garry heard go by – I think it was an akiapolaau. Several people seemed very excited about this. Also, on the way down the mountain our van crossed paths with a wild pig. I would swear to you that Garry sped up in an attempt to hit it.
We had perfect weather the whole day (unless you want to get snippy about some fog on the drive back). It was after 7 when we got back to town. It gets dark shortly after 6 pm. We capped the day off with a pizza at the Kona Brewing Co. and a nightcap at the condo. And some Vitimin I.
For more info about the Hakalau Forest Wildlife Birding Adventure check out this link: http://www.hawaii-forest.com/adv-hakalau.html.
Check out individual picture albums for each day taken by me and Rogers. Link to the collection of picture albums: http://chrisozcpahawaii.shutterfly.com/
Wednesday, December 6 I like my tea on the lanai promptly at 8 am. Ok, I don’t actually remember what time we had tea on the lanai, but we did get to sleep in a bit this day. We’ll call this a relaxing day. We checked out the touristy town of Kailua-Kona, went on a submarine ride aboard the Atlantis VII (they don’t talk about 1 thru 6) and Bridget and Rogers got some snorkeling in. We even got to see a sunset. Two sit down meals in restaurants – lunch AND dinner. This is living.
For more info on that submarine ride check this: http://www.atlantissubmarines.com/kona.cfm
Link to the collection of picture albums: http://chrisozcpahawaii.shutterfly.com/
Thursday, December 7 The 65th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which means a lot going on if you are on Oahu. But we were on Hawai‘i – so we went birding. No tea on the lanai, we were out the door before 6 am. Some pre-emptive Vitamin I along with the morning ritual of slathering oneself in SPF 50 and it was time to roll.
We used the same tour company and had the same guide (Garry) as Tuesday. We still spent about 5 hours in the van during the course of the day, but it was broken up a bit more and there was less “4-wheeling”. The day was in 2 parts, dry forest and rain forest.
The first half of the day we hiked around Pu‘u La‘au – the sub-alpine dryland forest on the west side of Mauna Kea. Then we headed to the Pu‘u O‘o Trail in a “cloudforest” habitat on the northeastern slope of Mauna Loa. (How about that for detail? I TOTALLY plagiarized part of the web site for that description.) Some serious birding was done, but for me it was more about the great hiking. Just beautiful. I got into the birding for a few minutes here and there, but mostly I just liked wandering around. There didn’t seem to be an actual trail for parts of the hike, but Garry always seemed to know where he was so I just followed him and the rest of the group.
So, another beautiful day. We skillfully avoided rain even in the rainforest. It started to mist as we were getting in the van to head back to town. At this point in the trip I am surprised at what a great time I am having. I love Hawaii.
For more info about the Rainforest and Dryforest Birding Adventure check out this link: http://www.hawaii-forest.com/adv-raindry.html.
Link to the collection of picture albums: http://chrisozcpahawaii.shutterfly.com/
Friday, December 8 Tea on the lanai, SPF 50 slathering, Vitamin I… ok, ready to go. With the help of ulta-tan, swimsuit-a-little-too-low-in-the-waist, clean shaven because he’s probably too young to have facial hair, surfer dude named Dominic (I can’t make this shit up) we secured some rented kayaks to the roof of our rental car. Well, mostly secured.
On the last stretch of our drive to Napoopoo to kayak across Kealakekua Bay, the kayaks nearly slid off the front of the car as we were slowly descending the side of a mountain via switchback road. Good thing we were only going about 20 miles an hour and a small shoulder became available for us to pull over. By the way… what’s with all the roads without shoulders on this island? You drift 6 or 8 inches off the road in some places you are pretty much screwed.
Disaster averted, we arrived at our destination and prepared for departure. This included a visit with a park ranger who had lots of flyers and a short video on protecting the coral or some shit. I half watched and tried not to get caught ogling the hot ranger chick. Bridget was very pleased that the park system was trying to educate the public. Mostly I figured it didn’t apply to me because I had NO intention of getting out of the kayak while on the high seas.
With Rogers and Bridget in the 2-man kayak (Malibu Two) and me in the single man model (Frenzy), we kayaked across the bay to where Captain Cook’s monument stands. We had hoped to get out and walk around the monument area so that we could say we left the country – the area where the monument stands was given to Great Britain and is considered British soil. Unfortunately, the area is now off limits because of erosion issues. You can kayak and snorkel in the area, but you cannot land your boat or walk on the shoreline. Rogers and Bridget did some snorkeling then we ate sandwiches in our kayaks before heading back. The kayaks were surprisingly stable and the water was very warm. I got sassy and tried to kayak through a gap is some rocks. I might have made it too, but my timing was off a few seconds. I guess I didn’t realized how much the water level was going up and down because it seemed rather smooth. A few feet of water made a big difference between passage and stuckage. Cshhh… Malibu Two, Malibu Two, this is Frenzy… situation dangerous… aborting shortcut… you were wise to go around.
On the way back, Rogers and Bridget rescued a couple that clearly shouldn’t have been kayaking on the ocean. They are such good Samaritans. All in all, an awesome float. Another great day on the Big Island, and it wasn’t over yet – we still had a luau to attend!
Ok… at this point there is a confession to be made. Bridget may have mentioned kayaking during our pre-trip conversations, but clearly that type of activity was not on my mind when I was packing. Otherwise I might have packed proper footwear. Now, generally speaking, there are limited optimal footwear choices for this type of activity. Compound that with limited shopping on the Big Island and… oh screw it – I bought some Crocs. There I said it. I bought a pair of those stupid, plastic, sandal/clog/whatever shoes with the holes in them. Embarrassing, believe me. But I was desperate. At least I didn’t get one of the many OBNOXIOUS colors they come in – I got a simple taupe. They served their purpose well, very well in fact, and now that I am back on the mainland I will not be caught wearing them again. (Pause here.) Until I go canoeing, because really… they would be great for that.
With Malibu Two and Frenzy securely fastened to the roof of our Chrysler 300, we made our way back up the switchback road and back to Kona. Showered and freshened, we headed to the luau dropping the kayaks off on the way. Surfer dude Dominic was nowhere to be found but an ultra-tan, string bikini wearing, surfer chick was available to close out our transaction. Sorry - no picture.
We arrived at the Kona Village early so that we could check out the public access to the ocean. Apparently this was our best possible opportunity to see some rare bird that Rogers and Bridget wanted to tick off on their list. We were not disappointed. Bird spotted. I even got a picture of this one with my little pocket camera. Next stop – the luau.
What can be said about the luau? You have to attend one on a Hawaiian vacation, but it won’t be the highpoint. Several reputable sources directed us to the Kona Village Luau. Supposedly the best (and apparently the most expensive) on all of the Hawaiian Islands. Good food, great mai-tais, decent show. Nice end to a great day. I even got lei-ed.
Link to the collection of picture albums: http://chrisozcpahawaii.shutterfly.com/
Saturday, December 9 Rogers and Bridget tried to kill me. Not on purpose, but clearly they are in better physical shape than your average, middle-aged, geek accountant. Good thing we worked up to Saturday over the course of the week. Had this been the first day of the vacation I don’t think I would have made it. Bridget and Rogers have two speeds while on vacation – fast and faster. (Apparently you can relax at home.)
The day (of course) began with a dose of Vitamin I and a SPF 50 slathering. This day was all about the volcano. Lava, baby… we want to see flowing lava! Ok, but on the way…
It’s a few hour drive from Kona to the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. On the way you pass the Manuka State Wayside Park. This is important because, according to very good birding information, this is the best place on the island to see – you guessed it – some rare bird. We didn’t hike the whole trail, just enough to get the tick mark on the birding checklist and a few mosquito bites. All the hiking we did on Tuesday and Thursday – no bites. Half an hour on the Manuka Natural Area Reserve Nature Trail and I had 5. It was actually a pretty nice trail and in my mind I think I deserve credit for spotting our target bird of the day. It went something like this:
I was, for a rare few moments, a few steps ahead of Bridget and Rogers instead of 30 or so steps behind. Out of the corner of my eye I say some birds fluttering up and to the right. “There it is” I said while thinking that it may not be the bird we were looking for but it was a bird. Bridget says “no, that’s just a (some other bird)” but then says “wait… there it is!”
Now, there were two birds. Same species? Different species? Does it really matter? I just spotted our target bird! Damn… I’m getting good at this. Except for the part where I don’t remember which bird it was. I think I can safely guarantee that Rogers and Bridget can still tell you the name, sex, and approx. age of the bird. Also whether or not it is endemic to the island and whether or not it is endangered. Damn they’re good.
Another hour or so to the National Park then it was volcano time. We had a little time to kill before our actual hike because the best time to see lava flowing is at night, so we checked out some other parts of the park. We stopped at the visitor center and Rogers bought unprepared Christopher a flashlight. Not paying attention to the details of our planned late afternoon adventure, I was more concerned about the temperature. It was already afternoon and it was only in the mid/upper 60s. I should have brought a sweatshirt. None were available for purchase in the visitor center.
We checked out the Kilauea Caldera from several scenic overlooks. Think giant pit caused by volcanic activity that use to be a lake of lava but now just has some puffs of steam at various spots and a pinch of sulfur in the air. Then we checked out the Thurston Lava Tube. Lava tubes are long narrow tunnels of volcanic rock. Volcanoes apparently make their own plumbing then shoot hot diarrhea-like volcanic lava from within the earth through the tubes. When the volcano’s “White Castle” effect has worn off you are left with a pretty cool cave.
We were at about 4,000 feet. Still a bit chilly, we began to head down the Chain of Craters Road to ocean level and the lava. As we drove down the switchback road the outside temperature rose about 15 degrees. I can’t remember which was ticking up faster – the odometer or the external temperature display on the instrument panel. Temperatures would be in the low 80s for the start of our hike. No jacket required.
With a few hours to sunset, we began our hike across a field of volcanic rock. Most surfaces were very hard, very sharp and not flat, so sure footedness was the key to escaping unscathed. No running on the lava rock. We were advised that it would take about 1.5 hours to get out to the best spot to view the lava flow if we didn’t dilly dally. About 1.5 miles as the bird flies but it’s hard to hike as the bird flies across volcanic rock. A lot of zig zagging is involved. DRINK WATER. Do not let yourself get dehydrated.
About an hour and 20 minutes into the hike at a pretty good clip (no time for dilly dallying), Bridget was getting pretty nervous. Don’t forget we need to hike back out of here! At night! We were told to expect a 2.5 hour hike out at night because you can’t go as fast. Black irregular and unforgiving surface plus a black sky. What if we run out of energy? What if someone slips and twists an ankle or breaks a leg? We could be doomed!
Rogers was very interested in pressing on but did show proper understanding for her concerns. I was of the mind that we’d come that far… it couldn’t be much farther. So we began to have the same conversation about every 5 minutes. Rogers and I wanted to press on, we wanted to see LAVA. Bridget thought we were far enough. “10 more posts on the rope line - then we’ll reevaluate.” How many times can we get Bridget to go for that?
About an hour and 35 minutes in we arrived at the intended destination. This was obvious by the incredible view plus the 15 or so other adventurers who had hiked out and were sitting around waiting for the sun to set. Catch your breath and enjoy the show because the hard part is yet to come.
You’re still pretty far away from actual lava so you don’t feel the heat of the flow, but it is an incredible sight. On the shoreline orange lava oozing out into to ocean sending off huge plumes of steam as it hits the water. Looking toward the mountain, veins of lava coming down the hill become more visible as it gets darker. We had just hiked between the two parts of the flow, but the rock we had just hiked across had cooled long ago. This part of the volcano has been continuously flowing since 1983.
Spectacular and completely worth the hike out.
The hike back did prove to be a little more work. Blackness everywhere except for a few stars, some glowing veins of lava on the hillside miles away, and a few flashlights from other hikers. The park system has put flashing beacons out to help guide your way back, but they are about ½ mile apart from each other and you often lose sight of the next one as you are going up and down and around different hills of volcanic rock. This is where Bridget and Rogers tried to kill me.
Navigating the blackness wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be. My cat-like night vision and quick reflexes served me well. The flashlight was a big help too. But Bridget couldn’t get out of there fast enough. She was practically sprinting. The terrain and the distance weren’t going to kill me but their pace was. I knew I could find the energy to get back but I’m of the opinion that “slow and steady wins the race” when hiking 1.5 miles across a field of volcanic rock. The park rangers estimate an extra hour to do this hike if it’s at night. It took us an extra 5 minutes. We probably would have made it back in less time than it took to hike in if I hadn’t gotten them to slow down. Then again, if we hadn’t slowed down I really would have thrown off the schedule by having that heart attack out in the middle of nowhere.
Seriously, if you are physically fit and find yourself on the Big Island sometime before this volcano stops flowing, hike out and see it at night. Fantastic! I think I would even do it again. (Take enough water. And Ibuprofen.)
Link to the collection of picture albums: http://chrisozcpahawaii.shutterfly.com/
Sunday, December 10 Our last full day of vacation was at a slower pace. Which was good because I needed to recover from hours of hiking across volcanic rock. Even Rogers and Bridget were ready for a slower paced day. I had a little beach time while they did some snorkeling. (More like volcanic rock time since there wasn’t much sand.) Then we had a leisurely stroll around the grounds of Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. We saw a few birds, but nothing that really excited “the birders.” Common stuff I guess. Also a few mongooses and a feral cat that Bridget shared her sandwich with.
We capped the day off with an excellent Hawaiian sunset and some shaved ice back in town. It was a really nice day but kinda boring in print. Sorry readers.
Monday, December 11 Tea on the lanai then we packed up and checked out. We had a very nice lunch at the Bubba Gump restaurant. I highly recommend the fish and chips – mahi mahi instead of cod is genius. With mid-afternoon flights out of here, this day was pretty much shot. The downside of a Hawaiian vacation is the travel time. I had a dinner snack in Honolulu then doped myself up with Ambien for the flight to Chicago. This proved to be a smart move.
Summary Mountains, rainforest, dryforest, kayaking, volcano, snorkeling (vicariously), luau, BIRDS, thousands of pictures… Plus a whole bottle of SPF 50 and 9,000 milligrams of Vitamin I. (Seriously – I went through 45 200mg tablets of Ibuprofen over the course of the week. All needed.)
Wow, what a great trip! Traveling with Rogers and Bridget was awesome and Hawai‘i - The “Big Island” exceeded my expectations. Rogers and Bridget would say “been there, done that” because they ticked off all the birds to be seen, but I’ll go back. There were a few things we didn’t get to do and a few things that I’d do again. I hope it will be as fun without them.
Link to the collection of picture albums: http://chrisozcpahawaii.shutterfly.com/ |
