Red Water Cafe is a place where one can escape harsh resort pricing and enjoy a kinder and cooler atmosphere. Located in the quiet ranching town of Waimea, this casual restaurant offers island residents and visitors a place to gather for lunch or dinner. The eclectic theme begins with a decor that includes accents of Japanese to […]
Big Island’s western side is world famous for its pristine coastal waters. Indeed, there seem to be spectacular snorkel spots every few hundred yards down the shore, but because of lava shelves and heavy shorebreak many of these places are either accessible only by boat, or from shore by the more experienced ocean-goer. This is […]
Just north of the city limits Hilo surfers get their fix at Honoli’i, east Big Island’s most popular surfbeach. There aren’t many accessible surf breaks around the Hilo area, so when the surf is good you can be sure everyone’s at Honoli’i. The beach is a short 2-mile drive north of Hilo and is a […]
On July 3, 2003 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park purchased Kahuku Ranch from The Damon Estate for $22 million, effectively doubling the size of the national park. The 116,000 acre unit is free to access, but currently entry is only permitted on weekends. The park is not accessible by bicycle or scooter. Cars and motorcycles are […]
Just up the mountain from Hilo town sits one of the lesser-visited geological formations of the area. Kaumana cave is a 25 mile long lava tube that is accessed via a skylight created when part of the cave ceiling collapsed more than a hundred years ago, leaving two gaping cave doorways exposed to the outside […]
For those who want to experience Hawaii Volcanoes National Park while camping, Namakanipaio campground is the easiest and most convenient way to do so. Sitting 31.5 miles south of Hilo, Namakanipaio is only a 1/2 mile walk from the Jaggar Museum on the edge of Kilauea’s Halemaumau crater. Volcano sits at an elevation of 4000 […]
Fifteen miles northwest of Hilo, tucked away in the heart of Hamakua is the most accessible large waterfall found on the island: Akaka Falls. Far from being the largest in the state, (that title goes to the 2,953ft Olo’upena Falls on Molokai) Akaka falls is still a massively grandiose sight with a plunge of 442 […]
In 1866 a 31-year-old Mark Twain spent four months in Hawaii. Three of those months were spent on the Big Island where Twain rented a horse and “Ransacked the island” for his dispatches back to the Sacramento Daily Union on the mainland. In June of 1866 he visited Ka’u and planted a Monkeypod tree in […]
For those that have never seen a black sand beach, Punalu’u is an eye-opening stop on the road from Volcano to south point. However, if you’ve seen other black sand beaches you may be unimpressed by this, the most heavily touristed area in Big Island’s Ka’u district. Unlike other often remote black sand beaches this […]
Kawa’a Beach is a hidden beach in Ka’u that sits between Punalu’u (black sands) beach and Honuapo (Whittington Beach park). For many years ownership of this sacred land has been contested. Abel Lui, known to locals as Uncle Abel, has lived here for more than 30 years protecting this beach and keeping it clean. He […]
