Big Island topside w/ 14 yr old. Must-sees and must-dos?

I'm sorry if this post is a bit too long. We'll be on the Big Island for one week in early Aug for the first time. 2 couples, one 14yr old girl. I'd like to find some things that we can all do together that will result in her saying, "Wow, that was really cool!" Athletic, outdoors, historical, cultural, entertaining, they are all fair game. I read that a trip to the observatory has a min age of 16. Is that true? Anything else have an age restriction that I should be aware of?

I'm feeling a little pressure to come up with good stuff. They're on a world trip and their travels so far have included Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South Pacific and now they are in Asia.

Thanks in advance!

scubawife:

I'm sorry if this post is a bit too long. We'll be on the Big Island for one week in early Aug for the first time. 2 couples, one 14yr old girl. I'd like to find some things that we can all do together that will result in her saying, "Wow, that was really cool!" Athletic, outdoors, historical, cultural, entertaining, they are all fair game. I read that a trip to the observatory has a min age of 16. Is that true? Anything else have an age restriction that I should be aware of?

I'm feeling a little pressure to come up with good stuff. They're on a world trip and their travels so far have included Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South Pacific and now they are in Asia.

Thanks in advance!

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Don't miss volcano national park and visits to the waterfalls.

Here is a home video I made of our trip there a few years ago.

Right click and "save target as" to download.

www.ronrosa.com/kona.wmv

Volcano National Park is cool. The black sand beach is different and on the way from Kona to volcano nat. park. The helicpoter rides over the island are cool, especially if the lava is flowing. We did the entire island ride and the waterfalls on the second leg of the flight were awesome.
For underwater, make sure you do a manta ray night dive.
I didn't go to the observatory. It's as high as flying and I dove most days.

TT

Kilauea is always worth a visit.

Mauna Kea is also worth a visit, though it's recommended that those under the age of 16
ascend no higher than the visitor's center (9300 feet).

Place of Refuge is worth a visit, and it's right next to one of the best and most popular
shore dives on the Big Island - 2 Step.

Hawaii Forest and Trail has several tours that might be of interest as well.

Finally, I'll put in my standard plug for Wizard Publications guidebooks. An excellent reference.

anyone tried this? - http://www.flumindaditch.com/flumin/index.html

we wanted to when we were there, but it was booked.

Thanks! This info gives me a good start.

gkn, I picked up the Wizard Pub., "The Big Island Revealed" last week. So far, it looks really good. Glad it gets a vote from a local because with any guide book, you just never can be sure how good it is until you get to the destination.

Does anyone have a favorite place to stay in or close to the Volcano National Park? Is it worth staying a night or two?

I'm thinking 4 days on the Kona coast and then maybe a couple days on the south or east side?

Personally for a week I'd stay put and do day trips to whereever. It's a big island but not _that_ big. From Waikaloa we drove to Hilo, the park, whereever. The drives are interesting anyway.

As far as the east side, Hilo strikes me as a better place to visit for a bit than actually stay. There isn't really a south coast to stay on, the volcanos got it. :redhot:

On this last trip to the Big Island my wife and I finally got to take the horse back ride through Waipio Valley. It was a nice thing to do. Beautiful sights. Lot of fun
montyb

Amazingly Long Answer

This is based on a stay at the Mauna Kea. Not necessarily recommended.

THE MAUNA KEA HOTEL
Grandpa and Grandma stay at the Mauna Kea. “Gee is hasn’t changed since Jackie Kennedy stayed here.” The Mauna Kea is very stuff and stuck in the 60’s. But a couple of great food experiences

CLAMBAKE, Dive into the best seafood buffet on the Kohala Coast, featuring all the Keahole Maine lobster, sashimi, shrimp, crab, oysters, mussels and clams you can eat, plus Prime Ribs of Beef and a lavish dessert bar. Located at the Hau Tree, on the beach at Kauna'oa Bay. Dress: Casual Resort Attire. Saturday night only.

LU'AU, Witness the opening of the imu pit as the pig is unearthed from its underground oven. Savor a feast of traditional and regional Hawaiian foods, while Kumu Hula Nani Lim and her award-winning hula troupe enchant you with their authentic renditions of ancient and modern Hawaiian songs and dances.

There is also a night time opportunity to see Manta Rays from a cool view spot there.

HEADING NORTH to North Kohala
PUUKOHOLA HEIAU
Heiau is a Hawaiian version of a temple and this is the largest on the Hawaiian island. They are super sacred so giving them respect. It will definitely help your island karma. This was built by King Kamehameha the greatest Hawaiian king. He united the islands, killed a lot of folks, and is a great story. This is very close and you can fit it into a day at the beach.

HAWAIIAN WARNING: There is a very expensive user tax on tourists on the island. Locals are aloud to take anything they want out of your car or beach bag. . So just leave any offering you want for the locals. It is much appreciated. Wallets, Purses, and Camera are the most common gifts. So as not to offend the locals it is traditional to “hide” such donations under a towel or car seat or even in the trunk. The rental cars are especially designed for that propose and have easy access to the trunk by flipping the back seat down. Because I have donated my limit I am not required to give anymore. Therefore out of a courtesy to the locals I leave the door unlocked. This says I already gave, have a nice day. Often I also leave the window rolled down a little so the less experience locals don’t have to go through the embarrassment of breaking the car window.

MOOKINI HEIAU
This is also where he was born. The Big Island king wanted to kill him so Kamehameha is smuggled up into the Pololu Valley then returned a great warrior. “A Killer of Kings”. There is another Heiau up here that is pretty cute and has a little village. I forgot the name. Check with the hotel. They will tell you where they are. I’ve seen em all one will probably be enough for you guys.

KAPAAU
Moving north gets more wet like Hana on Maui. Very sleepy and senior citizen Hawaiian. This area combined with Hilo are the most authentic Hawaiian communities. If you drive to the end of the road you will be rewarded with a green lush view of the Mountains and the POLOLU VALLEY where the King was raised.

If you do the whole trip to Pololu valley and back it is a relaxed day with plenty of time at the beach back home. I would recommend just doing the first Heiau. You could even include it into a trip to Waimea and even onto Waipio.

HEADING INLAND
WAIMEA
Another fun thing to do is to head inland to Waimea. Hawaiian’s are kind of Goofy and there are names that sound unique but are on each Island. O’ahu and Kaui each have a Waimea. This is the home of Parker ranch largest ranch in the US. It is a cooler, foggy, rainbow filled area with a very local flavor and lots of local Paniolos (Hawaiian cowboys) A great drive and very different from the beach experience. There is great horse back riding and. So you should be able to connect to this easily. This is a casual day of fun with time to get home for swim and a dinner. Or …

WAIPIO VALLEY
You can continue to the Waipio valley. I’ve never been there but it sounds gorgeous and probably fits into a nice full day trip with Waimea. As with all my ideas check with locals and see if what I say makes sense.

HEADING SOUTH
It gets much drier and hotter as your head south. You will see miles and miles of Black lave that looks like burned brownies. The rough lava is called AA and the smooth Lava is called Pahoehoe

WAIKOLOA RESORT
This is worth a day. It is a Disneyland style hotel. Water Falls, Slides, Dolphin swims, there is no beach so they created a man made beach. Swans. Figure out how to get a day pass for the amenities.

PETROGLYPHS Also on the hotel grounds, but still a car drive from the hotel, is a two acre park loaded with Petroglyphs. Great for Lazy, Lazy boys and Girls. But cooler still are the Puako Petroglyphs. It is the largest collection of Hawaiian Petroglyphs, 3000 of them. It’s a little bit of a hike on lava trails. It is a 2 mile hike so bring water there is lots to see along the way. Lots fun for lazy boys and girls, but too much of a hike for Lazy, Lazy boys and girls.. Keep your eyes open for the Hawaiian KoKo Pele a figure called the “Egg Man”. It is very famous because they found one on Easter island. Lending credence to the Hawaiian Easter island connection.

The Waikoloa and Petroglyphs are a full day of fun with out much driving.

KONA
Kona means Leeward in Hawaiian. That means the winds and rain hit the Windward side. So Kona also means dry side. Which is great for me. This is a big fun touristy city. Lots of restaurants. South of here is where Captain Cook landed and was greeted as a god by the Hawaiian’s. Several months later but not much wiser in his people skills he returned. And was killed by the pissed off Hawaiians. Ironically an other man with poor people skills was his second in command. This man who would later command the Bounty. Capt. Bligh.

SOUTH OF KONA
This area has had sort of a Topanga vibe. Hippies, Natural food stores.

CITY OF REFUGE or PUUHONUA O HONAUNAU
A must see ancient Hawaiian temple. This is restored and is magnificent. Bring your snorkels wild turtles be here also. LOCAL WARNING: Turtles are a protected species so don’t touch em. Also Turtles are Amaku, sacred power animals, to many local Hawaiians don’t touch em.

The trip from the Mauna Kea hotel to Kona and the City of Refuge and back is a nice relaxed day trip. You can be home by dinner or even eat an early dinner and be home in time to watch a movie. Kona is where you flew in so you will already have a good idea of the distance. At the city of refuge you are half way to Kilauea. Ouch. Kilauea is good for a full day of fun. Lots of great hiking and views. I takes an hour just to drive around the rim. Darn. Some people will do the whole thing in one day. Burn through Kona, it’s touristy, rush through the City of Refuge, it’s small, Drive around the crater and be home by 11:00PM. Many folks do that or do the loop through Waimea through Hilo to Kilauea to Kona and home. Going clockwise makes more sense because you get the sun on the Leeward side in the evening. I haven’t done this. Many people do it is a road trip like driving to Mammoth. It’s 250 miles and takes about 5 hours if you don’t stop at all never ever. I just feel there is too much to see at the Volcano to rush it. If the Lava is flowing you can sometimes drive to the coast 3hrs. And see it pour into the sea. I recommend staying a day hear and there are several nice places to stay. Ouch.


HAWAIIAN WARNING: Where ever you go bring real reef walkers, hiking boots, hats, water, and SUNSCREEN. Lava sharp. Sun Hot.

KILAUEA
And amazing active volcano. It looks like the grand canyon in a bowl. Great drive around it. There is a great lava tube walk dark and cave like but smooth floors and well lit. Lots of cool unusual formations to look at or hike through. The “Calderas”, the big crater, is no longer active but gorgeous. The active parts of the Volcano are down the hill. Even when it is active you rarely see the flying lava. This is a national park so a visitor’s center will tell you all you need to know.

HILO
Old Old Hawaii. It is on the opposite side of the island from where you are. Very sleeping. Has an interesting story about a tsunami that leveled the city and a good museum about it. If you have a choise between Hilo and Kilauea do Kilauea. People do the loop sometimes on a day and go from your hotel, through Waimea to Hilo to Kilauea to Kona and back. It’s a long long drive.

MAUNA KEA
This is an amazing observatory, one of the best in the world. It’s named Keck. Old friend of yours perhaps? Problem is you can’t go at night. Head lights are forbidden on the road. So it is a day trip to see the telescope at 14,000’ or you have to ask permission to spend the night. I did the day trip and had slight double vision from the altitude. And all I saw were white domed buildings. It’s not worth the trip. Sometimes people take the Saddle road through the park and don’t go to the top and then head to Hilo. I’ve not done it. Parts are rough I hear and your not supposed to take rental cars. No gas, hard to tow out.

Be sure to buy leis for yourselves. And just don’t buy the cheapies. There are some amazing lies available a great prices. After you enjoy your lei for a day or two through it to the ocean. That will ensure you will return.

http://www.hawaii-guide.net/HAWAII-GUIDE/Pages/Language.htm This is an Hawaiian dictionary page. Kind of fun. It will make sense of how to pronounce the Hawaiian words. It is really pretty easy to pronounce the Hawaiian words if you know the key.

Aloha Bob

Thanks, bob. Your post had lots of info and was a fun read too! (Loved the "Hawaiian Warnings") We're all fairly well travelled, but just how prevalent is the theft on the island?