Hilo, Our Day Away From Golf
Song: Hawaiian War Chant
These are the pictures taken during our Hilo outing! Visit the Hilo Page on this site. The Puna Adventure! Puna, Hawaii is one of those still " barely discovered" corners of the Big Island. A place which welcomed the children of the 60s and the drop outs and adventuresome of the 80s and 90s. The main town of Pahoa with it's wooden sidewalks and dilapidated store fronts is starting to perk up with new restaurants and shops, but still retaining the air of the sugar cane railroad town it once was. Visit our Hilo Page.
McKenzie Park
This quiet and
peaceful park is perfect for a sunny picnic and glorious ocean views. Tall
Ironwood trees surround the park and low sea cliffs along the ocean make
dramatic scenery.
Years of crashing waves slowly erode the fragile lava creating shelves, arches and caves. These can easily and safely be seen from the top of the sea cliffs.
Small sea arches and lava tube openings can seen along the coastline cliffs. Swimming is poor here due to strong currents and rough water.
Take Highway 130 south from Pahoa. When it dead ends at Highway 137, turn right. Highway 137 meets and turns into hoiki Road for 2 miles. Then Highway 137 turns off to the left. Follow the highway. The Park will be on the left after Mile Marker #137.
Walk About In The Park
Lunch Time
We stopped at a Macadamia Nut Farm which operates in cooperation with the
tour.
They are small to large evergreen trees growing to 6–40 m tall.
The leaves are arranged in whorls of three to six, lanceolate to obovate or elliptical in shape, 6–30 cm long and 2–13 cm broad, with an entire or spiny-serrated margin.
The flowers are produced in a long slender simple raceme 5–30 cm long, the individual flowers 10–15 mm long, white to pink or purple, with four tepals.
The fruit is a very hard woody globose follicle with a pointed apex,
containing one or two seeds.
We had a super lunch, visited the owner and her pets and had a great education!
Down To The Beach For A Swim!
Enjoy swimming and snorkeling with sea turtles and tropical fish at water temperature between 80-87 degree Fahrenheit. Kapoho Tidepools are protected from the ocean's waves by a coral reef, the water is crystal clear, and often warmer than the ocean because of geo-thermally heated springs that enter into the tide pools in various places.
Lava Tree Park
Situated
in the Nanawale Forest Reserve, this park is a graphic depiction of the
long-term effects of lava. Hundreds of years ago, a fast moving flow of
hot lava hit this patch of wet 'O'hia trees. The lava forever encased the
structures leaving behind vertical, hollow, lava tubes where each tree once
stood.
Here you will view the evidence of an eruption that was mostly ash and debris
and covered some trees and hardened. Subsequent rains and winds have eroded
the unhardened debris and left the trees standing!
The grounds are very nicely manicured and this is a popular spot for a get
together for local families.
Back To The Ship
We sail off into the sunset for another adventure in
Lahaina (Maui) for golf at the plantation.