Honeymooning in Hawaii: Aulani & Beyond

[topsy]

On the way back to the marina we took a detour to a well-known area for dolphin activity. As promised, there were tonnes of spinner dolphins swimming around, jumping out of the water and, as their name would suggest, spinning mid-jump.











I highly recommend this tour, Captain Dan and his team are really knowledgeable and obviously care about the whales and their environment. Throughout the tour they were sharing all sorts of stories, experiences and the science behind whales’ biology, history and habits.

After the tour we drove back to Kona and were very hungry. So I pulled on my Disboards knowledge, remembering one of the recommendations from Captain Oblivious’ report….we went to the Kona Brewing Co. for lunch. DH had a huge sandwich and I had two appetizers as a main – pepperoni rolls and pretzel bites with a cheese-beer sauce. Both were awesome but the pepperoni rolls won hands down! I took what I couldn’t eat to go and had them later. I really wanted to pick up some bottles of beer for family but they only seemed to sell kegs or large containers which we didn’t have room for. So alas no beer gifts!













The plan for the rest of the day was to drive to the other side of the island before it got dark as we would be relocating to Hilo for the next 5 nights. We decided on Hilo over Kona as it was closer to the many places we wanted to visit such as Volcanoes National Park, Waipi’o Valley, Akaka Falls and much more. We picked up our bags from the hotel and headed off on the approximate 1 hour and 45 minute drive to Hilo via Saddle road. The journey was pretty easy and uneventful. The views along the way were beautiful as we looked out across the land onto the ocean from the hills high above. We attempted to take photos along the way but none of them captured the scenery well enough to do it justice. We hit some pretty miserable weather as we drove between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea but as soon as we emerged on the Hilo side of the island, the weather dissipated.







If anyone in interested in how to drive between both sides of the island, we took the 190 out of Kona and stayed on it until we took a right onto the 200 (aka. Saddle Road).

Once in Hilo, we navigated our way to the front of the downtown area and slightly out of town to our home for the next few days; The Orchid Tree B&B. I cannot say enough good things about this place! It is a two bedroom B&B run by Steve and his wife (whom we didn’t meet). Steve is definitely the host and was so friendly and insightful. We had booked the Koi Suite which is set in its own building (kind of like a big garage to the side of the house). It had a king size bed, living area, amazing walk in shower and private balcony. Just a few steps out of the front door was a huge covered lanai which is available for guests of both rooms to use. Breakfast is served out here every day at 8.00am with coffee served from 7.00am. The lanai and garden are equipped with a hot tub, swimming pool (not heated which meant it was surprisingly cold!), telescopes, view of the sea (we watched whales every day) comfy outdoor furniture and books galore.















After taking a little time to settle in, we took a short stroll to the beach which Steve had told us about, just around the corner. It wasn’t white sand, instead it was a black sand beach and a haven for local surfers. In fact when we arrived, several locals were sitting in their cars along the cliff edge, playing music and eating dinner. We stayed at the top of the cliff watching the surfers and the sunset and also managed to spot a group of three whales playing in the shallow waters offshore! The pictures are pretty blurry due to the poor light and zoom but you can see their fins and tails splashing out of the water.











I don’t recall us going anywhere for dinner that night; I think we just snacked on the treats we bought at Walmart, a very healthy meal of chocolate and crisps. Once the sun had set, we took advantage of the hot tub and swimming pool. The hot tub was amazing and very relaxing after a busy few days. We took ourselves to bed reasonably early, excited for the breakfast offerings the next morning (I’d read on trip advisor that Steve served up some amazing fruit platters and they did not disappoint!).

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

How fun! I love your photosThanks for sharing!

 

[heybets30]

How fun! Congrats on starting your life together ... Can't go wrong by starting at DL then Hawaii . We head to the Big Island 3 weeks from Saturday and I am so excited. LOVE Kona!! We'll head to Aulani the 2nd part of our trip. We're regulars to DL and it is always fun to read stories from other peoples' perspectives!! Looking forward to the rest of your report!

 

[ncgator]

Great trip report topsy, can't wait to see the rest.

I am also heading to the Big Island 3 weeks from Sunday, getting married there the next Friday, then heading on to Aulani for the honeymoon!

 

[heybets30]

Negatory - what hotel will you stay at? We'll be at the fairmont orchid, then head to Aulani on Oct 6. Best of luck with your wedding plans!!!

 

[ncgator]

We'll be at the Hilton Waikaloa for 4 nights, The Four Seasons for 3 nights (wedding is there), then finishing with 4 nights at Aulani. We did stay at the Faimont Orchid last time we were on the Big Island -great hotel, with lots of sea turtles right at their beach.

topsy - Need your Aulani report!

 

[topsy]

Saturday 21st March

Today we woke early to the noise of the coqui frogs, song birds and the lovely breeze blowing through the patio doors. Steve, our B&B host, had told us he served breakfast at 8.00am out on the lanai and put coffee on at 7.00am so we got up, got dressed and helped ourselves to the wonderfully fresh coffee. We relaxed out on the lanai watching whales splashing around just off shore. The B&B felt very intimate, the other guests left early that morning so we had breakfast alone. Breakfast was served promptly, we had a huge fruit platter and freshly made waffles with bread, bagels and English muffins for toasting along with local jams (the guava jam was amazing!).







I really can’t recommend this place enough. If you’re looking to stay in the Hilo area, please consider Orchid Tree B&B! http://www.orchidtree.net/ or http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...d_Breakfast-Hilo_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html

Our plan for the day was to explore the immediate area including downtown Hilo and some local scenic points. We drove out to Rainbow Falls as we had read about being able to see rainbows in the water mist if you go early in the morning. It was about 10.00am by the time we got there and we didn’t see any so I would imagine “early in the morning” means much earlier than 10am! The area was interesting though, a set of crooked steps took us to the top of the waterfall and into a wooded area where the tree roots were ginormous and crept over the top of the ground.















From here, we drove up the road for a few minutes to the next stop in my book, the boiling pots (we used the island specific Lonely Planet books and found them to be really useful). The boiling pots are basically a series of mini waterfalls which, if you catch them at the right time, look like they’re steaming as the water swirls around. We obviously didn’t hit it at the right time either as we only saw regular waterfalls, but pretty nonetheless!





Next we drove back into Hilo, and tried to park by the farmer’s market but had no luck. We drove on & parked at Coconut Island instead. This is a really cute local hangout by the waterfront. Families seemed to take picnics and spend their time fishing, swimming etc. We spent an hour or so walking on rocks, watching “cliff diving” (kids jumping off a stone structure into the water), paddling and soaking up the sun. Hawaiians are obviously water babies, they seem to love any water based activity. One guy just climbed into the sea off the lava rocks in front of us and went out for a swim.

















Trying to fill the day with activities which were reasonably local, we looked in the book and found Pana’ewa Rainforest Zoo & Gardens was recommended and free. It was about a 10 minute drive out of town. We wandered the grounds for about an hour, soaking up some sun. We weren’t overly impressed. There were some lovely native flowers but most of the enclosures seemed to be under refurbishment or just empty. It’s the sort of place which may be more interesting to young families as there was a good play area on site.

 

[topsy]

After spending a bit of time at the zoo we drove back to Hilo via Walmart to pick up some drinks and snacks for the room. We thought it would be nice to enjoy some wine on our private patio in the evenings.

Our tummies were rumbling so we made a stop at Ken’s House of Pancakes for a late lunch. This was another guide book recommendation and was at the bottom of the main road which WalMart is also on so was easy to find. It was like walking back in time when we entered this place. It was fun, a proper old school diner but looked like a bit of a dive. Not wanting to judge the place for its looks, we settled into a small booth and were served by some very friendly wait staff. I had a mahi mahi sandwich and DH went for a classic burger. The menu here is SO extensive; I’ve never seen anything so big. They serve everything from breakfast to noodles, to rump steaks! We were really unsure about how to tip here as we had to pay at a desk on our way out. We left the tip on the table, hoping the waitress would see it. We think it worked as she came running out after us as we got to the car, waving my sunglasses, which I had forgotten!

When driving back into town we remembered our B&B host telling us that parking was free pretty much anywhere so when we came across the coach station with lots of parking spaces, we drove on in and parked up. It was really convenient as we only had to walk across the road to get to the farmers market. We enjoyed spending a couple of hours looking through the market. I bought some local jams to take back home and wished I could have bought some lovely fresh fruit to take back also but I’m guessing it wouldn’t have lasted very long on the plane back home! We walked along the main front street looking over the bay, buying candy and postcards as gifs.













We decided to head back to the B&B at around 5.00pm to enjoy the hot tub and pool. I wasn’t as brave as DH as the pool was really chilly to me. I guess the locals are used to swimming in non-heated water but I need my comfortable temperatures! We closed out the evening by enjoying some wine on the patio and watching whales as the sun went down.





Getting hungry, we decided on a late dinner and went off in search of another recommendation from Captain Oblivious’ trip report; Hilo Burger Joint. We found it easily but struggled with parking. It seemed to be a bit of an open mic night and the place was packed. We ate at the bar and had a great time chatting to the bartender. He had travelled to the UK when he was a student so we talked a lot about places he had visited.



We finished up and went back to the B&B to crash into bed.

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

OHHHHH I love the photos you took. How pretty! I also love how you tried out some local joints for something to eat!

 

[topsy]

OHHHHH I love the photos you took. How pretty! I also love how you tried out some local joints for something to eat!

Thank you - it's easy to take pretty pictures in Hawaii!

 

[TeamSy]

Congrats on your marriage!!!! I LOLed at the picture of when you first walked into DL. I had the same 'where's the castle' thought too?! Although that was my only "umm..." moment because I loved DL and DCA WAY more than I thought I would!!!

 

[topsy]

Sunday 22nd March - Part One

We woke reasonably early again and enjoyed breakfast out on the lanai. The whales were playing off shore and we watched them whilst eating the amazing fruit platter. We were joined by another couple this morning; they had arrived the night before. They were planning a day at Volcanoes National Park, which we were planning to visit the following day, so we enjoyed discussing touring plans with them. Our host, Steve, had some great tips and was very helpful in providing advice.

Our plan today was to go on a helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian (http://www.bluehawaiian.com/bigisland/tours/circle_of_fire/), we did the Circle of Fire plus waterfalls tour at approximately $240 each. I think the helicopter we went on was the Eco-Star, a larger, quieter and more comfortable ride. Hey, it was our honeymoon so we splashed out! Our tour time was at 11.00am, leaving from Hilo airport. We left in good time and the journey to the airport took only 10-15 minutes. We parked up in the general car park (I think parking was free) and walked over to the main terminal building. The pre-flight email from Blue Hawaiian advised that we should wear dark clothes to prevent any glare when looking out of the helicopter windows. I would definitely second this advice. My camera barely picked up any glare or reflection at all.

I spent a long time researching helicopter tours and narrowed it down to two; Blue Hawaiian and Paradise Helicopters (https://paradisecopters.com/hilo-helicopter-tours-hawaii/). Both had good reviews on Trip Advisor but eventually I decided to go with BH.

The ground set up was very good. We were both weighed at “check-in” and encouraged to look around at the photos and maps of the area whilst waiting for the pre-flight video to start. After that, we were greeted by a really friendly ground crew guy who led us out to the tarmac. We were flying with a family of four and were given seat numbers according to weight. We sat in the back row on the left (I had a window seat!) with two of the other family members. In the front were the pilot, Coleen, and the two remaining family members. Coleen was excellent! If you get her as your pilot you are in for a treat.



We were soon settled into our seats and taking off along the runway. We flew over acres of macadamia nut farms and up towards the recent lava flow which was active until only a few weeks ago. It was an amazing site to behold, no doubt terrifying for the locals who lived in the area though. The lava had just touched the edge of a small town and had crept across a road in one area. The lava is now hard and settled but it was a very close call. Coleen was telling us how laid back Hawaiians are and that they wouldn’t have left their homes until the last possible moment, preferring to ride it out than run away. We then flew over to the volcano which was actively fuming with smoke. It was awesome to see. There was a gentle lava flow below us, mostly liquid grey lava not the firey/red stuff you see on TV. We could smell trees burning as the lava gently surrounded them, some were on fire. Colleen did her upmost to make sure we all saw the different points of interest from various angles. Whilst this was really appreciated, I did start to feel a bit sick as she was circling round and round!

























We must have been in the air for about 40 minutes at this point and it was time to turn back. We flew back over a long river and various waterfalls near Hilo and out over the ocean. I was watching the water below us hoping for a splash and as luck would have it, I saw a few whales swimming below. We circled a few times so that everyone could see.

 

[topsy]

Sunday 22nd March - Part Two

Following our flight we drove back to the shopping area by Walmart for some frozen yoghurt and to plan the rest of the day. I’d read a lot about watching the sunset at the top of Mauna Kea and had planned for us to travel up there that evening. We decided to leave at around 5.00pm to ensure we got there in good time and could pick a good spot before the sun started to set. This meant we had a few hours to kill so we decided to go back to the B&B to relax and use the amenities.











Around 5.00pm we went on our way, stopping at McDonalds for a quick bite on way to Mauna Kea. I’m sure there were better culinary adventures we could have had that evening but we just wanted something quick that we could take to go. Following advice from another trip report, I made sure I tried the apple pie…it was delicious!

The drive up to the visitor’s centre is very windy and steep. It was fun going up as it was still light but coming down was a whole different story! Once at the top it was a little cold, but not too bad. I wore thin trousers, a t-shirt and a thin rain coat. I took the coat off to begin with but once the sun had set I definitely needed to wear it! There was a small hill just opposite the visitor centre which took about 10-15 minutes to climb up. You can drive to the very top where the observatories are but to do this you need to have a 4x4, they check the cars and do not let anyone further up the road unless you have the right vehicle.



Watching the sun set was amazing, we were above the clouds and although there were probably about 40 other people up there with us we felt totally alone in the moment. Once the sun had set we all made it back down to the visitor centre where students from the local university were setting up various telescopes for us to use (with their guidance!). These were huge scale telescopes, all set up to show different constellations. One was pointing towards Orion’s belt; you could see an amazing cluster of stars on the belt whereas with your naked eye you can only see the three stars in a line. They also had one set up to show a close up of the moon (I’ve never seen such detail!). After a while, the students gathered to lead a presentation, using laser pens they pointed up to the sky and showed us various constellations and cool things which you would never see on a regular night back down on the ground.







































It was truly a wonderful experience which I highly recommend. I will never again see a sky so clear and I have never in my life seen so many stars. We saw stars that are just not visible to us when looking up at the sky normally.

On the way back down we knew we had to use low gears as it is a very steep road. We could feel the car struggling all the way down and I have to admit it was probably the most terrifying driving experience I have ever had! I would urge you to use gears properly or low-gear descent mode. Unfortunately we saw a horrific car accident on the way down, a vehicle had not been able to control its speed and ended up mounting one of the metal barriers on the side of the cliff edge in order to stop. Cars were slowing right down to make sure the people in it were ok. Luckily they had all managed to get out ok but the car was a wreck.

Once we were back on normal roads the drive back to Hilo didn’t take too long. As a tourist I always try to stick to the local speed limits and drive carefully, however I noticed that a lot of the locals seemed to get frustrated with my careful driving and didn’t appear to drive as slowly as I was!

It was pretty late when we got back to the B&B so we crashed out ready for tomorrow’s excursion to Volcanoes National Park.

 

[topsy]

Monday 23rd March - Part One

This morning’s breakfast was once again exceptional. Steve had made a fresh coffee cake to serve alongside the fruit platter….it was amazing. I was absolutely in love with the jams (the guava especially) and made my own POG juice each morning. Yummy. I haven’t been able find POG juice in the UK. We have tropical fruit juices, pineapple juice and orange juice but I still haven’t been able to find any guava juice anywhere.









The drive to VNP took about 45 minutes. We started at the welcome centre, looking around the displays and trying to work out our plan of action. We knew we wanted to see the volcano crater in the evening as the lava would be glowing (providing the weather held up). We decided to drive down to the coast and stop at various points along the way. First up we stopped at a look out of one of the hikes into a crater. We didn’t actually make the walk but it was fun to look down and see people below us. The photos show the sheer size of the dormant crater. In the first, the people look like tiny dots!













Next we stopped at the Thurston lava tubes, which were fun. It’s quite dark in there but fun to walk through. It reminded me of the caves we have in Cheddar Gorge (near to where we live in the UK). We carried on long the road stopping at various points of interest until we reached the coast. I had read in Captain Oblivious’ report that we could park up and walk along a bit to where an old lava flow had spread across the road. Unfortunately this whole area was closed off to the public. It looks like they are re-building the road. This was one of the points I was most looking forwards to seeing.

 

[topsy]

Monday 23rd March - Part Two

By mid-afternoon we were feeling hungry and decided to have a short break out of the park. We looked in the guide book for a recommendation. There weren’t many to choose from in the immediate area, we settled on the Lava Rock Café in Volcano. The food was good, nothing amazing but tasty nonetheless. The service however was excellent and really friendly.

Once finished, we made our way back to the park and stopped at a few more spots before making our way to the Jagger Museum for the evening crater glow. We walked through the sulphur banks and then stood over the steam vents (which were really warm!).











Eventually we made it to the Jagger Museum just as it started to mist over and rain. Several people started to leave but we decided to wait it out as long as possible and hope to catch a glimpse of the glow. We wandered through the museum and looked at the displays. As the sun set the rain stopped but the fog didn’t lift fully. We did manage to see the glow but it would have been really spectacular if the weather was clear.











On the way back to Hilo, we stopped at Starbucks for a coffee and snack to warm up. I bought the “you are here” mug for Hawaii to go with the two we bought at Disneyland. Then it was back to the B&B to bed.

 

[jekjones1558]

Darn. "Photos not found" error. All of your photos have disappeared.

 

[topsy]

My thoughts exactly! I'll look into it and try to get them back.

 

[jekjones1558]

My thoughts exactly! I'll look into it and try to get them back.

They're back! Thanks for fixing it!
Oops. Posted too soon. Only some photos are showing.

 

[topsy]

Tuesday 24th March

This morning’s breakfast came with a real treat. Not only did we have the wonderful fruit platters and baked goods we loved, our host Steve came out and chatted with us and the other guests. We were commenting on how friendly the Geckos were so he said he would show us something. He took some banana, topped it with honey and put it on the lanai railing. He told us to keep watching and get our cameras ready. Soon enough, the Geckos came out in force! They love the sweet taste of the fruit but even more so when it is covered in honey.













After breakfast we took our time to get ready, we had planned a day driving along the Hamakua Coast. We were going to take it easy and stop anywhere that took our fancy. Our first stop was the Hawaii Botanical gardens. We really enjoyed our visit here, although it was really hot! You park across the road from the entrance and pay for your ticket here. Then once you’re in there is a long walk down to the bottom, through all sorts of wonderful flora and fauna.

























There are so many lovely plants and flowers here. We also saw a few statues, which we were very respectful of…



We made our way through the whole garden to the shoreline where we sat on a bench overlooking the ocean, just enjoying the view and area around us. From here we saw a mother whale and her calf frolicking just off shore. It seemed that everything the mother did the calf copied. I just could not get enough of seeing whales on this trip and found it really hard to tear myself away from this spot.

 

[topsy]

Tuesday 24th March - Part Two

Following our visit to the botanical gardens we went off in search of Akaka Falls. There is a car park here but it is small so we ended up parking along the entrance road. We didn’t have to pay at a parking machine; instead there were two people on duty who we paid as we went in. I think it was only a couple of dollars. We didn’t spend long here as once we’d done the walk down to the falls and back there wasn’t a whole lot else to do. The falls were beautiful and much larger than the pictures would have you believe. The falls are situated just outside a small town (of which I can’t remember the name) which looked like it had some good local options for lunch (sandwich places etc.). We made a mistake by not stopping here for something to eat, which we later regretted.













We ventured further on along the coastal road towards Waipio Valley – our final destination. I’d read about a family run vanilla plantation which I wanted to stop at as an avid vanilla fan; the Hawaiian Vanilla Co. It took a while to get there from the main road, we even thought we’d missed it as we kept driving into the middle of nowhere but eventually we pulled up. Unfortunately we found this place to be quite disappointing. They had signs displayed saying the served various vanilla infused foods but when we enquired they had run out of everything and were only serving those on a pre-booked luncheon tour. We looked around the gift shop but found that the products were really expensive so I didn’t buy as much as I had planned. I bought some amazing vanilla soaps to take back as gifts.





Next we continued on to Waipio valley. We had considered doing one of the wagon tours or horseback tours down into the valley but ultimately didn’t do either. I can’t remember what our reasoning was. I don’t think I could convince DH beforehand and we really needed to have booked. It might have had something to do with timings and whether we would have got there in time? Either way, I do regret not doing an excursion. Although the valley was beautiful to look out onto (and far more impressive than the photos), I can’t help but feel we would have had more of an adventure by actually going down into the valley floor.



It must have been around 3pm by this point and we were both starving. We drove back into the nearest town to look for something to eat but everywhere seemed to be closed on a Tuesday?! I’d read in the guide book about a novelty American diner located just off the main road back to Hilo which sounded cool. If I remember correctly I think it was located in an old train carriage, but I may be completely making that up! Unfortunately we just couldn’t find this place so we decided to give up and get back to Hilo to eat there.

We drove straight back into town, parked up and headed to Café Pesto for dinner. DH has various food intolerances which can lead to pretty bad digestive problems so we do struggle sometimes to find food which he can eat. He is basically good with plain meat and potatoes; cheese is a definite no no. Luckily this restaurant specialised in pizzas and they offered a cheese-less pizza which suited DH. We shared some bread with dipping oil followed by a pepperoni pizza for me and the special pizza for him. Afterwards we were tempted with dessert; we took a slice of guava cheesecake to take back to the B&B to eat by the pool with a glass of wine. The cheesecake was delicious, essentially a New York style cheesecake topped with thick guava jam, but still very tasty!

Once back at the B&B we relaxed by the pool and in the hot tub, soaking in the surroundings on our last night on the Big Island. Tomorrow, we were heading to Aulani!