August 2007: Hawaii vacation

In August we visited Hawaii (big island) for 5 wonderful days and nights. We spent the first two nights on the West side of the island (the Kona coast) at the luxurious Hilton Waikoloa Village. We then traveled over the top of the island to Hilo on the East side and stayed at the basic but friendly Dolphin Bay Hotel. During our trip we swam with turtles, visited Volcanoes National Park and lots of beaches, snorkelled with tropical fish, swam in a volcanically heated pool, saw lava trees and enormous waterfalls and generally had a lot of fun.



Places we visited included:

• Lava Tree State Park, just South of Hilo, where, in 1790 lava flowed through a forest and left towers of lava where trees had once stood.
• Kapoho Tide Pools, on the South East coast, a snorkeler's paradise, especially for young kids.
• Ahalanui Pool, a volcanically heated pool.
• Isaac Hale Park, a popular spot for surfers.
• MacKenzie State Park, a wooded park with lava-crafted picnic tables and dramatic views of trees clinging to the sea-beaten cliffs.
• Kaimū beach, a black sand beach where lava met the sea and destroyed the towns of Kaimū and Kalapana in 1990.
• Onomea Bay, North of Hilo on the East coast, on the Old Mamalahoa Highway scenic drive.
• Akaka Falls State Parks, home of both the Akaka falls and the Kahuna falls.
• Kolekole Beach Park, where a river, a small waterfall, and the ocean meet.
• Laupahoehoe Point Park, location of a memorial to those lost in the 1946 tsunami that hit this area.
• Waipio Valley and Bay, one of the more photogenic panoramas on the island.
• Hapuna Beach State Park, a beautiful beach on the west side of the island, a convenient stopping point when returning to the airport.

John Alexander, the owner and operator of the Dolphin Bay Hotel, recommended all of these and they were all terrific gems, many of which we'd have never known of since they were off the beaten track. A tip if you ever stay at this hotel: take earplugs, the Coqui frog is very noisy.