Enthralling Hawaii - five days on the Big Island

Proof I was there

I had no expectations, no preconceived idea of what my five days on the Big Island would involve. I got on the plane with a booking at a farm-style sustainable retreat and a stream of narratives from friends of all their incredible experiences on the island, and not much else. It was to be a journey of exploration, going with what felt right and good when I got there. It certainly did not disappoint! My overall impressions of the island are immensely emotional more than anything else. With every corner I turned and every step I took on the hikes I did I was greeted with overwhelming physically beauty that was coupled with a strong emotional reaction to the beauty. I constantly found myself exclaiming out loud, "oh my this is incredible". My body literally had a physical reaction about 50 times a day to my surroundings. I have been to many different regions and to an array of beautiful settings, but I think the uniqueness of the Big Island is the immense diversity within a contained geographical location. It is true what they say that it can be raining in one location and you can drive 10 minutes and be in pristine hot sunshine (apart from Tuesday 19th and my birthday - unusual rain day across the island just for me)! The other extraordinary feature is the diversity of landscapes, from the arid lunar volcano park in the south to the rolling green hills of the Kohala area at the north of the island and everything in between. The diversity of the landscape and weather patterns is matched only by the diversity of the peoples of the island. The many cycles the island has been through from Polynesian, to plantation, to becoming a US state, has led to incredible ethnic diversity in the local people and their culture. Not only did I observe the ethnic diversity but the Big Island seems to attract people looking for an alternative lifestyle, a change from the fast paced life of the 'mainland', and certainly the pace of life at the roadside coffee shops and cafes was laid back and calming. I will give a brief overview of the days below, but again I repeat that my biggest takeaway from the island was an incredible sense of how fortunate I am to have just been a physical part of such beauty even if only briefly.
Monday: After a delicious breakfast of fresh papaya, pineapple, oranges, eggs and avocado (all grown or from the farm I was staying at), I set out to explore Pololu Valley. A steep climb down into the valley offers a beautiful black sand beach, and a great workout getting back up! The valley is the most northern on the island and is on one side of the Kohala volcano which last erupted 120,000 years ago so I was safe! My trip back to the farm involved stopped for local flavour sushi and cold mint lemonade. The day ended with a massage and an evening of a great audio book and my knitting - that night I was the only guest at the farm and the silence was incredibly heart warming.

Pololū Beach

Pololū Valley

Tuesday: So it arrived - I am 40 and it didn't hurt! In fact for the first time in my life I think (I used to make such a big deal of my birthday as a child) I viewed it as just another day, but really appreciated all the messages and calls from all over the world. [A special mention here to my very dear friend Grainne Hayes who was the first person to call me that morning and was so ridiculously excited for me that I was in Hawaii.] Despite the dire weather forecast I was determined to spend the day in the Volcano National Park - it seemed to call me there to experience how tremendous mother nature is and how little control we actually have as humans in ultimately shaping our physical environments. I drove down the east coast of the island as the torrential rain beat down on the car I marveled at the changing landscapes leading me further south. It was a park ranger at the Volcano National Park who told me on my arrival that the weather on that day was incredibly rare for the island. To have rain everywhere at the same time was highly unlikely and so I decided it was a gift for me - cleansing washing away the cobwebs of an obsession with aging that had consumed me for the past few years. I cannot really express what it is like to see volcanoes in real life, I have never been next to an active volcano before. The lava stopped flowing last year after the earthquake but steam still emerges. To see how time also leaves such an impact on the landscape with the different stages of lava flow and the change to the shoreline, is truly an indication of nature slow but powerful transition. On route back to the farm I drove up through the middle of the island and stopped to enjoy some incredible local roasted lamb and goats cheese mashed potatoes.

Kilauea active volcano

The power of the sea on the volcanic rock

Arid but beautiful volcanic landscape

Wednesday: The sun returned and I enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing day at the farm sitting by the pool, having two massages and meeting the other two guests who had joined. Both had a long connection with Hawaii: Dick Grace now a winery owner in Napa was born and raised there and Sherry a Philadelphia native had moved to the south of the island to escape the craziness of life in San Francisco where she had worked as a child therapist. Dick invited us both out for dinner Wednesday night in a wonderful local restaurant in Hawi where the Hawaiian martinis (they have passion fruit in them) were incredible. It always amazes me the people you meet when you travel solo - there is definitely a solidarity and a sharing of narratives.

Amazing local flowers at the farm

The Mustang I was driven to dinner in

Thursday: More sunshine! Today was to the other side of the Kohala Volcano and Waipi'io Valley. The steep hike down to the valley and the of course the steep climb back up was worth every drop of sweat for the incredible view of the double waterfall. To say this view took my breath away when I came around the corner is an understatement - I was overwhelmed and kept exclaiming out loud, "oh my this is so incredible". I did encounter lots of mosquitoes on the valley floor but no malaria in Hawaii so aside from some red welts I'll be fine. My reward when I got back to the farm was another wonderful massage. That evening Dick had heard about a local Hula competition - it was incredible to witness the dances I had only seen in movies or on tv but also to acknowledge the diversity of the different types of dances based on the different cultures that have crossed the island. I have to say the men were incredible dancers - their hip movements were far more extravagant than the women!

Waipi'io Valley

Breathtaking beauty of the waterfalls

Hawaiian humour

Hula dancers

Friday: My final day and I had one final side of the isl;and to conquer. I offered Sherry a ride as she returned to her home in the south of the island, and it was fun to hear more about the island from the perspective of someone who had been living there for a number of years. We parted ways in Captain Cook where I set off down the Captain Cook Monument trail to see the tiny piece of land that technically belongs to the UK as the site where Captain Cook died. The hike was once again a step climb down (I hope you are seeing the trend here) coming out onto another superb view across the ocean and wonderful snorkeling. I was chatting with some people down there and we exclaimed that as far as places go to die this wasn't a bad 'choice' by Captain Cook! After the hike I continued on down to West coast stopping at Pu'uhonua village - an ancient traditional village. I learned a lot about traditional spiritual; beliefs, the importance of nature to the people and was pleased to see a cultural similarity to one game we played in Sudan when I was a child. I ended my exploration of the island by visiting Punalu'u Black Sand Beach and seeing the turtles just chilling on the beach. before heading to the airport I had the great pleasure of having dinner with Marlo, her brother Lorne and wife Marylee.

Where Captain Cook fell

Traditional game with stones we used to play in Sudan as well

Black Sand Beach

The turtles

Big Island I hope I will be back again someday but definitely left a piece of me in your wondrous valleys, rolling hills, stark volcanic earth and breathtaking beaches.