Akaka Falls

As promised, I have posted photos from our semi-failed trip to Akaka Falls. We also stopped by the Mehana Brewing Company in Hilo on the way home. The photos are here.

Happy Saturday!

Yes I've been slacking on the updates once again. This one will include several items.

My birthday came and went on January 12th, as usual. They gave me the day off from work, which gave me some time to just tool around the property. I took some photos of the retreat, which included several signs that Kana posted wishing me a happy birthday. They've been added to my "Kalani Miscellaneous" page. I've also added a few pics to my "Kalani People" page.

On Friday the 14th we took a group trip to Makalawena Beach on the Kona side of the island. It's a beautiful, secluded white sand beach. Lots of sunshine. Warm, clear water. Whales breaching in the distance. All in all a pretty good day, despite the fact that my supposedly waterproof camera crapped out on me after apparently developing a small leak. I bought a cheapo replacement the next day to tide me over while awaiting resolution with Pentax. So far it has treated me fairly well, and it did not leak when I took it snorkeling. Pics from the day are here.

 

On the 18th I drove Kana to Kona opposite side of the island) to pick up her friend Jason from the airport. As usual, it turned into a bit of an adventure. Two of us, driving to pick up a third, turned into four of us dropping off one and then picking up another, reacquiring the one we dropped off, going snorkeling, buying a bike, meeting up with two more, having beers and appetizers at Kona Brewing Company followed by sushi, then dropping off two and driving back to Kalani as three. Quite a day. Pics are here.

Yesterday (Friday the 21st) some of us went to Akaka Falls State Park. In order to skip the entry fee and get closer to the falls, we followed some verbal directions that resulted in us hacking our way through the forest for a couple of hours. Of course, we never made it to the top of the falls, but we exited the forest onto the paved state park path, thus avoiding the $1 per person fee. Pictures will be posted later.

Lava!

Sunday we went to view the lava where it is pouring into the ocean. This consists of a 10-minute drive followed by a 1.5 hour walk, so it's pretty close.

It was amazing. It's hard to describe the sensation of witnessing brand new earth flowing into the ocean, so I won't even try. The bottom line is that it's an incredible experience. You should try it some time.

My photos from the day are here. We finished the adventure with margaritas in town, followed by more margaritas before, during and after dinner. Mmmmmmmmmargaritas.

Waipi'o Valley and Hilo

It may seem I've been slacking off on updates here, but the reality of it is that there hasn't been much to report during the week. Friday, however, we went to Waipi'o Valley to hike to Hi'ilawe Falls (1,200' to 1,600', depending on whom you ask). We got a bit lost and ended up not making it to the falls, but we had fun trying and will try to give it another go in the future. Pictures are here.

Note Hi'ilawe Falls in the background

We went to Hilo on Saturday and saw some paintings by Roy Ruiz, who is here at Kalani, and stopped by a Kava bar for a drink. Photos here.

Roy's painting of the Dalai Lama

The plan for Sunday is to head down the road to view the lava flows. I will be sure to post an update on that soon!

Happy New Year!

For New Year's Eve I went with three others to South Point (the southern tip of the island, and the southernmost point in the U.S.). This included a walk to Green Sand Beach, which is green due to the presence of a mineral called Olivine. It was pretty incredible. Pictures are posted here.

We started partying before leaving South Point, which meant having drinks at Shaka Restaurant and "the most southern bar in U.S.A.". The festivities continued at Kalani, culminating with drunken singing at a bluff called "The Point" overlooking the ocean. Good times.