25th to 31st December 2008
I read someone saying "there is no place on Earth like Hawaii". May be to some extent it is true, I don't agree completely though. These small Isles contain all types of landscapes and weather conditions on them which made me feel they are unique. The most beautiful rain forests lined with roaring high waterfalls ... green taro fields and colorful amazing looking flowers ... happy singing birds ... heavy rain ... live volcanoes and the craters of the dead volcanoes ... steaming vents everywhere ... eye irritating SO2 at places ... fields and fields of black solidified lava extends to the horizon ... snow capped high peaks and their alpine weather ... thick fog ... sunny beaches with different colored sand ... white, black and green and grey ... warm sea ... turtles basking ... everything on those tiny islands ...
In this first visit I stepped on only two islands, Maui and Big Island. And did hiking and photography as always I have been doing. I have still not got into water sports and adventures that Hawaii is also popular for. Not sure what other isles have to offer :) But, then ... I have seen much more beautiful lush tropical forests full of wonderful wild flowers and wild berries, much more beautiful beaches lined with coconut trees and less crowded (or no crowd at all !!) beaches in other countries. In fact, I was born and have spent my childhood in small coastal cities of Southern India. So, I was not thrilled to see the same rain forests and the beaches. But, I was so happy that it brought back the memories of my childhood. Then ... what makes Hawaii wonderful is that the live Volcano, diversity of nature on small pieces land and easy access to this wonderful beauty.
In this post I will mention about the highlights of my trip details and will have more posts specifically on hikes and drives etc. It was a last minute decision to visit Hawaii during these holidays. Me and my friend booked the flight tickets which were really expensive. And car rentals and condominiums weren't less either. After booking the flight tickets and condos on both the islands we faced 'out of cars' situation in Big Island for two days. Somehow we got a booking at Alamo. And everything was fine.
We were on the flight to Hawaii from San Jose which departed at 7:00am. You could definitely imagine the weather and cold here. We reached Maui at 12:30pm. Hawaii is 2hrs behind California time. As we got out of the airport to get the car, I experienced the coastal weather. Sunny-hot-sticky weather got me little worried. The nice coat and the jeans were good for San Jose winter morning and they didn’t fit the Hawaii afternoon weather. It reminded me of my uncle’s wedding in the month of May, decades ago when I was a child, in a small temple near the secluded shore of Arabian Sea in Gokarna (a small religious village in coastal Karnataka, India). None of us from the wedding party was there to witness wedding but we all visited the small shop nearby to buy towels to wipe the sweat and to cool off our bodies by eating shave ice. The shopkeeper ran out of towels and ice in an instant. Anyways, my uncle is blessed with three daughters who are now in their teens but, his wedding is imprinted in the memories of all who attended.
Okay, back to Hawaii … I am not sure why ? In hot weather I get sick and depressed and sad. I was worried about spending 6 nights here. We took the car and drove to the condominium. It was a nice little place. It was called ‘Ocean front’ so we were trying to figure out where was the ocean ? Then we could see a little of ocean standing on our toes with our necks elongated a bit and chin pointing to horizon. Yey !! Nearby was Charlie’s Beach where we had a nice evening walk along the beach. Cool and breezy.
We went driving on Hana Hwy which runs from North-East to South-East. It was raining at this part of Maui. It was cool I felt like a spring bird. Wow !! exactly like my visits to my grandparent’s places in coastal Karnataka. Roaring waterfalls were complementing the lush of the forest. The wild flowers were adding an amazing beauty to the landscape. The small hamlets along the way made us feel the human existence. Hike in the South of Haleakela National Park in the pouring rain was refreshing :)
Visit to the Haleakela National Park made me feel like I was on Moon :) It was raining and the crater was filled with thick fog. And we started the hike in the fog and ended in the heavy rain. It was fun. But, in the corner of the mind it was always there that little bit of sunshine could have given the great view of the crater. Later we had sugarcane juice on roadside. It wasn't fresh as we get in India with lemon juice (hmmm yummy) but, we had a 'tropical' drink in Hawaii. My another wish of drinking tender coconut was not fulfilled as the stale looking coconuts costed US$10. I thought in my next visit to hometown in India I will drink 10 of them per day for free from my own coconut grove, fresh minutes after they are plucked from the tree. I will wait :) That feeling makes me feel good :)
From the moment we started to Big Island from Maui, everything was dramatic … We flew in a 7 seater small plane over the ocean. I could see one of the highest mountains Mauna Kea covered in snow. It was indeed an amazing sight. After landing in Kona, we were informed that Alamo ran out of cars and we will not be given with the cars until next night and so Alamo would drop us to the hotels. Standing there in the line we did a contingency plan of taking a guided tour to the Volcano National Park. We were staying at Hilo, that is across the island from Kona and we needed a compact car and so, Alamo decided to give us a car with little bit of ‘hush hush’ … After reaching the condo there was another drama waiting for us. The hotel was not up to the mark but, the room offered to us looked descent. It was really ‘Ocean Front’ … if I jumped from the balcony I would be in the Ocean :)
We visited some scenic points which were beautiful though foggy. The visit to the Volcano National Park was a bit disappointing for my high expectations but, when I saw, from a distance, the live lava flowing into the ocean I was thrilled. It was one of my lifetime experiences (for now). Visit to Rainbow Falls and Akaka Falls State Parks was wonderful experience though it was raining heavily.
We visited few beaches on Kohala coast. Like I had a wish to drink tender coconut on a sunny beach, sitting under the shade of the tree wearing a straw hat, my friend had a wish to sit on a calm beach and read a book (about Obama). For that we went to Hapuna Beach Park which is popular as one of the Nation's (USA) best beaches, and my friend sat there for 20mins to read the book while I waited for her in the car with AC on (I mentioned earlier I cannot stand the hot-Sun-humid weather). Well I took a picture of a sand sculpture too.
And so the 6 nights and 7 days were over ... our Hawaii trip came to an end. We were at Kona Airport and I wished my family a great New Year 2009. I thought about my New Year eve 2008 and felt so funny. We reached San Francisco early in the morning. Back to routine ... wake up ... work ... gym ... TV ... sleep ... and wake up ...
PICTURES :) Have to add some more.
