Everybody coming to Hawaii goes primarily to Oahu, since it is there were the international airport is located. It is worth to visit other islands as well, though. Big Island, as the name suggests, is the biggest of Hawaii islands, and features some active volcanoes and space observatories, to mention some highlights. And also, one of the world´s best coffee. True story.
Kona Coffee
Let´s start with that coffee. On the west coast of Big Island, south of Kailua-Kona, you will find some 20 km wide area which is just perfect for growing coffee. Everyday, all year round, you will get nice weather during the day and an approximately one hour lasting rain at 4 pm. This is perfect not only for the coffee plants, but also offers great opportunity for drying the coffee beans directly on the sun.
We visited Greenwell Farms which offers free tours of the farm. The guide is very sympathetic and offers very good explanations of how coffee is grown, roasted, made and best served. We tasted several of their blends and also bought some to bring home. Experts say it is comparable to the one of the best coffee in the world (and the same type as well – arabica) from Blue Mountains of Jamaica, to which we can agree, because we have been there as well.
They also have fruit trees on the farm, to bring good bugs to the premises and prevent it from the bad ones without chemical pesticides. Visitors can grab the grown fruit from those trees and eat it, given they don´t climb the tree.
Mauna Kea
Want to see breathtaking views of sunset and then gaze at thousands of stars? Take a trip to Mauna Kea, the highest mountain of Hawaii. Go there in the afternoon, stop at the Visitors center at about 2000 metres above sea level and take a pause for at least half an hour. This is because you’ve overcome some altitude difference and if you go directly up, you might experience some dizziness. After the break, continue up, enjoy the ride on the unpaved mountain road and finally arrive at the top (4 205 m) before sunset.
It will be quite cold up there, so dress accordingly. Since there is basically no light pollution here, this is one of the best spots on Earth for astronomical observations. For that reason, there are multiple space observatories at the top. When the sun sets, they start to open their huge domes and turn in different directions. Very often, the Visitors center offers the opportunity to watch space objects with telescopes and they also comment on what you see and give some interesting information.
For example, did you know that the North star will not stay north forever? It will be substituted by another star in 1 million years and after 12 million years it will be Vega, which was there already in the Prehistoric Ages.
Hilo
Hilo is the capital and biggest town of Big Island and it is situated on its east shore. When locals want to relax, they go to Coconut Island, a small island in the Hilo Bay connected to the shore by a footbridge. There is a grass field for sunbathing or playing games, small beaches, a small diving tower, restrooms and showers – everything you need for a nice afternoon. If you are lucky, you can even spot a turtle swimming near the island from the bridge.
Volcanoes
The islands of Hawaii are volcanic in their entirety. But on Big Island it is visible the most. The soil is black and fertile (which is again good for the coffee) and the sand is black, too. But what is really cool about volcanoes here?
The real flowing lava fields west from Hilo. Land is ridicuously cheap here because you never know how quickly the lava flow will reach your house. The last one was burnt in the last decade. But people don’t make much of it, they just take it as regular part of their lifes. I strongly recommend taking the helicopter flight over the lava fields. It is quite expensive, but totally worth it. We chose the Blue Hawaiian and had an amazing experience.
They take you from Hilo airport on an approximately one hour flight and you can look how the lava flows and also gaze into the cone of the volcano on the orange liquid lava. The pilot also gives you interesting information and you can purchase a video of your flight after you land. It was my first time flying in a helicopter, so I was a bit nervous, but it totally paid of. Another must do is a visit to the Volcanoes National Park. Drive through the lava flows, take a short trek into the Kilauea Iki crater which last erupted in 1959 and still
smells of sulfur, and when the night falls, be sure to come to the Jaggar museum to watch the orange vapors from the cone together with some occasional eruptions which you can also hear. It is the most active place on Earth.
