Enjoying the Hilton Waikoloa

I wound up my Hawaii trip with three nights at the Hilton Waikoloa.  No, you're not living like a local as was the case in the house at Kapoho, but it was luxurious and beautiful at the Hilton, and it occurred to me that this might be a nice way to wind down all long Hawaiian trips in the future.  Here's the view at sunrise from my lanai.  Incidentially, the graders were tidying up after the hotel hosted Wheel of Fortune the previous week.  A large stage and bleachers were constructed on the grounds.

The Hilton has a very nice collection of art, mostly displayed in the long passageway between my wing of the hotel and the main lobby, a good quarter of a mile long.  Here's a smiling Buddha.  The hotel spent 5 million dollars to acquire art back in 1988, when it opened.

There are also some resident parrots and macaws.

Shields from New Guinea.  No idea how old they are...they far predate 1988.

A serene Buddha.

There are figures for each of the twelve signs of the Chinese New Year.  Here's the pig.

Here Buddha sits atop a curious horned beast. 

The adult pool at the resort.  Though I didn't tell the staff I don't like kids, they kindly put me almost next to this pool.  I always visited this pool last on the days aqua circuit.

A sunset, with boat gliding by.

Sunset at Buddha Point.  We spent my last two sunsets here...fine and serene spot.  As you might have noticed, Buddha rules at the Hilton Waikoloa.  There are a lot of Japanese guests here, with a fine koi pond.  Restaurants include Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, and others.  Good shopping too!

On the first of my two full days at the Hilton, I never left the premises.  You could remain on the premises for a long time, actually.  But on the second day Dick and I went afield.  Here's Pu'ukohola Heiau.  This was built by Kamehameha I in 1790...he had a vision that in order to conquer all the Hawaiian Islands, he had to build it.  Stones were transported hand to hand from the Pololu Valley, 30 miles away.  When the heiau was consecrated,  Kamehameha invited his vanquished rival, Keoua, to the ceremony.  Keoua was whacked upon arrival...he knew this would happen...and was made the first human sacrifice at the new shrine.  By 1810 Kamehameha had indeed acquired the entire island chain.

And here's the Pololu Valley.  30 miles from the heiau, it receives maybe 75 inches of rain compared to 10 at Pu'ukohola.  Long way to transport stones hand to hand...talk about labor intensive.

Palm and sea at Pololu.

On the way back we drove the Kohala mountain road, 3000 feet above the sea.  Blow up the pic and you'll see a lot of Parker Ranch cattle chowing down.  The Parker Ranch encompasses a good part of the northwestern part of the island. 

John Palmer Parker came to the Big Island in the early 1800s and made friends with Kamehameha

I...eventually marrying a royal princess, maybe the kings granddaughter.  He acquired a lot of land, and the family added more over the next 150 years.  The ranch is now run by a trust.

The palms again, now at sunset.

My friends Dick and Wilma, with our friend The Buddha. 

The sun makes a fiery disappearance.  I left the Big Island the next day...but I'll be back!  I was in Hawaii 22 days this time...may be my longest trip there ever.  It's pleasant to stay a long time and get accustomed to living in the Aloha State.

Kilauea Iki

Our resident gecko.  When I hung out on my deck it would come up and snatch flies off my bare feet.  I'm pretty sure this gecko is female because it was apparent once that she has a boyfriend...a larger and amorous gecko.

Looking straight up at the palms on the Puna coast.

Tree canopy on highway 137...one of my favorite roads anywhere.

The reddish hole in the center of the pic was the main lava vent during the 1959 eruption of Kilauea Iki.  Lava fountains soared as high as 1900 feet here, the highest on record.  The eruption continued off and on for over a month, filling the crater with over 400 feet of new lava.  The hill surrounding the vent, called pu'u puai, was created during the eruption and consists of cinders and lava spatter thrown out of the vent.  Blow up these pix for better views.

The lava filled the crater of Kilauea Iki, making it a huge lava lake, and then subsided about 50 feet, leaving this "bathtub ring" around the perimeter.  The lush forest above the ring filled the entire crater before 1959.

The crater floor is a fascinating hike...I've done it four or five times in the past 30 years.  When I first hiked here, in 1984, there was still molten lava several hundred feet below the surface.  That has solidified since then, but the lava at the bottom of the old crater is still warm, and produces steam through numerous vents that can be seen on cloudy, humid days.

Crack study.

A solitary ohia tree colonizes the lava.  Ohias are now scattered throughout the crater...30 years ago they grew only around the edges.  Eventually, perhaps by the end of this century, the crater will be well forested again as it was before 1959.  It had previously been quiet since 1868.

Towering cumulus build beyond the crater.

Ohia lehua blooms.

The crater from above, under a glowering sky.

Resident gecko stalking a fly near my foot.

Laupahoepahoe Point.  There's a pleasant park here now.  In 1946 there was a school, with housing for the teachers.   The big tsunami hit on April 1 of that year, and carried away 24 students and teachers.  Three others were rescued after drifting in the ocean for an entire day, clinging to debris.  The school has since been moved waaay higher.

Sunset at the Hilton Waikoloa.  From a cozy house on the eastern tip of the island, I have moved to a plush, vast resort on the west side.  More pix later.

Surreal Lava Scenes

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is one of the more surreal spots on the planet.  Lush tropical vegetation thrives next to barren lava fields.  The landscape changes constantly due to the almost continuous volcanic activity.  The land is harsh, and fascinating.  This lava flowed from Mauna Ulu to the sea in the early 1970s.

Apua Point, from Holei Pali.  There is both a'a and pahoehoe lava here in abundance...the a'a is darker.  Before the flows in the 1970s reached the sea, and before 1868, there were several fishing villages on the coast far below.  Then in that year, a massive earthquake and tsunami wiped them out.

Lava cascaded down Holei Pali several times during Mauna Ulu's 1969-74 eruptions.  Must have been quite a spectacle as it happened, especially at night.

This is a harsh coastline.  Strong winds blow most of the time...they were on this day, as the whitecaps indicate.  The winds are hot, and sticky despite the aridity of the landscape.  Actually this area gets 40-50 inches of rain a year, but evaporation rates are higher than that.

The Holei sea arch.  Currently at the end of the Chain of Craters highway.  This arch will probably not last out the century.  It will either be buried by new lava flows, or collapsed by wind and water.

Wild Puna coast.  The waves can get massive...there's no land between here and Antarctica.

Windblown palms.

Glowering sky over the edge of Mauna Ulu's pahoehoe field.  Madam Pele spared the forest in the background.

Mordor?  Could be.  That's Halema'uma'u on the left, steaming since 2008, and for most of the two centuries before that.  The fissure in the lower right of the picture suddenly opened in 1974, spewing fountains of lava over the landscape and down into Kilauea crater.

A fern survives in the lava.

Ohelo berries in the cinders.  The berries are eaten by Nene, the rare Hawaiian geese.

Keanakakoi Crater.  Until 1877, this was used as a quarry by the ancient Hawaiians, who made adzes from the stone in the crater.  Then an eruption filled the crater with lava, covering the adze stone.  Another eruption in 1974 added more lava.

Back home at Orchid Elua, ripples on the swimming pond create an impressionist effect on the palms reflected in the water.

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Tropical storm Iselle made landfall right in our neighborhood in Kapoho, on the eastern tip of the Big Island of Hawaii.  This road used to pass through a beautiful tunnel of huge trees with branches spreading completely over the highway.  All gone. 

The falling trees and branches did a number on this guardrail!

Suz and I went to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden the other day.  We saw many lovely flowers, most of which I don't know by name.

A tranquil jungle waterfall in the garden.

Heliconia thrives in the gardens.

Big, beautiful leaves.

Gnarly vines.  Where's Tarzan?

There's an orchid section in the garden.  The Big Island is a world center for growing orchids.

Amazing leaf!  Looks like someone painted a fern in the middle.

Fine dappling of light and shadow.

Ferns abound in the Hawaiian jungle.  They range from tree ferns, like this one, to tiny plants growing out of the lava.

A fine protea.