Binoculars in hand, I trudge through the steeply sloping, coastal sandbanks of Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park just north of Kailua-Kona. Enroute to the inland Aimakapa Fishpond, one of the island’s last intact wetland areas, I pass opalescent ocean waters alive with early-morning activity. Tiny silvery fish agitate the otherwise flat surface and black spidery crabs, camouflaged […]
A cosmos of plankton swirls near my face as I breathe through my snorkel, making sounds not unlike Darth Vader. Tiny orange shrimp, just-hatched, staple-sized translucent larval fish and green algal blobs dance in front of my mask, all driven by internal instinct to the surface by a spotlight facing the seafloor. Beyond, blackness is
It’s not often that new eateries open up right off Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona. There, popular chains mix with pubs and long-standing Island stalwarts in a way that feels entirely predictable. So you can imagine my excitement when earlier this month Foster’s Kitchen, a new eatery promising locally sourced produce and a neighborly vibe opened
What’s better than a gourmet dinner seaside at sunset? A gourmet dinner seaside at sunset that includes a cocktail pairing, perhaps. Such an event, the “Dare to Pair, Spirited Dinner,” launched last month at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on Hawaii Island, and it was the first in what the property hopes will be a
There’s something life affirming about watching the creation of new land—oozing lava bubbling and hissing as it hardens against the sea. As the only Hawaiian Island with currently active volcanoes, Hawaii Island is the place to go to see this natural phenomenon in play (Maui’s Haleakala is considered active but hasn’t erupted since the 18th
Wander north of Kailua-Kona and you’ll quickly wonder where the buildings are. Vast lava flows, the ancient remnants from Hualalai volcano, are pocked by tufts of golden grass and extend for miles along the coast before meandering toward the resorts at Waikoloa. In front of you is Kohala, the oldest and only truly extinct volcano
If you’re heading to Mauna Kea for some star gazing and have a few hours to kill before sunset, head to Hawaii Island’s newest public trail amid the mountain’s dry forest. There, at 7,000 feet and within dwindling strands of native mamane forest, is your only chance to spot the critically endangered palila, a chubby yellow bird that is
A relative newcomer in the venerable art town of Holualoa, on the slopes of Hualalai behind Kailua-Kona, is the M. Field cottage a block south of the town’s main Mamalahoa Highway. Relative, because the gallery has occupied its space—the tiny, renovated 1920s-era Kona Bottling Works—for nearly two years (the adjacent Holualoa Gallery, has occupied its
Many of Kona’s most popular resorts—including Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows and the Fairmont Orchid—are tucked along the coast around Waikoloa. Surrounded for miles by empty black lava flows 19 miles north of the airport and 27 miles north of Kailua-Kona, Waikoloa’s location offers a
Though I’ve lived within walking distance of Kona Boys’ headquarters in Kealakekua’s high-elevation coffee country for almost a year, it was only recently, prompted by visiting family, that I popped in and signed up for its Morning Magic tour to the Captain Cook Monument. I’m so glad I did. The iconic monument, nestled into the
Kilauea’s latest lava flow—dubbed 61G, a 5-mile-long flow from Kilauea’s Puu Oo Cone to the southeast on Hawaii Island—has been causing quite a stir. The fiery lava finger points toward the sea within view of two relatively accessible viewing stations in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Kalapana. Hundreds, if not thousands, have flocked to see
It’s not often that I get to stay in hotels on my home Island, but when my husband’s work sent him to a conference at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, I jumped at the chance to join. I spent three leisurely days “working” by the pool, wandering the grounds and exploring surrounding Waikoloa. To call the
