Seriously, more Big Island?

Oh hey, I have some more pictures from the Big Island!  The really sad part about living in Hawaii is that it no longer feels like being on vacation in Maui.  Therefore, the Big Island was totally a va-ca for me!  Honestly I don't remember what I put in the last post, so I'm just going to throw a smattering of stuff here!

Kahili and I in a lava tube.  And yes, I'm wearing a Batman shirt.  I'm awesome.

Sunday we hung around with my friend Kahili, and her cousin.  He's a local of the Big Island, so they kinda played tour guide for us.  Monday Sheila and I were on our own, so we took advantage of all the rando touristy things I could dig up using my trusty guide book!  Basically this meant we hit up the Big Island Candies shop, and found several sweet waterfalls on our way back around the island.

I was trying really hard to find a large fallen leaf so I could take a "bannana leaf clothes" picture, but I could only find ones that were attached to living things.

 We "hiked" to this waterfall, meaning we walked down a state maintained path to see the beautiful Akaka waterfall.  We went to some other falls, but this was the most exciting one.

Sheila and I looking rather washed out due to my experimentation with my camera settings.

Akaka Falls.

Our final tourist destination was that of the Waipio Valley overlook.

This is Waipio valley.

This particular destination was a bit out of the way.  It required driving through some tiny little towns, and some less than ideal roads.  Also, the story behind this valley is a bit spooky.

 Apparently this place was once pretty important to the ancient Hawaiians.  It's an incredibly isolated little valley surrounded by steep cliffs on both sides, and a black sand beach.  It can only be accessed by four-wheel drive (or hiking).  Thousands of people once lived there cultivating the land until the great tsunami of 1946 washed away nearly everything.  The idea of being trapped in this little valley with a tsunami headed for you is just a little bit creepy to me...  Anyway, after that it went wild until a bunch of hippies trickled in during the 60s and 70s.  No water, no power, feuding neighbors, and a relatively hands-off police involvement.  Yep, it's an exciting place!

 The lookout above the valley was littered with signs warning away inexperienced drivers.  You're not even allowed to drive down without 4-wheel drive due to the steep grade.  I was actually in possession of a vehicle with 4-wheel drive, but I was too chicken to make the drive.  (Seriously, I was scared!)  So instead we just stood at the top and looked into the valley.  Much safer!

On the drive back from the valley to the main highway, Sheila and I finally decided it was time for lunch, so we stopped off for some local yumminess, and some malasadas.


I've become fond of the Revealed series of books, which apparently the locals dislike because a lot of the things they "reveal" are actually private property, or they are areas that tourists don't exactly treat with respect.

Anyway, after Waipio and lunch we realized we had a bit of time to spare, so we thought we'd go on a little adventure recommended by my Big Island Revealed book.  This took us very off the beaten path in search of caves.  Maybe not exactly the best idea I've ever had...  Regardless, after wandering around and driving past twice, we discovered the entrance to this little beauty literally right next to the road.  Looks small, right?

Think again!  The cave entrance was merely the opening into an entire series of lava tubes stretching for who knows how far under the mountain!  The only light we had thought to bring was the puny light on my iPhone, and Sheila didn't have any light source.  She was reluctant to follow me very far into the tubes without her own light, and I couldn't really blame her since it was literally pitch black in there.  I adventured back into the tube a ways, but honestly I started to freak myself out being in the pitch black alone.  I kept having this recurring thought of someone lurking in the dark waiting to steal my car keys and leave us stranded.  There was a lot of garbage left in the caves, which actually made me fearful that a hobo might be calling this creepy little cave his home.  This was actually one of the coolest places we visited, and I was totally kicking myself for not bringing a flashlight!

Anyway, we packed it up pretty quick and made our way back to Kona to return our sweet little truck, and make it to our flight.  The Big Island was gorgeous, and I'm really happy that I took the opportunity to visit!!