Page 100 - Hawaii: Diving, Surfing, Pearl Harbor, Volcanoes and More

KAILUA-KONA TO KEAUHOU INSERT HAWAII TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN If you’ve visited Eden
you would have an idea of how beautiful this garden is. Between the
KAILUA-KONA TOWN This is not only the major tourist center for crashing surf and the thundering waterfalls, these 40 acres have the
the Big Island, with the Kona Airport just up the highway, but it is also world’s largest collection of tropical plants.
the major cruise ship destination. People love Kailua-Kona because it
is blessed with warm and dry weather, thanks to towering volcanoes LELEIWI BEACH Hilo’s best shore dive has six lava arches, large
holding back the moisture-laden trade-winds. Kailua-Kona has great coral heads, green sea turtles and dolphins. Good for snorkeling or
shopping, wonderful luaus, restaurants, world-class resorts, hotels, scuba.
plus Hawaiian history and culture. Numerous tours and activities are
based here, and the town is a good point from which to explore and HILO Hawaii’s second largest city is said to be “The Soul of the Big
experience Hawaii, The Big Island. Island.” Hilo is a major cruise ship port of entry, and boasts an in-
ternational airport. There are great hotels, shopping and restaurants
HILO AREA INSERT on Banyan Drive fronting Hilo Bay. Tall mountains and trade-winds
create lush, green tropical rainforest weather, also making Hilo the
LILIUOKALANI GARDENS The largest formal Japanese garden rainiest city in the United States. Hilo’s paradise has historically been
outside of Tokyo has bonsai, carp ponds, and pagodas. Coconut Is- interrupted by natural disasters including tsunamis, volcanic earth-
land has a palm that measures recent tsunamis. quakes, and near-miss lava flows.
BANYAN DRIVE Huge banyans thrive in Hilo’s rain. Planted in the AKAKA FALLS One of Hawaii’s most scenic waterfalls is seen via an
1930s by celebrities, such as Amelia Earhart & Babe Ruth. easy paved path through the rain forest and down to an observation
point. The view of the 442 ft. (135m) Akaka Falls is gorgeous, espe-
NAHA STONE 14 year-old King Kamehameha moved this 2.5-ton cially after a heavy rain. Nearby Kahuna Falls cascades 400 (124m),
stone, and later fulfilled the destiny of he who moved the stone as the but it is a more difficult walk with many stair steps.
one to conquer and unite the Hawaiian Islands.
RAINBOW FALLS This 80 ft. (24m) falls spills into a natural pool
PACIFIC TSUNAMI MUSEUM Experience Hawaiian hospitality as surrounded with wild ginger. Morning sunshine makes beautiful
docents take you thru exhibits with dramatic pictures, videos and rainbows in the mist. Legend is that Hina, the mother of Maui, lives
amazing survivor accounts of Hawaii’s devastating tsunamis. 130 in the cave behind the falls. Upstream is BOILING POTS, which are
Kamehameha Ave. (808) 935-0926 bubbling rapids as the river races toward the falls.
ONOMEA SCENIC DRIVE Four miles of the “old road” shows you
lovely Onomea Bay, and some of Hawaii’s most lush valleys.