Day 70: Big Island - Kona

To Kona

After 4 nights on the east coast, we moved today to the west coast, where we will stay another 4 nights. This split makes sense to easily reach all the stuff, because the Island is Big ;-)

First thing on the way was the Pana’ewa Zoo, which was close to Hilo. We didn’t like the Zoo too much, the cages felt old and were made of tightly meshed steel. The main attraction were clearly the Tigers, they also had pretty large space.

Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is the highest peak of Big Island (and Hawaii overall) with an impressive 4207 meters. It’s also the second highest peak of an island in the world (only beaten by Puncak Jaya on New Guinea). There is a road to the peak, but after the Visitor Center on 2804 meters, it’s an unpaved and dangerous roads.

Our first stop was the Visitor Center, where you should acclimate because of the nearly 3000 meter of elevation gain from sea level.

We thought about going to the top, but we knew that our rental car isn’t insured on unpaved roads and decided against to trying our luck. Maybe next time :)

Kona

As we reached Kona, it was too early to check in at our next stay. So we decided for a walk at the old airport strip, which was turned into a park and had a nice walking loop.

It was still cloudy, which always gives a special touch to the ocean.

Then it was time to check in, our stay for the next 4 nights is the Banyan Tree Sanctuary, close to Kona. It’s a Vegan community which also has some short term rental rooms, we weren’t fully sure what to expect, but ready for the adventure.

As we arrived, we were greeted by Benjamin which showed us quickly around the really beautiful land.

We were amazed by the beauty of the whole premises. It’s covered with different fruit plants, from Bananas, to Mangos and Papayas. And a lot of stuff we don’t know.

After enjoying the beauty, it was time for Dinner. We went to Izakaya Shiono Kona, which was good but not the best Ramen. Let’s say a 3.5/5.

With full bellies, we made our way to the shore front to see a bit more of Kona. We did a quick stroll along the ocean, which provided some nice views of the coast.

On our way back, we took an alternative route, because it looked more direct… We got baited by Google into a narrow unpaved road.

Pictures

Activities