The Dawning of a New Day
Saturday February 22 dawned with a beautiful view of Sunrise from our Lanai at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. We took some time to enjoy the view, check out the "Hilton Cats" and take a leisurely walk to get to the lobby to pick up our car from the valet and head out to the southwest and southern parts of the Big Island. We took some time to admire a little more of the beautiful sights that the resort had to offer on our way!
Kailua Kona
Greenwell Farms
As we headed south from the resort, our first stop was in Kona at Greenwell Farms. This is a working farm that grows coffee and produces Kona Coffee. Now I am a Kona Coffee fan so when I found out that Greenwell Farms offers free tours with coffee tasting...I was in! We arrived at the Farm, parked and were able to join a tour within a few minutes of our arrival. Anne was our guide and she was very informative. We started by taking a look at some of the fruit trees on the property. There were avocados, and oranges and mangos and papaya. We even got a chance to try one of the apple bananas straight off the tree.
Next stop was the coffee trees. We were shown how the coffee was grown and then how it was processed and dried.
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| I had no idea that coffee grew on trees! |
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| This is where the coffee is processed as well as where other local farmers bring their coffee. |
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| The machines that process the coffee cherry |
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| The building where the coffee is dried |
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| The dried beans before roasting |
Once we had seen the coffee growing process we went back up to entrance area and got to do some coffee tasting. Coffee tasting is done without cream and sugar which was interesting since I am very much a cream and sugar girl! One of the guests asked if they could have some cream and sugar. It was explained that when you taste wine you don't add anything to it.....same with coffee you are tasting the bean and you can't do that with cream and sugar added. There was quite a selection of coffees to sample.
One of the selections was Peaberry. It was explained that a small percentage of coffee beans are "double beans" these are called Peaberry. They are slightly sweeter than regular coffee beans and make a delicious cup!
We also got to see a Cacao plant. This is where chocolate comes from! How fun is that?
The only warning I would give is to be careful of petting the animals on the farm. I petted a dog who had obviously rubbed up against a mango tree and then rubbed up against my legs. Turns out that the sap from mango trees as well as the skins of mangos have the same oil on them as poison ivy! Yep...that's right next day I had a horrible rash caused by the mango tree....
Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park
This was a stop that we just happened by on our way to find the Captain Cook Monument. This is a preserved area that was a safe haven for Kapu (Taboo) breakers. The 960 foot wall still stands. This is a self guided tour. We spent about 45 minutes here walking around. The views were beautiful.
There was a minimal charge to enter the park. It was an interesting way to spend some time learning some of the history of Hawaii. It's definitely worth a stop if you have a little time to look around.
Kealakekua Bay
From Puuhonua O Honanau National Historical Park we took the road back up north a little (it was a circle) to head to the Captain Cook Monument at Kealakekua Bay. This is a beautiful bay area that is great for snorkeling. The road to get there was interesting to say the least! It was a very narrow road and even a one-lane road in places with lots of twists and turns. If you have ever been on the Road to Hana in Maui...this was actually much worse!! Once you finally follow the bends you end up at the bay. Parking is a premium and there were lots of vehicles there. Be patient....some people are just there to see the monument and move along very quickly. 
The little white tower in the distance is the Captain Cook Monument. It's not really possible to get close to it but it was still worth the trip to see this beautiful area!
Ka Lae (South Point)
We continued on our southward journey and took a short detour off the main highway to get to Ka Lae...the southernmost point in the United States.
It took a little bit of time to get there but again the payoff was worth it! Once we arrived at the actual area, we found that parking was a bit of a challenge. There was no real parking lot...you just had to find a spot where you could.
Once we parked, it was a short walk to the cliff area.
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| The cliffs at Ka Lae |
Once the divers jump into the water they swim through the sea caves underneath
They work their way through the system and climb up through the sea cave to the opening on the top of the cliffs so they can repeat the process!
If you took the road the other way you went to the Green Sand Beach area. We drove over in that direction but since it was later in the afternoon by this time we decided not to do the 3 mile walk to the beach. We didn't realize that you could pay for someone to take you down and back until after we had left the area. Oh well....since it is one of only four green sand beaches in the entire world we just may have to go back! Always need a reason to return!
Punalu'u Beach
We had finally reached the end of our southern journey once we got to Punalu'u Beach. This was a Black Sand Beach that had easy access for the general public. There are many black sand beaches on this island but many are not easily accessed by the average tourist. We happened to be there at a time when there was a party going on in one of the pavilion areas so there were quite a few people at the beach. There is a general parking area which is close to the beach. Even with the crowds we were able to easily find parking. 
This is supposed to be an area where sea turtles can be found both in the waters or sunning themselves on the beach. We didn't happen to see any turtles the day we were there but it would definitely be worth a stop to see if they are out!
treat!
Back to the Resort
Once we finished up at the beach we began the drive back to the resort. It took us about 2-3 hours to drive back to the resort. This is the called the Big Island for a reason.
We made it back just in time to witness an absolutely gorgeous Hawaiian Sunset from our Lanai.
It just doesn't get better than this!
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