DATE: Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Today was a pretty hard day with a lot of driving and not a lot of sightseeing. The Big Island is just that…big! So we just had to spend most of the time in the car to see anything on this part of the island.

We started heading toward Pohoiki Beach by taking Pohoiki Road out of Pahoa, just south of us. I was pretty sure we could not access the beach by this road since it had been covered by lava in 2018, but we wanted to see it for ourselves. It’s not something we get to see every day in Indiana.

From there, the goal was to spend some more time on a black sand beach this morning. Somewhat nearby Kehena Beach Park was nearby, so we headed there. Once we got there, we had a little trouble finding it but eventually did. The Big Island doesn’t really have long stretches of beaches like Oahu does, primarily (from what I’m told) because the coastlines are so relatively new and haven’t had a chance to erode into a beach yet. The beach was accessible by a trail going down switchbacks on the side of a cliff. But we didn’t make it far. Apparently, it was Nudist Day at this beach from what we could gather. So, moving on (without any pictures).

We drove south to Kalapana Beach. Once we got there, it it didn’t look like a good place to set up camp. It had a “locals only” kinda vibe. So we kept going. There wasn’t much else around there, so we decided to start to head to South Point (the southern most tip of the United States) and find a beach along the way. It would be a 2-hour drive to get there from Kalapana.

Along the way, we were lucky to stumble on a black sand beach called Punalu’u so we decided to spread out the towels and get some sun. We weren’t there too long, but long enough for some of us to get sunburned in the intense Hawaii sun. There were sea turtles basking in a protected part of the beach, which were fun to see.

Because of the driving, we weren’t there too long before we had to find someplace for lunch before it closed. We drove south a few miles to a little town called Naalehu for lunch at Hana Hou, which means “try again.” As in, try your debit card again because I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to be paying this much for lunch.

After lunch, we headed toward South Point on a 20-minute drive. The spot is located where miles and miles of green rolling hills meet the shoreline. We’d seen videos of people who jump off of the 30 to 40 foot cliff here into the deep-blue ocean and then climb a ladder to do it again. The boys were looking forward to that. However, fairly recently, the bottom of the ladder had rusted off and fell in, leaving no way to get back up once you’ve jumped in. So, no jumping.  It was beautiful to see nonetheless.

Also, in this area (just a 4-minute drive away!) was one of earth’s rare green-sand beaches, Papakōlea. So, while we’re here, we might has well see it! Like everything else going on with this day, there was a catch. There was parking set up at the trailhead (trailhead?) with some unofficial-looking locals directing traffic, AND providing 17-minute rides out to the beach for $20 per person. Otherwise, it was an hour and a half, 3-mile hike to the beach. Surprise!

So, we opted to send Seth along with Vivian on a truck (Vivian would have never made this hike) while the rest of us started on the trek. It was a nice hike along the coastline for the most part. None of us had really prepared to hike, though, wearing our aqua socks. My water shoes were second-hand from Goodwill, and they had started falling apart during the day, so that added another challenge for me.

Once we got there, it was an amazing sight. It’ll be a rare chance to see green sand again in our lifetime. However, as soon as we got there and joined Seth and Vivian, we were met with questions from people on their truck about where they were! A party on their truck had to get back and catch a flight so everyone on their truck had to cut their experience short and head back. I ended up taking Vivian back on the truck mostly because of my shoe, but also as to not leave Seth and Vivian alone for so long. So close to seeing one of the earth’s rarities, and I didn’t even get to enjoy it. Vivian and I rode back and waited. It was well after dark before the rest of them got back.

From South Point, it was an hour and 45 minute drive back to our place. Most everybody slept on the way back. It was a long, tough day.