Aloha and welcome to my Island life blog, today I’m gonna open up on some must see spots in Hawaii,  around the island and I’ll try not to overwhelm you. So here’s three spots I love around the Big Island. 

   Starting off is Akaka Falls, way down in Hilo. Akaka Falls is a beautiful waterfall and a well known tourist spot in Hilo. There’s no barrel drops or tours to the bottom, I don’t think so, but it’s still a great spot to check out and bring the family… or dogs. There’s picnic tables around so it’s encouraged to bring some sandwiches and bento bowls and enjoy the amazing view. I’ve only ever gone once myself and it was raining and windy, but that only made it so much better, because when the rain cleared there was a huge colorful rainbow clashing with the waterfall. We took a lot of great pictures and finished the day at an Italian place down the road. There’s a lot of waterfalls in the world, but not all of them are so conveniently located near other attractions. So please come on down to Hilo and check out Akaka Falls; you won’t regret it and besides it’ll be a lot of fun! Oh, and don’t forget to pack a rain jacket, it rains every 20 minutes over there. If you haven’t been over there, then go check it out ASAP. 

   Next on my list is going to be Pololu Valley, a nice quaint valley up in North Kohala. One side of the valley features a hiking trail to take you down with very little parking and many warning signs; and the other side has an overlook to see all the little people way down below and a great view of the bay. While the hike is very tedious and tiring, it’s well worth it when you get down below. Because there’s a beautiful black sand beach down below with lots of rocks, so be careful. In addition there’s also a long river and a kind of deep lake connecting to the beach; alongside that is two little forests and one of them has a whole lot of rope swings. All the swings are perfectly stable and safe.. To an extent. Keep an eye out though just in case.  When we were little we would always go down there and go crazy on those swings and roll down the hills and play hide and seek; it’s really like a huge natural playground. It’s ok to let your inner child show every once and a while. Even if you don’t stay for too long; I’ll have you know that there’s a lot of little shops and ice cream places nearby. After all, everyone loves a good ice cream cone every now and then. So if you’re into hiking or wanting a new adventure; head on over to North Kohala and seek out Pololu Valley; it’ll be a great adventure and fun for the kids too. Watch out for the cliffs though.

   Onto my third and final special spot everyone’s probably thought of when they came to visit Hawaii.. “Lets visit the Volcano”. The Big island is home to five volcanoes and one of which happens to be home to a National Park; Volcano National Park. About an hour long drive south past Captain Cook, and on your left. This national park is home to a lot of fun adventures and camping grounds and many visitor centers and army bases and all of that fun stuff. I recommend you swing by the Bird Museum, if that’s what it’s called. It houses many indigenous species of birds and will tell you all about them, just entering the building feels like you’ve walked into a lush forest flush with birds. There’s also the sulfur fields too! Driving by if you don’t know what sulfur is or have never smelled it, it smells like warm rotted eggs. You won’t really be anywhere near the sulfur itself, but there’s steam vents everywhere that pump the smell to the surface and create a fun warm vent to stand in front of to feel warm for a bit. Believe it or not, but Volcano is actually one of the coldest places on the island, you would think it would’ve been hot because of the lava. Nope. There’s so many open areas and free airflow that blow the cold air right on through, not to mention all the preserved plants forming a super healthy and colorful landscape with lots of jungle forests and lava tubes. The area is very hydrated and it’s not often that anyone would get too hot over there. My personal favorite thing about the Volcano National Park is the visitor’s center at night. It overlooks the Kilauea crater and of course it spews some lava way off in the distance; but at night it glows like a road flare in a vast ocean of light. It’s a really beautiful sight and the main reason I would stay in the park till the later hours, It’s really something. 

Thank you for tuning into this week’s blog post, it means a lot to us that people read in on this and ask questions to help me write up more content for everyone visiting the island or moving here too. Feel free to tune in next week for another post. Thanks again!

 

Aloha, 

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