Hawaii Big Island for New Year. BA, AA, US in J & F
Jan 21, 2015, 3:44 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: London
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,644
Hawaii Big Island for New Year. BA, AA, US in J & F
Hawaii for New Year. BA, AA, US in Business and First
Back in late November, BA announced an excellent “2 for £2014” fare to a tranche of international destinations in Business Class (Club World). Dates were limited to over Christmas and New Year, and despite the catchy sale title, a single ticket could be bought for £1007 (~USD 1550). Destinations were numerous, covering most of the BA network. I was busy over Christmas, but had plenty of time over New Year. Why join the crowds trying to see the fireworks in London in the cold and rain, when I can be sat somewhere hot watching the fireworks?
I initially thought of heading down to Brazil or South Africa, and found flights to GRU and CPT. However, after a quick check of Flyertalk I realised that AA were selling the same tickets, and the price was valid to basically everyone on the domestic AA network. I started thinking about my status on BA (currently a lowly Bronze/Ruby) and realised that a trip to Hawaii would earn me nearly enough for BA Gold (One World Emerald), as well as earning a load of Avios. A New Year trip to Hawaii sounded awfully tempting. I booked the same afternoon on aa.com.
My flights were as follows:
BA 191 LHR-AUS B787
AA 1167 AUS-LAX MD80
(overnight in LAX)
AA 59 LAX-KOA B757
New Year in Hawaii!
US 664 KOA-PHX B757
US 425 PHX-JFK A321
BA 174 JFK-LHR B744
Courtesy of GC Mapper
The international legs were in BA’s Club World (CW), and the domestic sectors in AA and US First Class. I’d heard generally good things about CW, and generally bad things about AA/US First. I’d previously tried none of the products, but was keen to get some first-hand experience.
D-Day! Hawaii Time
I arrived in LHR with just over 2 hours before departure. Whilst this is partly a mileage run for my BAEC account, I already had an Emerald card with Qatar Airways. With this card, I was able to use the First Class desks, which had no queue. My bag was tagged though to Kona, with the knowledge that I’d have to pick it up in Austin anyway.
By the time my bag was tagged, and I was heading to security, the queue at the F desks had grown from zero to around 20 people – great timing to miss the queue!
My first stop once airside was to try and make a booking for an Elemis treatment (free for F and CW passengers). The only treatment was at the lounge by the B gates, and due to finish just before my gate closed….cutting a little fine, but I like living on the edge!
After a pleasant hour in the First Class lounge in Pier A, I caught the transit over to Pier B, and headed up to the lounge. When I arrived, there were staff doing nothing, so I was able to start my treatment earlier.
I had a 15 minute back massage – very pleasant, and a nice way to combine a relaxing massage with a bit of plane spotting!
I was a little surprised to see a B744 parked at the AUS gate. Sadly, there wasn’t an equipment change – we’d be bussed to our 787.
Flight 1: BA 191
London (LHR) – Austin (AUS)
Scheduled: 1145-1605 (10h20m)
Actual: 1259-1639 (9h40m)
Boeing 787-8 G-ZBJE
I’d missed the first bus, but caught the second. The 787 looks very space agey from the front. This would be my 6th 787 operator (already flown AI, QR, JL, LA & DY). G-ZBJE for us today, an 8 month old veteran.
The CW section on the 787 is split into a 3 and a 2 row cabin, with 7 seats across in each. I had a rearward facing window. You get a nice view of the bendy wing from here.
Nice spacious cabin. Thankfully there was no one sat next to me, or in the aisle seat across the way.
Departure was delayed by having to wait for deicing. We finally took off over an hour late.
A G&T with a film (Bad Neighbours)
We’re progressing northwards
Lunch is a choice of tiger prawns or a couscous salad for starters. I go with the prawns, which are delicious. The salad as some very sweet red pepper like things in it…they’re excellent too. Rounding off the start is a choice of bread. Not pictured is a slice of focaccia – definitely the best bread product I’ve had on the plane. I mention this to the purser – she says she was up cooking it since dawn. The crew were very friendly
There are four main course choices: beef with cauliflower, chicken tikka masala, mushroom and truffle pasta, and a salmon salad. I go with the beef, which is without complaint.
The meal is rounded off with a salted toffee and chocolate torte. Yum.
After lunch, a lack of sleep the night before catches up, and I have a pleasant few hours’ snooze. As I mentioned before, this was my first CW flight. I thought the seats were very comfortable to sit and sleep in, and were an innovative use of space, squeezing so many flatbed seats into a relatively small space. I did think, however, that there was a severe lack of storage space though, with there being just one small tray at foot level. As there was no one in the aisle seat, I was able to keep the partition open and store stuff there. On a full flight, where would you your stuff?!
Mood lights on as the cruise over Canada after my sleep.
Around 90 minutes before landing in Austin, afternoon tea was service. There is a selection of (packaged) sandwiches, some petit fours, and a couple rounds of scones with clotted cream and jam. Tasty.
Cruising into a grim looking AUS
Just a little behind schedule, we touch down in Austin. Welcome to Texas. Door 2 was used, and I was one of the first off. I had a healthy three hour connection before my Maddog flight to LAX, so I wasn’t too worried about immigration.
AUS has a very odd layout, whereby baggage reclaim is before immigration. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. If you have hand luggage and are off quickly, it’s great. If you have hold luggage, you risk being stuck in a very long queue for immigration if your bag isn’t one of the first out.
Despite AUS only having a handful of international flights, it seemed we had landed just minutes after a Southwest flight from the Caribbean. There was a woman yelling for US citizens to join the queue on the right, and for “others” to just stand around idly. I was a little confused at first. After half an hour it became clear. US passengers have to all queue for some entry machine (4 machines for ~300 people) before they got their bags, and then go to have their passports checked at a special desk afterwards. Others have to just go to the regular manned booths after they collected their bags.
Unfortunately, the week old baggage handling system couldn’t cope with doing its job, and so it took around 45 minutes for the first BA bags to appear on the carousel. My bag was one of the first out, and all the SW passengers had since been processed. Within 5 minutes of getting my bag, I was upstairs at the AA check in desks.
I was processed (best work I can think of for the efficient and robotic check in procedure) quickly, had my bags retagged, and was sent on my way through security. The AA lounge in AUS was quiet, with only a handful of other people. I got a beer, and settled down on the wifi for a few hours.
Flight 2: AA 1167
Austin (AUS) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Scheduled: 1945-2100 (3h15m)
Actual: 2000-2123 (3h23m)
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 N970TW
This evenings AUS-LAX flight was operated by a 15 year old ex-TWA machine. The First cabin was dark and dreary (sorry, no photos), and fully booked.
On this sector I’d prebooked the teriyaki beef option, which was surprisingly tasty.
The f/a looked rather strict and unapproachable, but warmed up a little in flight, and seemed happy to pass out further drinks.
We touched down a few minutes late into a very wet and cold (for LA) evening. According to the flight deck, a massive storm had just passed through, and as such, there were a lot of departure delays, which in turn meant that all the gates were occupied. We spent 45 minutes sat opposite the terminal, before finally being able to get a space.
With my bag checked through to Kona, I was able to go straight outside, and onto the hotel bus. I’d booked an “Express Deal” via Priceline, and ended up with a very acceptable room at the Wingate By Wyndham.
By the time I got to my room, it was 2230 LA time, 0630 London time. Yawn. Time for bed.
After a good nights sleep, I was on the 7am shuttle back to LAX. The queue for security was long, but it moved fairly quickly, and I was airside within 15 minutes.
Thanks to my QR Emerald card, I was able to get into the Flagship lounge. Compared to the standard USA lounge, this was much more in keeping with International travel. There were a good range of drinks (self pour), and a nice hot breakfast. The view wasn’t bad either:
I managed to time my arrival at the gate perfectly, as First Class was just boarding.
Flight 3: AA 59
Los Angeles (LAX) – Kona (KOA)
Scheduled: 0840-1230 (3h50m)
Actual: 0857-1232 (5h35m)
Boeing 757-223 N691AA
My view
There were two bubbly crew in First today. PDB were in the form of OJ, sparkling wine, or a Buck’s Fizz (mimosa in American). The fold out tray from the back of the row in front is very handy
A taster of the destination
LAX
Last sight of land for the next five hours of so
I thought I’d kick the flight off with a G&T.
Followed by tropical warm nuts
My pre-ordered breakfast was an omelette with potatoes and sausage. It was pretty good, and had a lot more flavour than the normal ubiquitous airline omelette. I’ll attribute that to the sausage. I think the other choice was muesli.
Cabin in “Hawaii” mode. I think a film was shown on the overheads. I’m surprised that First weren’t offered portable IFE devices for such a long flight.
The crew were good at coming through the cabin and offering drinks. I asked for a Cooke Zero without ice (us Europeans prefer to get a glass of drink, not a frozen face). This is what arrived:
One gulp later, and I’m left staring at a glass full of the stuff. What’s the point?! That really is a stupid amount of ice.
Towards the end of the flight, the crew came around again with warm cookies and glasses of milk. I pass on the milk, but the cookies are really good.
Finally, we begin our approach into Kona. It’s great to see land again. The islands are so majestic, rising out of the ocean.
KOA
We touch down just two minutes late, next to a lei’d up eskimo
KOA is an “outdoor” airport (i.e. basically a collection of thatched buildings without walls, interspersed with courtyards full of seating). Baggage reclaim takes a while, but thankfully my bag survived it’s overnight connection in LAX. I’ve made it to Hawaii!!
I’ll leave this part here. Part 2 with some Hawaiian photos will be up soon hopefully
Back in late November, BA announced an excellent “2 for £2014” fare to a tranche of international destinations in Business Class (Club World). Dates were limited to over Christmas and New Year, and despite the catchy sale title, a single ticket could be bought for £1007 (~USD 1550). Destinations were numerous, covering most of the BA network. I was busy over Christmas, but had plenty of time over New Year. Why join the crowds trying to see the fireworks in London in the cold and rain, when I can be sat somewhere hot watching the fireworks?
I initially thought of heading down to Brazil or South Africa, and found flights to GRU and CPT. However, after a quick check of Flyertalk I realised that AA were selling the same tickets, and the price was valid to basically everyone on the domestic AA network. I started thinking about my status on BA (currently a lowly Bronze/Ruby) and realised that a trip to Hawaii would earn me nearly enough for BA Gold (One World Emerald), as well as earning a load of Avios. A New Year trip to Hawaii sounded awfully tempting. I booked the same afternoon on aa.com.
My flights were as follows:
BA 191 LHR-AUS B787
AA 1167 AUS-LAX MD80
(overnight in LAX)
AA 59 LAX-KOA B757
New Year in Hawaii!
US 664 KOA-PHX B757
US 425 PHX-JFK A321
BA 174 JFK-LHR B744
Courtesy of GC Mapper
The international legs were in BA’s Club World (CW), and the domestic sectors in AA and US First Class. I’d heard generally good things about CW, and generally bad things about AA/US First. I’d previously tried none of the products, but was keen to get some first-hand experience.
D-Day! Hawaii Time
I arrived in LHR with just over 2 hours before departure. Whilst this is partly a mileage run for my BAEC account, I already had an Emerald card with Qatar Airways. With this card, I was able to use the First Class desks, which had no queue. My bag was tagged though to Kona, with the knowledge that I’d have to pick it up in Austin anyway.
By the time my bag was tagged, and I was heading to security, the queue at the F desks had grown from zero to around 20 people – great timing to miss the queue!
My first stop once airside was to try and make a booking for an Elemis treatment (free for F and CW passengers). The only treatment was at the lounge by the B gates, and due to finish just before my gate closed….cutting a little fine, but I like living on the edge!
After a pleasant hour in the First Class lounge in Pier A, I caught the transit over to Pier B, and headed up to the lounge. When I arrived, there were staff doing nothing, so I was able to start my treatment earlier.
I had a 15 minute back massage – very pleasant, and a nice way to combine a relaxing massage with a bit of plane spotting!
I was a little surprised to see a B744 parked at the AUS gate. Sadly, there wasn’t an equipment change – we’d be bussed to our 787.
Flight 1: BA 191
London (LHR) – Austin (AUS)
Scheduled: 1145-1605 (10h20m)
Actual: 1259-1639 (9h40m)
Boeing 787-8 G-ZBJE
I’d missed the first bus, but caught the second. The 787 looks very space agey from the front. This would be my 6th 787 operator (already flown AI, QR, JL, LA & DY). G-ZBJE for us today, an 8 month old veteran.
The CW section on the 787 is split into a 3 and a 2 row cabin, with 7 seats across in each. I had a rearward facing window. You get a nice view of the bendy wing from here.
Nice spacious cabin. Thankfully there was no one sat next to me, or in the aisle seat across the way.
Departure was delayed by having to wait for deicing. We finally took off over an hour late.
A G&T with a film (Bad Neighbours)
We’re progressing northwards
Lunch is a choice of tiger prawns or a couscous salad for starters. I go with the prawns, which are delicious. The salad as some very sweet red pepper like things in it…they’re excellent too. Rounding off the start is a choice of bread. Not pictured is a slice of focaccia – definitely the best bread product I’ve had on the plane. I mention this to the purser – she says she was up cooking it since dawn. The crew were very friendly
There are four main course choices: beef with cauliflower, chicken tikka masala, mushroom and truffle pasta, and a salmon salad. I go with the beef, which is without complaint.
The meal is rounded off with a salted toffee and chocolate torte. Yum.
After lunch, a lack of sleep the night before catches up, and I have a pleasant few hours’ snooze. As I mentioned before, this was my first CW flight. I thought the seats were very comfortable to sit and sleep in, and were an innovative use of space, squeezing so many flatbed seats into a relatively small space. I did think, however, that there was a severe lack of storage space though, with there being just one small tray at foot level. As there was no one in the aisle seat, I was able to keep the partition open and store stuff there. On a full flight, where would you your stuff?!
Mood lights on as the cruise over Canada after my sleep.
Around 90 minutes before landing in Austin, afternoon tea was service. There is a selection of (packaged) sandwiches, some petit fours, and a couple rounds of scones with clotted cream and jam. Tasty.
Cruising into a grim looking AUS
Just a little behind schedule, we touch down in Austin. Welcome to Texas. Door 2 was used, and I was one of the first off. I had a healthy three hour connection before my Maddog flight to LAX, so I wasn’t too worried about immigration.
AUS has a very odd layout, whereby baggage reclaim is before immigration. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. If you have hand luggage and are off quickly, it’s great. If you have hold luggage, you risk being stuck in a very long queue for immigration if your bag isn’t one of the first out.
Despite AUS only having a handful of international flights, it seemed we had landed just minutes after a Southwest flight from the Caribbean. There was a woman yelling for US citizens to join the queue on the right, and for “others” to just stand around idly. I was a little confused at first. After half an hour it became clear. US passengers have to all queue for some entry machine (4 machines for ~300 people) before they got their bags, and then go to have their passports checked at a special desk afterwards. Others have to just go to the regular manned booths after they collected their bags.
Unfortunately, the week old baggage handling system couldn’t cope with doing its job, and so it took around 45 minutes for the first BA bags to appear on the carousel. My bag was one of the first out, and all the SW passengers had since been processed. Within 5 minutes of getting my bag, I was upstairs at the AA check in desks.
I was processed (best work I can think of for the efficient and robotic check in procedure) quickly, had my bags retagged, and was sent on my way through security. The AA lounge in AUS was quiet, with only a handful of other people. I got a beer, and settled down on the wifi for a few hours.
Flight 2: AA 1167
Austin (AUS) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Scheduled: 1945-2100 (3h15m)
Actual: 2000-2123 (3h23m)
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 N970TW
This evenings AUS-LAX flight was operated by a 15 year old ex-TWA machine. The First cabin was dark and dreary (sorry, no photos), and fully booked.
On this sector I’d prebooked the teriyaki beef option, which was surprisingly tasty.
The f/a looked rather strict and unapproachable, but warmed up a little in flight, and seemed happy to pass out further drinks.
We touched down a few minutes late into a very wet and cold (for LA) evening. According to the flight deck, a massive storm had just passed through, and as such, there were a lot of departure delays, which in turn meant that all the gates were occupied. We spent 45 minutes sat opposite the terminal, before finally being able to get a space.
With my bag checked through to Kona, I was able to go straight outside, and onto the hotel bus. I’d booked an “Express Deal” via Priceline, and ended up with a very acceptable room at the Wingate By Wyndham.
By the time I got to my room, it was 2230 LA time, 0630 London time. Yawn. Time for bed.
After a good nights sleep, I was on the 7am shuttle back to LAX. The queue for security was long, but it moved fairly quickly, and I was airside within 15 minutes.
Thanks to my QR Emerald card, I was able to get into the Flagship lounge. Compared to the standard USA lounge, this was much more in keeping with International travel. There were a good range of drinks (self pour), and a nice hot breakfast. The view wasn’t bad either:
I managed to time my arrival at the gate perfectly, as First Class was just boarding.
Flight 3: AA 59
Los Angeles (LAX) – Kona (KOA)
Scheduled: 0840-1230 (3h50m)
Actual: 0857-1232 (5h35m)
Boeing 757-223 N691AA
My view
There were two bubbly crew in First today. PDB were in the form of OJ, sparkling wine, or a Buck’s Fizz (mimosa in American). The fold out tray from the back of the row in front is very handy
A taster of the destination
LAX
Last sight of land for the next five hours of so
I thought I’d kick the flight off with a G&T.
Followed by tropical warm nuts
My pre-ordered breakfast was an omelette with potatoes and sausage. It was pretty good, and had a lot more flavour than the normal ubiquitous airline omelette. I’ll attribute that to the sausage. I think the other choice was muesli.
Cabin in “Hawaii” mode. I think a film was shown on the overheads. I’m surprised that First weren’t offered portable IFE devices for such a long flight.
The crew were good at coming through the cabin and offering drinks. I asked for a Cooke Zero without ice (us Europeans prefer to get a glass of drink, not a frozen face). This is what arrived:
One gulp later, and I’m left staring at a glass full of the stuff. What’s the point?! That really is a stupid amount of ice.
Towards the end of the flight, the crew came around again with warm cookies and glasses of milk. I pass on the milk, but the cookies are really good.
Finally, we begin our approach into Kona. It’s great to see land again. The islands are so majestic, rising out of the ocean.
KOA
We touch down just two minutes late, next to a lei’d up eskimo
KOA is an “outdoor” airport (i.e. basically a collection of thatched buildings without walls, interspersed with courtyards full of seating). Baggage reclaim takes a while, but thankfully my bag survived it’s overnight connection in LAX. I’ve made it to Hawaii!!
I’ll leave this part here. Part 2 with some Hawaiian photos will be up soon hopefully
Jan 23, 2015, 3:55 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: London
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,644
Thanks everyone for the comments so far Hopefully i'll get the Hawaii photos up this afternoon.
Yes, this is how they do it. I guess it keeps them fresh, although in a quiet cabin, i'm sure they could take them out of the packet for you. The rest of the catering is all served properly.
Hopefully i'll get the Hawaii photos up this afternoon.Yes, this is how they do it. I guess it keeps them fresh, although in a quiet cabin, i'm sure they could take them out of the packet for you. The rest of the catering is all served properly.
Jan 23, 2015, 6:41 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: AA EXP/LTP, BA GGL/CCR/GfL, HH D/LTD, SPG/MR Plat/LTP
Posts: 10,076
Great start of your TR, with nice pics.
Just a word of caution - Even though you are OWE with QR, calling the afternoon service with packaged sandwiches+tea+scones tasty, might lead to someone calling you a BA Apologist.
Looking forward to the rest...
Just a word of caution - Even though you are OWE with QR, calling the afternoon service with packaged sandwiches+tea+scones tasty, might lead to someone calling you a BA Apologist.
Looking forward to the rest...
Jan 23, 2015, 9:09 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: London
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,644
It's not classy, but it was tasty
Jan 23, 2015, 10:21 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BA Gold, *A Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 654
Hi there Gab, nice to read one of your reports again after many months! Your BA flight seemed comparable to the one I had back from YYZ over new year. Although as I was on a sleeper service, the meal service was lacking in comparison.
Your AA flight looked more or less the same as my handful of them over the summer - basic! Even though your sector was a little longer than any of mine. Did you find the G+T on AA a little on the strong side? Or was it just the crew member on my flight that seemed to make it with 2/3rd gin?!
Looking forward to seeing the following parts.
Your AA flight looked more or less the same as my handful of them over the summer - basic! Even though your sector was a little longer than any of mine. Did you find the G+T on AA a little on the strong side? Or was it just the crew member on my flight that seemed to make it with 2/3rd gin?!
Looking forward to seeing the following parts.
Jan 23, 2015, 2:08 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: London
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,644
I guess on the Sleeper service they don't proactively try and feed you much. No preflight dining? On the AUS-LAX I think I must have got a G&T and found it very strong, as on the LAX-KOA flight I specifically asked for it "not too strong". It came just as ice, tonic, and a full miniature Perfect
Perfect
Jan 23, 2015, 2:20 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: London
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,644
Hawaii for New Year. Photos from the Big Island
For my week in Hawaii State, I thought I’d stick to just the big island, rather than fly over to some of the other islands. Once I started to research things to do, I realised quite how much Hawaii had to offer. I decided on spending my first few days and New Year in Kona town, before spending a night in Naalehu (the USA’s southernmost town), then a few nights in Volcano Village, before heading back over the big Volcano to Kona Airport.
My route map, courtesy of Google Maps and Paint
The only reasonable (price vs. quality vs. convenience) accommodation I could find for a relatively last minute New Year stay was the Kona Seaside Hotel. After I paid an extra $20 (plus tax (grrr, why don’t American’s include tax in price they give?)) to upgrade to a top floor seaview, I thought the hotel was perfectly acceptable. I had a great view over the famous Kona pier, across the town, and up the volcano heading inland.
The Seaview in the background, taken from the pier
Aloha 2014 sunset at the pier!
The water just off the pier had some pretty good snorkelling
Sadly, the New Year fireworks were not a centrally-organised thing this year. After a 3 hour jet-lag induced pre-midnight siesta, I woke at 2345 to have a beer on the balcony. As the clock struck midnight, there was a haphazard firework display of private events going off across the town. This is the best photo I got. It scored low on the “wow, amazing New Year” factor, but was probably still preferable to the crowds in London.
For New Year day, I booked a morning whale watching and dolphin swimming trip. We spotted quite a few whales, but after nearly three hours of cruising up and down the coast, the guide admitted defeat, putting us into the ~1% of tours that didn’t spot a dolphin. Amazingly, just as we were pulling back into the harbour, a pod appeared. Hurrah! I donned my snorkelling gear, and jumped in.
Whales. A few whales breached, but of course I didn’t get any decent photos
Swimming with dolphins. I took these with my underwater camera, so the above water ones are blurry, and the below water one is just vague. Never mind! Great experience anyway, and not a normal New Year activity in London!
I hired a car through Budget. I’d had bad experiences with them in Cyprus and Dublin, but the staff in Kona seemed a lot better. I was persuaded to upgrade to a Jeep convertible (with only 700 miles on the clock). The car was nice, but man, getting the top off was such an effort, I only took it half down in the 5 days I had the car. Compared to the Mustang convertible I had in LA in October, this was a right pain. DON’T GET A CONVERTIBLE JEEP! I saw quite a few Jeeps driving around the island, ALL with the top up. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t be bothered with the faff of getting it off (and worse, zipping the thing back up).
My first stop after Kona was old Hawaiian cultural site of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau. It was interesting to look around
I even spotted some sea turtles off the beach
And some colourful feathered friends
From there, I drove down the coast, over some areas that had once (early 1900’s?) been a lava flow from Mauna Kea.
The bottom left corner of the Big Island is actually the south western most point of the USA. It was pretty windy down there
My home for the night was an old B&B in Naalehu, the Southernmost town in the USA. There isn’t much to say about the place! Small and quiet. Shaka, the USA’s southernmost bar, served a nice pint of Kona, and a good fish and chips.
That evening there was a massive storm, which knocked out the electricity to quite a few towns, as well as blowing down a fair amount of foliage, blocking a few roads. The next day, whilst the wind was still pretty strong, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining, so at least in English eyes, it was perfect day
The road down to black sand beach was spectacular
I was half planning to go for a swim, but it was pretty cold and windy. There was a very strong off shore breeze, which made wave watching interesting.
There’s a wide variety of accommodation in Volcano village. I ended up in a lovely little cottage at the Enchanted Rainforest Cottages. Despite being only 3-4 mins drive to the centre of the village, and 10 to the park entrance, it felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. It was perfect. And yes, that is a real fireplace. Very cosy.
The Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is home to the small (but still active) Kīlauea volcano. If you like walking and exploring, this is an excellent place to visit. There are loads of trails of various difficulty throughout the park, and lots of amazing views of the volcanoes and shoreline.
This is the main crater – still smoking! There’s lava bubbling away inside, but you can only see the reflection at night
What a glow!
All though the park are vents and sulphur banks
Chain of Craters road runs down to the coastline
Off the main road are some 800 year old petroglyphs
Probably the most popular (and best) trail in the park is the 4 mile long Kīlauea Iki Trail. It follows a forested trail along a crater rim, before going down across a cooled 1959 lava lake
The Thurston Lava Tube
My next walk was around Mauna Ulu. I was following a group of people, and I think we went quite off the route as we ended up near the top. It was amazing to see, but I’m quite sure it was fairly dangerous up there!
On my final morning, I walked along Devastation Trail. The views up to Mauna Kea were amazing. So clear!
Some protected nene geese
With the final trail walked, I packed up, and headed towards Saddle Road, the highway dividing the island, passing between the two big volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.
I love views like this from outside my cottage in Volcano Village
Observatories at the top of Mauna Kea
The drive up the Mauna Loa access road ate a bit more petrol than I was happy with, so didn’t make the full 17 mile journey to the top.
Access to the visitor centre on Mauna Kea is a lot easier. It might be a dangerous drive though
The road up to the top was closed, but the visitor centre was free and quite interesting.
A sea of clouds behind the centre.
With time ticking before my 10pm flight back to the mainland, I headed off the mountain looking for a beach. Luckily Waikoloa Beach was on the way. At 4pm, it wasn’t crowded, and there was a free shower area and deck chairs….what more could you want for a final afternoon in Hawaii!?
It was finally time to head back to Kona airport. I stopped in Kona town quickly to refill the car (wow, fuel is CHEAP here. I drove over 400 miles, and it only cost $70 to fill the car up. For supposedly the most expensive rates in the USA, I thought fuel was very good value), passing the start to the Ironman on the way.
The sun set was excellent, made all the better for being able to identify, not one, but three celestial bodies quite clearly. My camera could only focus on two of them though; I think the two white dots are Mercury and Venus (can’t remember now), with Mars hanging around outside of the shot.
The third and final part, my eventful flights back to London via Phoenix and JFK will be up soon.
For my week in Hawaii State, I thought I’d stick to just the big island, rather than fly over to some of the other islands. Once I started to research things to do, I realised quite how much Hawaii had to offer. I decided on spending my first few days and New Year in Kona town, before spending a night in Naalehu (the USA’s southernmost town), then a few nights in Volcano Village, before heading back over the big Volcano to Kona Airport.
My route map, courtesy of Google Maps and Paint
The only reasonable (price vs. quality vs. convenience) accommodation I could find for a relatively last minute New Year stay was the Kona Seaside Hotel. After I paid an extra $20 (plus tax (grrr, why don’t American’s include tax in price they give?)) to upgrade to a top floor seaview, I thought the hotel was perfectly acceptable. I had a great view over the famous Kona pier, across the town, and up the volcano heading inland.
The Seaview in the background, taken from the pier
Aloha 2014 sunset at the pier!
The water just off the pier had some pretty good snorkelling
Sadly, the New Year fireworks were not a centrally-organised thing this year. After a 3 hour jet-lag induced pre-midnight siesta, I woke at 2345 to have a beer on the balcony. As the clock struck midnight, there was a haphazard firework display of private events going off across the town. This is the best photo I got. It scored low on the “wow, amazing New Year” factor, but was probably still preferable to the crowds in London.
For New Year day, I booked a morning whale watching and dolphin swimming trip. We spotted quite a few whales, but after nearly three hours of cruising up and down the coast, the guide admitted defeat, putting us into the ~1% of tours that didn’t spot a dolphin. Amazingly, just as we were pulling back into the harbour, a pod appeared. Hurrah! I donned my snorkelling gear, and jumped in.
Whales. A few whales breached, but of course I didn’t get any decent photos
Swimming with dolphins. I took these with my underwater camera, so the above water ones are blurry, and the below water one is just vague. Never mind! Great experience anyway, and not a normal New Year activity in London!
I hired a car through Budget. I’d had bad experiences with them in Cyprus and Dublin, but the staff in Kona seemed a lot better. I was persuaded to upgrade to a Jeep convertible (with only 700 miles on the clock). The car was nice, but man, getting the top off was such an effort, I only took it half down in the 5 days I had the car. Compared to the Mustang convertible I had in LA in October, this was a right pain. DON’T GET A CONVERTIBLE JEEP! I saw quite a few Jeeps driving around the island, ALL with the top up. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t be bothered with the faff of getting it off (and worse, zipping the thing back up).
My first stop after Kona was old Hawaiian cultural site of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau. It was interesting to look around
I even spotted some sea turtles off the beach
And some colourful feathered friends
From there, I drove down the coast, over some areas that had once (early 1900’s?) been a lava flow from Mauna Kea.
The bottom left corner of the Big Island is actually the south western most point of the USA. It was pretty windy down there
My home for the night was an old B&B in Naalehu, the Southernmost town in the USA. There isn’t much to say about the place! Small and quiet. Shaka, the USA’s southernmost bar, served a nice pint of Kona, and a good fish and chips.
That evening there was a massive storm, which knocked out the electricity to quite a few towns, as well as blowing down a fair amount of foliage, blocking a few roads. The next day, whilst the wind was still pretty strong, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining, so at least in English eyes, it was perfect day
The road down to black sand beach was spectacular
I was half planning to go for a swim, but it was pretty cold and windy. There was a very strong off shore breeze, which made wave watching interesting.
There’s a wide variety of accommodation in Volcano village. I ended up in a lovely little cottage at the Enchanted Rainforest Cottages. Despite being only 3-4 mins drive to the centre of the village, and 10 to the park entrance, it felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. It was perfect. And yes, that is a real fireplace. Very cosy.
The Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is home to the small (but still active) Kīlauea volcano. If you like walking and exploring, this is an excellent place to visit. There are loads of trails of various difficulty throughout the park, and lots of amazing views of the volcanoes and shoreline.
This is the main crater – still smoking! There’s lava bubbling away inside, but you can only see the reflection at night
What a glow!
All though the park are vents and sulphur banks
Chain of Craters road runs down to the coastline
Off the main road are some 800 year old petroglyphs
Probably the most popular (and best) trail in the park is the 4 mile long Kīlauea Iki Trail. It follows a forested trail along a crater rim, before going down across a cooled 1959 lava lake
The Thurston Lava Tube
My next walk was around Mauna Ulu. I was following a group of people, and I think we went quite off the route as we ended up near the top. It was amazing to see, but I’m quite sure it was fairly dangerous up there!
On my final morning, I walked along Devastation Trail. The views up to Mauna Kea were amazing. So clear!
Some protected nene geese
With the final trail walked, I packed up, and headed towards Saddle Road, the highway dividing the island, passing between the two big volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.
I love views like this from outside my cottage in Volcano Village
Observatories at the top of Mauna Kea
The drive up the Mauna Loa access road ate a bit more petrol than I was happy with, so didn’t make the full 17 mile journey to the top.
Access to the visitor centre on Mauna Kea is a lot easier. It might be a dangerous drive though
The road up to the top was closed, but the visitor centre was free and quite interesting.
A sea of clouds behind the centre.
With time ticking before my 10pm flight back to the mainland, I headed off the mountain looking for a beach. Luckily Waikoloa Beach was on the way. At 4pm, it wasn’t crowded, and there was a free shower area and deck chairs….what more could you want for a final afternoon in Hawaii!?
It was finally time to head back to Kona airport. I stopped in Kona town quickly to refill the car (wow, fuel is CHEAP here. I drove over 400 miles, and it only cost $70 to fill the car up. For supposedly the most expensive rates in the USA, I thought fuel was very good value), passing the start to the Ironman on the way.
The sun set was excellent, made all the better for being able to identify, not one, but three celestial bodies quite clearly. My camera could only focus on two of them though; I think the two white dots are Mercury and Venus (can’t remember now), with Mars hanging around outside of the shot.
The third and final part, my eventful flights back to London via Phoenix and JFK will be up soon.
Jan 23, 2015, 8:47 pm
#13
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Very much enjoying this so far, the volcano pictures especially are amazing. Looking forward to the rest ^
Jan 25, 2015, 5:50 am
#14
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