In the week we were there, I didn't really get used to hawaiian names, most names were waile-something, namu-something. I feel pretty bad about this. (I know first hand, how bad it is when someone does not pronounce your name correctly) As a result, I probably will butcher some of the names, (but I will correct those if pointed out)

In the morning we went to punaluu beach. The black sand beach looks great and its very easy to reach there. A few turtles were getting a few spectators excited, but they never came ashore, stayed tantalizingly close. we didn't really feel like snorkelling, so instead stayed on the beach and then left for the south point

On the way we stopped for looking at some pretty flowers
yellow jaswand, pink jaswand, chaafaa.
(I dont know either the hawaiian or english names for those flowers, so using my native names instead hibiscus and plumeria, thanks FlyingHawaiian)

At south point, the sea looks beutifully blue. a couple of guys were climbing down the ladders and swimming in the ocean. We just stayed there for a while enjoying the quick breeze.

Then we went on to the mahana (green) beach. I tried to take the rented SVU on the dirt road. After about a mile, there was a big puddle. Since I had zero off-roading experience, I decided to park there and walk rest of the distance. with my 3yr old daughter on my shoulder, I got tired very quickly, and when there was no beach in sight after another 15-20 minutes, I decided to return (and we were seeing green sand on the way already, it didn't seem that amazing any more ) So we walked back, put the car in reverse, changed directions and started going back.

And then, the car got stuck on a boulder. (did I mention I had never done any off roading) It started making screeching sound going front or back. So I got down, checked out the lay of the land and decided that if I turn hard right and bring pedal to the metal, I would get out of the jam. It worked, but it spooked me enough to not try any more off roading rest of the hawaii trip

we stopped at the Na'alehu fruit stand. (They had no fruit on sale at the store, the proprieter said, the season was weird lately and they didn't have any fruit). It was late afternoon and we ordered pizza. The pizza took a long time to get done. It was nothing to write home about. But the proprieter was very friendly. He started closing the shop while we were eating. (I guess he reopens in the evening)

Later that night, we were planning for go lava viewing. So we got back to the hotel, rested for a while and went to the information center in the park. It was about to close and the park ranger was trying his best to dissuade anybody from going on the hike to see the lava. (While talking, he said, there is a lot of DNA on that lava field, and I was wondering if people routinely die while hiking there, and then he went on to say, people fall and scrape their knees on the sharp edges, phew...) The lava plume was going to the sea at 3 miles and 5 miles from the turnout. (where you have to park your car and start walking). We decided that we would go there and decide how far we walk based on the conditions. We started walking around 5:50 pm. sun was supposed to set at 6:30. So we had a lot of light. Walking on lava didnt seem too bad, so we continued. By 7 pm it was quite dark and we decided to turn back. (At that point we saw a lot more people returning and very few going in. With a 3 year old on my shoulder, we did not want to risk falling, getting lost while there was nobody around. We did see lava flowing down the mountains and lava falling in the sea at this point. I suspect we were about 1 mile from the point where lava was entering the sea. (and now I think we should have continued ....The pictures dont really do justice to how it looked, the flowing lava looked much better in person, and we saw chunks of lava dropping into the sea).

We hadn't looked at anything in the volcano national park. So the next day was spent wandering in the park, going down the chain of craters road. The halema'uma'u crater was outta this world. We went thru the thurston lava tube. The road going down to the tube entrance is enchanting, but the tube itself is quite boring. We also walked small distances on some trails. We liked the kilawea iki trail the most. (We did not reach the floor of the crater, that would have been interesting. I snapped a picture of Ohia flower somewhere on the way. (Wife wouldn't let me pick that flower, the superstitions ). Some of the terrain looked like the mud volcanos at yellowstone national park. The lava fields and fissures made you think about the power of nature.

We also wanted to go to the lava heated pools and had only one more day left, so we decided to explore hilo-puna region and go to kona and the northern parts (akaka falls) next time.

We drove all the way to the easternmost point of the big island, from where the 4WD road to the champagne pond goes. After a minute on that road, I decided that, it wasn't something I could stomach after our misadventure at green sand beach. So we decided to go to Ahlanui pool instead. Along the way, there is lava field on both sides. This lava field is filled with small sharp rocks and looks completely different from the lava fields in the volcano national park. why??. You can't imagine walking on this lava field. We also tried to find the lava pond mentioned in the ultimate guidebook. North of the champagne ponds, the road suddenly enters a thick forest from the barren lava fields. The road was in a horrible condition and I was driving under 5 mph. (but the locals were cruising in their beatup trucks). We couldn't locate the lava pond. During all the travels on big island, we thought that the ultimate guidebook lacked accurate detail. Other than the constant bumps, the surrounding forest was amazing. While returning I imitated the locals and found out that the faster you go, the less you notice the bump (until you reach the one that will flatten your tire ). We also spent some time at the lava tree state park on the way.

The ahlanui pond was not very crowded. about 20 people wading in the pool (some even snorkelling). The water was quite warm. That was the part of the trip that my 3 yr old daughter loved the most. She did not want to get out of the pond. It was soothing. (But I thought it was not very clean. May be the pool's cleanliness depends on the tidal cycle)

Back in Hilo we walked on the banyan drive, went to the Rainbow falls. The boiling pots were not making any noise and the Pe'e Pe'e falls were more like Pee Pee falls. (no water on them). We went further to the Kaumana caves and I spent some time walking thru the cave. I didn't get to see any interesting features in the cave. (But then I spent about 20 minutes there and since I was there all by myself, I was a bit unsettled. (I WILL NOT accept that I was a scared )

We went to the italian restaurent Pescatora (ONO according to the guidebook), but the food was quite disapponiting. We couldnt finish the much touted chocolate truffle cake. (I suggest the authors of that book eat chocolate turffle cake at Elephent Walk in Cambridge.) In comparison, I think we thought that the Kauai guidebook was much better.

We stayed in Uncle Billy's, Lokahi lodge and Hilo hawaiian during our stay on Big Island.
Uncle Billy's is horrible. The service was very slow. It took me 30 minutes to get my hotel keys. (There was only one person in front of me, but the receptionist was being interrupted all the time by other patrons, phone calls. She would take all the phone calls that came while registering us. This is my pet peeve. If I am standing in line, I should get precedence over the phone guy. However at many places, the phone guy is given preference ). Priceline should not keep this hotel as a 2* hotel. The carpet was quite old (and vacuumed with an equally old vacuum cleaner), There were no parking spaces left, so I had to park on the street, the window air conditioner was rusted, The coffe maker was never cleaned .. too many problems.

Lokahi lodge was very good in comparison. We had two morning breakfasts (included in the room rate). Fresh fruit (papaya, orange, pinapple, grapefruit), eggs made to order, guava bread, taro bread, cereal, in a fully equipped kitchen, a big common hall with a nice dining table, sharing stories with nice fellow travellers. ^^. I would highly reccommend it

Staff at Hilo hawaiian was very professional. The room was nice and clean. All in all what you would expect from a good hotel. (nothing amazing, nothing bad). and just $15 more than Uncle Billy's (thats what it cost me, I dont remember the advertized rates, Uncle Billy's was thru priceline and Hilo Hawaiian was direct call to the hotel)

Continued in post #5