Day 3: Chocolate tour and visit South Kohala beaches

March 12

Today we explored areas along the northwest coast of the island (see map)

We started the day with a tour of  Puna Chocolate farm to see how chocolate is grown, harvested, and then got to taste different chocolates.

We saw two different varieties of cacoa plants growing. 

Here is a different variety

The guide split open one of the pods and we were able to try the pulp. When you chewed it, the seed inside was purple.

The beans are then fermented and dried.

And then then were roasted. These tasted delicious just as they were.

From there, they are ground into the ingredients for chocolate. We tried at least 8 different samples and all were delicious!

The farm also grew macadamia nuts - you can see some on this tree.

And they grew Kona coffee - here are a few coffee trees on the farm.

After the tour, we took a scenic drive further north of the Kona area, where the landscape really changed quite a bit as we entered Paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) country.

From here, we headed to Waimea and then over to the Kohala coast.

We stopped for lunch and had a coconut cooler for dessert (coconut water topped with Dole whip)

After lunch we went to Hapuna Beach State Park because it had a nice white sand beach. We hoped it would be good for snorkeling, but the waves were rough and snorkeling was not good.

As we headed south along the coast, we decided to stop at Waialia beach 

It was a bit too rocky for me to feel comfortable, but Steve went snorkeling there.

The sea was calmer, the water was clearer, and there were more fish (and even a sea turtle, that I could see from the beach) but there weren't that many different types of fish to see.

After getting back into Kona for the night, we changed and went to dinner at Teshima's, where we had tempura shrimp and veggies.

Day 4: Drive to Hilo, along Kona coast area, across Ka'u (south), and through Hawaii Volcanoes NP

Today we drove from Kona to Hilo.

We drove south along the coast to Ka Lae (also called South Point) to reach the southernmost, point in Hawaii and the US.

We didn't know what to expect, but we were not really expecting to see plains, with grazing land for horses and cows.

Once we got to the point, we explored the area. Steve decided to get close and personal with the blowhole.

He climbed down into it a bit.

And saw the water entering. It was more like a washing machine, since the water churned within the hole, rather than blowing out of it. 

I stayed on the surface and braved the strong winds.

And I enjoyed the views of the rugged coastline.

From there, we stopped by a farm to sample coffee, chocolates, and macadamia nuts. We bought a few bags to take home with us.

We then headed towards Punalu'u Beach. Before arriving, we stopped at Punalu'u Bake Shop and bout an assortment of malassada (Portuguese donuts), including lilikoi (passion fruit), mango, guava, and regular.

Shortly after arriving at Punalu'u Beach, we saw sea turtles resting on the black sand beach.

It was cold and very windy, so I relaxed on the beach while Steve went snorkeling.

From there, we drove to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and looked into the crater of Kilauea.

There was just steam venting and no visible lava flow on the day we were there.

We also enjoyed a scenic drive and looked at the lush foliage (no pictures).

We drove the long Chain of Craters Road to see the Holei Sea Arch.

And finished our time in the park with a rainbow.

After arriving in Hilo, we had dinner at Pineapples, 

Ahi poke stack

Coconut crusted catch of the day (ahi) - we split the entree

Then headed back to our motel for the night.

Day 5: Visit waterfalls and parks in Hilo area

 March 14 

After a busy day yesterday, we decided to have a slower day and explore various places in and around Hilo. 

We started the morning with a visit to Rainbow Falls (minus the rainbow).

Then follow the river up to Boiling Pots.

And then continued to Wai'ale falls.

We then headed back to Hilo to check out the farmer's market, where we got rambutan, longons, guava, star apple, kiwi, and an avocado.

We made the mistake of eating the star apple skin. Yuck!

After eating some fruit and leftover malasadas, we decided to make today a waterfall day and drove to Akaka Falls 

the falls were impressive

and we enjoyed the surrounding scenery, although I wasn't a fan of the 400+ stairs to go up and down (they were all perfectly maintained and had handrails).

We stopped at a roadside stand to get some sugarcane, had a late lunch, and headed back to Hilo to explore a bit then relax at the hotel.

Day 6: Visit the Puna region

 March 15 

Today was a stressful day. I got in the car to start today's adventure and as I pulled up the map, my phone froze and went black. After restarting it, it went black again. Then it asked if I wanted to do a factory reset. I couldn't see a NO option, so I shut it down. When I restarted it, my phone did the reset and wiped everything off it. To top it off, I couldn't remember my password to access the backup or email. As a result, I was extremely stressed all day until a family member at home could access my PC and reset my email password.

As a result, we spent most of the day just driving along the east coast of the island, south of Hilo.

Lush foliage on the drive near Makuʻu Point.

Exploring the area near Waiakahi'ula Beach Park

Enjoying the view near Lauhalaland 

We stopped for lunch at the Black Rock Cafe in Pāhoa, 

 where Steve tried the loco moco.

and I had the teriyaki steak sandwich

Steve trying to get sprayed by big waves crashing on the shoreline at MacKenzie State Recreational Area

More big waves crashing on the shoreline at MacKenzie State Recreational Area.

Me trying to not stress over my missing phone data while trying to enjoy MacKenzie State Recreational Area.

Wide area of past lava flow with vegetation on each side - near MacKenzie State Recreational Area.

Wide area of past lava flow with vegetation on each side - near MacKenzie State Recreational Area.

Steve snorkeling at Carlsmith Beach Park (not a good snorkel location). I was working on getting my phone restored.

I was successful in restoring most things, but it looks like I lost ALL the pictures I took so far on this trip (before today). Glad I have been posting some each day, so I have some of the highlights.

We finished the day with cocktails and appetizers (calamari and seared ahi) at Ponds.