Big Isle

May 9

The Big Island (officially named Hawaii) is the largest island in the United States' Hawaiian archipelago in the Central Pacific. Its diverse terrain spans colored-sand beaches at Papakolea (green) and Punalu’u (black) to lush rainforest. Within Volcanoes National Park, there are 2 active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Hapuna Beach and Kahalu'u Beach Park in the west are popular snorkeling

Getting to the Big Isle

Hawaii is world renowned for its natural beauty and people come from every corner of the earth to be here and see it themselves. The big Island has 2 airports and both are relatively small Kona and Hilo. It’s interesting to see so many large planes from foreign carriers, as you see in the photo below, in such a small space. We chose Hawaiian Air and they proved exceptional.

Black Sand Beach

I’ve been to a black sand beach before, in fact I have been to other black sand beaches in Hawaii but this was different….This was midnight, jet black.

The Southern Point

Ka Lae, which is Hawaiian for "The Point," is on Hawaii's Big Island, and is as far south as you can go in the United States. The site is wind-blown and wild, far from other tourist draws, though popular with cliff divers.

High on the Cliffs

Kona

Things that grow

The weather is perfect in Hawaii, plenty of sunshine and the perfect amount of rain. The conditions are optimal for plant and tree growth. Because of these conditions a large diversity of tropical growth is found here.