Table Of ContentISLAND
BIG
I I
including HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK,
THE KONA COAST, AND WAIPIO VALLEY
.D. BISIQNANi
ISLAND
BIG
HAWAII
OF
HANDBOOK
including HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK,
THE KONA COAST,AND WA1PIO VALLEY
ISLAND
BIG
HAWAII
OF
HANDBOOK
including HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK,
THE KONA COAST, AND WAIPIO VALLEY
SECOND EDITION
J.D. BISIGNANI
MOON
PUBLICATIONSINC.
BIG ISLANDOF HAWAII HANDBOOK
SECONDEDITION Pleasesendallcomments,
Publishedby corrections,additions,
MoonPublications,Inc. amendments,andcritiquesto:
P.O.Box3040
Chico,California95927-3040,USA J.D.BISIGNANI
MOONPUBLICATIONS,INC.
Printedby P.O.BOX3040
ColorcraflLtd.,HongKong CHICO,CA95927-3040,USA
© TextandillustrationscopyrightJ.D.Bisignani1994.
© AMlalprisghctospyrreisgehrtveJd..D.BisignaniandMoonPublicationsInc.1994. Prin1tsitnegdHiitsitoorny—September1990
Allrightsreserved. ReprintedApril1992
Somephotosandillustrationsareusedbypermissionandare 2ndedition-June1994
thepropertyoftheoriginalcopyrightowners. ReprintedSeptember1994
AllphotosbyJ.D.Bisignaniunlessotherwisenoted. ReprintedMarch1995
ReprintedNovember1995
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Bisignani,J.D.,1947-
BigIslandofHawaiiHandbook/J.D.Bisignani--2nded.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN1-56691-006-4:
1. HawaiiIsland(Hawaii)—Guidebooks.
I.Title,II.Title:Bigislandhandbook.
DU628.H28B57 1994 93-39522
919.69'1044—dc20 CIP
Editor:DonRoot
CopyEditor:ElizabethKim
Production&Design:NancyKennedy,DavidHurst
Cartographers:BobRace,BrianBardwell
Index:MarkArends
CoverArt: WhisperoftheNightWindbyRoyTabora,
courtesyofKahnGalleries,4569KukuiSt.,Kapaa,Kauai,HI96746
DistributedinUnitedStatesbyPublishersGroupWest.
PrintedinHongKong.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybetranslatedorreproducedinanyform,exceptbriefextractsby
areviewerforthepurposeofareview,withoutwrittenpermissionofthecopyrightowner.
Althoughtheauthorandpublisherhavemadeeveryefforttoensurethattheinformationwascorrectatthe
timeofgoingtopress,theauthorandpublisherdonotassumeandherebydisclaimanyliabilitytoanyparty
foranylossordamagecausedbyerrors,omissions,oranypotentialtraveldisruptionduetolabororfinancial
difficulty,whethersucherrorsoromissionsresultfromnegligence,accident,oranyothercause.
WARNING:Nothinginthisbookisintendedtobeusedfornavigation.Marinersareadvisedtoconsultofficial
sailingdirectionsandnauticalcharts.
to r ^fyfadamePeleandallwomen ofheart
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing the acknowledgments for a book is Bureau; DonnaJung, DonnaJung and As-
supercharged with energy. It's atimewhen sociates,who hasshowedconfidencein me
you lookforward, hopefully,toabrightfuture sincedayone;HaunaniVieira, DollarRentA
foryourwork,andatimewhenyou reflecton Car; Keoni Wagner, Hawaiian Airlines; Jim
allthathasgoneintoproducingit. Mostlyit'sa andJohnCostello;Dr.Terryand NancyCar-
timetosaythankyou.Thankyouforthegrace olan; Elizabeth Demotte, Ritz-Carlton Mauna
necessarytocarryoutthetask,andthankyou Lani;BarbaraSchonley, DestinationMolokai;
toallthewonderfulpeoplewhoseeffortshave Elisa Josephsohn, Public Relations; Faith
helpedsomuchalongtheway.Tothefollow- Ogawa, for helping me keepthefaith; Carol
ingpeople, offermymostsincerethankyou. Zahorsky, FourSeasons Resort;JoyceMat-
I
Firstly, to the Moon staff, professionals sumoto, Halekulani;JeanneDatz, Hilton Ho-
everyone.Astimehaspassed,andonebook tels; Nancy Daniels, Kahala Hilton; Dianne
hasfollowedanother,they'vebecomeamaz- Doer, KonaHilton; Rudy Bosma, Lanai City
ingly adeptattheirwork, tothe pointwhere Service; DonnTakahashiandCarol Dawson,
theirmasteryisamarveltowatch. Maui Prince Hotel; Dennis Costa, Maui Hill;
Iwouldalsoliketothankthefollowingpeo- Kim Marshall, Grand Wailea Resort; Sheila
ple fortheirspecial help and consideration: Donnelly, DianaReutter,JulieChar,Sweetie
Dr. Greg Leo, an adventurer and environ- Aiwohi Nelson, Deborah Sharkey of Sheila
mentalistwho hasdone remarkablefield re- Donnelly & Associates; Sandi Kato-Klutke,
search and provided me with invaluable in- Aston Kauai Beach Villa; BarbaraSheehan,
formation aboutthe unique floraand fauna Sheraton MoanaSurfrider;SallyProctor,As-
of Hawaii; Roger Roseofthe Bishop Muse- tonHotels;NormManzione,Suntrips;Renee
um;LeeWild, Hawaiian MissionHousesMu- CochranandWillTitus,ColonyResorts;Linda
seum; Marilyn Nicholson, State Foundation Darling-Mann, Coco Palms Resort. Toallof
of Culture and the Arts; the Hawaii Visitors you, mydeepestaloha.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1 PUNA 201
TheLand 6 HawaiiBeltRoad—HilotoVolcanoes. . . 203
Climate 11 Route130andtheSoutheastCoast 204
. . .
FloraandFauna 14
HAWAIIVOLCANOES
History 23
NATIONALPARK 213
Government 43
Economy 44 Introduction 213
People 50 KilaueaCaldera 218
Language 58 ChainofCratersRoad 224
Religion 65 Practicalities 226
Conduct 70 KONA 233
OUTANDABOUT 73 Kailua-KonaandVicinity 235
CampingAndHiking 73 CentralandSouthKona 264
SportsAnd Recreation 78 KAU 278
ArtsandCrafts 92 SightsandBeaches 279
Shopping 100
Practicalities 285
Festivals,Holidays,andEvents 104
Accommodations 108 SOUTHKOHALA 288
Foodand Drink 114 TheCoast 290
GettingThere 123 Practicalities 295
GettingAround 135
WAIMEA(KAMUELA) 306
HealthandWell-being 143
Sights 308
WhattoTake 148
InformationandServices 151 Practicalities 312
NORTHKOHALA 318
HILO 155
SightsandBeaches 155 Sights,Beaches,andTowns 320
Practicalities 167 Practicalities 326
THESADDLEROAD 180 BOOKLIST 329
MaunaKea 181 GLOSSARY 337
HAMAKUACOAST 185 ACCOMMODATIONSINDEX 341
HonomutoLaupahoehoe 185 RESTAURANTINDEX 342
HonokaatoKukuihaele 190
WaipioValley 193 INDEX 344
MAPS
BigIslandCampgrounds 75 LandOwnership 48
BigIslandProfile 7 NorthKohala 319
BigIslandRegions 4 NorthKona 234
BigIslandSnorkeling 82 PacificCrossroads 124
CentralAndSouthKona 265 PolynesianTriangle 26
HamakuaCoast 186 Puna 202
Hawaii(TheBigIsland) 3 SaddleRoad,The 182
Hilo 156 SenatorialDistricts
HiloVicinity 163 andHouseDistricts 44
InterislandAirRoutes 129 SouthKohala 289
Kailua-Kona 236 VolcanoesNationalPark 214
Kau 280 Waimea(Kamuela) 307
MAP SYMB^OLS
^hm
FREEWAY
^__ LARGE TOWN OR CITY
MAIN HIGHWAY
TOWN OR VILLAGE
SECONDARY ROAD
POINT OF INTEREST
JEEP TRAIL
STATE OR BEACH PARK
I"-; FOOT TRAIL
HEIAU
(T) HIGHWAY NUMBER
CAMPGROUND
WATER
MOUNTAIN HOTEL/ACCOMMODATION
AIRPORT
CHARTS
AverageMaximum/Minimum Big IslandTennisCourts 89
.
TemperatureandRainfall 12 Hawaii'sPopulation . . . . 51
Big IslandGolfCourses 86-87 MetricSystem 153
SPECIAL TOPICS
ArtInformation 99 CapsulePidgin . . . 60
CapsuleHawaiian 62-64 Kukui(Candlenut) 145
ABBREVIATIONS
4WD=four-wheeldrive p/w=perweek
HVB=HawaiiVisitorsBureau RT=roundtrip
incl.=included St. Mon.=StateMonument
p/d=perday YH=youthhostel
p/h=perhour
