The Big Island of Hawaii: The Rough Guide

228 Pages·1995·32.38 MB·English

by  Greg Ward

Greg Ward
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Big Island
of Hawaii
THE ROUGH GUIDE
TherearemorethansixtyRoughGuidetitlescovering
destinationsfromAmsterdamtoZimbabwe
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RoughGuideCredits
TextEditor: AmandaTomlin
SeriesEditor: MarkEllingham
Editorial: MartinDunford,JonathanBuckley,SamanthaCook,JoMead,Alison
Cowan,AnnieShaw,CatherineMcHaleandLemisseal-Hafidh
Production: SusanneHillen,AndyHilliard,AlanSpicer,JudyPang,LinkHalland
NicolaWilliamson
Cartography: MelissaFlack
MarketingandPublicity: RichardTrillo(UK),Jean-MarieKellyandJeffKaye(US)
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Acknowledgements
Thanksaboveallto SamanthaCook,forhermuch-valuedmoralsupportandencouragementduring
the writing ofthis book, and to myparents. I'd like also to thank GeorgeApplegate, Barbara and
CharlieCampbell,MichaelGibsonofKa'uLanding,NickiDugan,ElizabethDeMotte,SandyYokomizo
and Uncle Billy, Charlie and Judy Peladeau, Albert Solomon, John Clark, Michael Tuttle, Shari
Nakamura,MikiBooth,HeleneOdomi,PruSillito,KirkAeder,CharleneGoo,andLloydSNakano.
AtRoughGuides,I'mverygratefultoAmandaTomlinforherthoroughediting,MarkEllinghamfor
aniceidea,Linkforhisfonts,andMickBohoslawecandMelissaFlackfortheirmarvellousmaps.
Thepublishersandauthorshavedonetheirbesttoensuretheaccuracyandcurrencyofallinformationin
TheRoughGuidetotheBigIslandofHawaii;however,theycanacceptnoresponsibilityforanyloss,injury
orinconveniencesustainedbyanytravellerasaresultofinformationoradvicecontainedintheguide.
Thisfirsteditionpublished1995byRoughGuidesLtd,1MercerStreet,LondonWC2H9QJ.
DistributedbythePenguinGroup:
PenguinBooksLtd,27WrightsLane,LondonW85TZ.
PenguinBooksUSAInc.,375HudsonStreet,NewYork10014,USA.
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 487 Maroondah Highway, PO Box 257, Ringwood, Victoria 3134,
Australia.
PenguinBooksCanadaLtd,10AlcornAvenue,Toronto,Ontario,CanadaM4V1E4.
PenguinBooks(NZ)Ltd,182-190WairauRoad,Auckland10,NewZealand.
RoughGuideswereformerlypublishedasRealGuidesintheUnitedStatesandCanada
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyCoxandWymanLtd(Reading).
TypographyandoriginaldesignbyJonathanDearandTheCrowdRoars.
IllustrationsthroughoutbyEdwardBriant.
©GregWard1995.
Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformwithoutpermissionfromthepublisherexcept
forthequotationofbriefpassagesinreviews.
224pp.Includesindex.
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
ISBN1-85828-158-X
Big Island
of Hawaii
THE ROUGH GUIDE
Written and researched by
Greg Ward
THE ROUGH GUIDES
Contents
IntroducingtheBigIsland
PartOne TheBasics 1
GettingThereFromtheUSandCanada 3
GettingThereFromAustraliaandNewZealand 7
GettingThereFromBritainandIreland 9
Inter-islandTravel 11
HonoluluSurvivalGuide 12
InformationandMaps 13
Costs,MoneyandBanks 15
TransportandTours 16
Accommodation 20
FoodandDrink 22
CommunicationsandMedia 26
EntertainmentandFestivals 27
SeaSportsandSafety 28
HikingandCamping 31
Sports 33
CraftsandShopping 34
Directory 35
PartTwo TheCity 37
Chapter1 TheKonaCoast 39
Chapter2 KohalaandWaimea 70
Chapter3 HiloandtheHamakuaCoast 98
Chapter4 TheSouthCoast:VolcanoCountry 131
PartFour Contexts 169
ABriefHistory 171
AncientCultureandSociety 178
TheHawaiianEnvironment:Past,PresentAndFuture 181
TheReturnoftheVoyagers 184
HulaandHawaiianMusic 186
Books 189
AHawaiianGlossary 192
Index 194
CONTENTS
Introducing the Big Island
TheHawaiianislandsaretheweatherbeatensummitsofachain
of submarine volcanoes, poking up from the Pacific more
thantwo thousand miles offthe west coast ofAmerica. Only
on the Big Island ofHawaii, where they continue to shape one of
themostuniqueplacesonearth,arethosevolcanoesstillactive.The
sheer rawness ofits new-born landscapes maymake it seem like an
unlikelytouristdestination, butthe islandalso offerseverythingyou
mightwant from atropicalvacation- dependable sunshine, superb
sandy beaches, warm turquoise fish-filled waters, swaying coconut
palmsandpristinerainforest.
Though tourism is crucial to the local economy, the Big Island
lags well behind Oahu and Maui in terms of annual visitors. It has
nothing to match the Waikiki skyscrapers, and neither is there the
large-scale strip development of the west Maui shoreline. In the
1960s itwas confidentlyexpectedthatthe BigIslandwouldemerge
asthefirstseriousrivalto Oahu. Largesumswerespentonbuilding
a highway system to cope with the anticipated influx, and luxury
resortswerebuiltonwhatwasoncebarelava, whileawiderangeof
morereasonablypricedhotelsbegantospringupintheKailuaarea.
As things turned out, however, it was Maui that mushroomed, to
becomeplaguedbytrafficproblemsandovercrowding,whiletheBig
Islandremainsremarkablystress-free.
TheBigIslandisnotthecheapestdestinationinHawaii-though
it does have a few budget inns and hostels - and it can't compete
AsexplainedintheHawaiian Glossary onp.192, the Hawaiianalphabet
consists ofjust twelve letters, together with two punctuation marks, the
macronandthe glottalstop. Strictlyspeaking, thewordHawaiishouldbe
written Hawai'i, with the glottal stop to show that the two "i"s are
pronouncedseparately. Conventionhasit,however,thatwordsincommon
English usage are written without their Hawaiian punctuation. Although
we've done our utmost to use correct Hawaiian spellings in this book,
therefore,alltheislandnames-Hawaii,Oahu,Kauaiandsoon-appearin
theirfamiliarEnglishform.
INTRODUCTION
Mo*okimHeiau,
Kapa'au
Po/o/(?Vatley
Lapakahi\
StatePark"
Waipf'oVaffey
!27o\ CHAPTER^
KOHAIAAND
\ WAIMEA
Kawaihae^
PtrukoholaHeiau*r
HapmaBaachfl
L'atipahoefioe,
MauaaLaniResort
WaifcoJoaBeachResort
CHAPTER3;
MamaKm. HIIOANDTHE
HAMAKUACOAST
CHAPTER1:
THE
HoRofcShaa^ KONA Hsuammai
COAST Stf&t
KAILUAfHH6lual0&
Keattrtou
MAPS
MAP
LIST
TheBigIslandofHawaii VI
ThekonaCoast 40
Kailua 42
Kailua toKeauhou 50
SouthKona 59
KohalaandWaimea 71
KohalaResorts 73
Waimea 85
HiloandtheHamakuaCoast 99
Hilo 101
DowntownHilo 106
TheSouthCoast:VolcanoCountry 132
Puna 134
HawaiiVolcanoesNationalPark 139
KilaueaCaldera 149
MAPSYMBOLS
G=ENERALSYMBOLS REGIONALMAPSYMBOLS
=50= Highway X Airport
Road <§> Hotel/Restaurant
===== Track Campsite
Cape Trail I Church
Kumukahi
Ancientsite
m PublicGardens
TOWNMAPSYMBOLS
m NationalPark
Building Lavaflow
Church Peak
\ Kalapana Park Lighthouse
TouristOffice Waterway
- PostOffice Waterfall
[THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS]
KAUAI
NMHAU
?*
OAHUv* MOLGKAI
MAUI
LANAI
PACIFtC OCEAN
KAHQOLAWE
HAWAII
{816ISLAND}
I
MAPS
with Honolulu for frenzied shopping or wild nightlife. The entire
island has the population of a medium-sized town, with 130,000
people spread across its four thousand square miles; it has its fair
share of restaurants, bars and so on, but basically it's a rural
community.Thisistheplacetocomeifyou'relookingfortheelusive
"real"Hawaii; it'salsounbeatableifyoujustwanttorelax. "Hanging
loose" isthe island'swatchword, andnooneeverseemstoobusyto
"talkstory".There'splentyofopportunitytobeactive-hikinginthe
stateandnationalparks, deep-seafishingofftheKonaCoast,golfing
in the Kohala resorts or snorkelling in Kealakekua Bay - but most
visitors are content to while away their days meandering between
beachandbrunch.
Thanks to massive immigration, the population of modern
Hawaii is among the most ethnically diverse in the world. The Big
Islanddividesintoroughly27percentHawaiianorpart-Hawaiian, 25
percentCaucasian, 22percentJapanese, 10percentFilipino, and 16
percent others, though as more than half of all marriages are
classifiedasinter-racialsuchstatisticsgrowevermoremeaningless.
As befits the birthplace ofKing Kamehameha, the first man to rule
all the Hawaiian islands, however, the Big Island has maintained
strong links with its Polynesian past. Onlyjust over two centuries
havepassedsincetheisolationofitsoriginalinhabitantscametoan
end, and their heiaus (temples), petroglyphs (rock carvings) and
abandoned villages are scattered throughout the island. Otherwise,
though many of its smaller towns have an appealing air of the
nineteenth-century West about them, with their false-front stores
andwoodenboardwalks,fewoftheisland'shistoricalattractionsare
likelytolureyouawayfromthebeaches.Anytimeyoucanspareto
go sightseeing is better spent exploring the waterfalls, valleys and
especiallythevolcanoes, thatwere so entwinedwiththelivesofthe
ancientHawaiians.
AroundTheIsland
All the Hawaiian islands share a similar topography, having been
formed in the same way and exposed to the same winds and rains.
Because the tradewinds blow consistently from the northeast, each
island is much wetter on its north and east coasts, which are
characterizedbysteep seacliffs, inaccessiblestream-cutvalleysand
densetropicalvegetation,andeachhasadrierandlessfertileaspect
onitswestandsouthsides.
Onlyforthe last fiftyyears or so has the title "Big Island" been
widely used, to spare outsiders the confusion between the name of
the state andthe name ofthe island. It's an appropriate nickname;
not only is this the biggest Hawaiian island - it would comfortably
hold all the others put together - but thanks to Mauna Loa and
Kflaueavolcanoesit'sgettingbiggerbythe day. MaunaLoamaybe
the largest object on earth, ifyou include itshuge bulk underwater,
butit'snotthe highestmountain ontheisland. Thathonourgoesto
INTRODUCTION