The Big Island archive
Nice video segment on this Hilo classic. Secret sauce for shave ice? They custom make their own syrups. This is actually at a fishing supply store. No joke. (Warning: This video segment is from a program called Kamaainabackroads.com, a…
C.J. Kanuha surfing in the hot zone. Not sure of the swell direction. Does it matter? Pray to Pele.…
John Heckathorn has the best journalism job in the state. The editor of Hawaii Magazine gets to fly around the islands and, well, just do stuff. Here's a slide show of pix his photog took from a recent jaunt to…
I've often blogged about violence in Hawaii and my suspicions that a lot of violent or threatening acts are swept under the rug here. So it's good to see the authorities finally recognizing the true nature of the beast. This…
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Here's a taste for the hula fans. This is footage of Halau I Ka Wekiu (Kahiko Kane), Merrie Monarch 2007, a first-place performance. The contest starts later this week. Catch all the footage streaming on KITV .…
Aloha Airlines' unexpected shutdown has certainly made this year's Merrie Monarch more exciting (in a bad way) than most had anticipated. Attendees are scrambling to ensure that they can still fly to Hilo for the fest. Halau (most of which…
Pity the poor traveler who plunked down cold hard ones to vacate in Hawaii last week. Man, they got soaked in more ways than one. Mother Nature did not cooperate as we had gale force winds, flash floods, torrential rains,…
James over at Big Island Grinds gives props to Mehana Brewing's new growler deal. It's a dinger. Pay $6 for a half-gallon of brewski made right there in historic Hilo. Have tried Mehana. Like it a lot. For beerhounds…
Each November on the Big Island, the Kona Coffee Festival kicks off with a jolt -- hee hee. The festival is all about the world class Joe that the sunny side of the Big Island puts out. Big Island Kona…
My friends at OpenRoad TV have a number of excellent Hawaii travel videos on offer for free (as in beer) at their site and I'm pointing to a few of them. This one takes you into Waipio Valley, the massive,…
For several decades, Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon, the fetid body of water fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort (or part of it, since that place is HUGE), has long been an unsightly eyesore. Infested with jellyfish, coated with slime and cursed…
My friend and fellow Federated Media author, Doug McConnell runs the Open Road TV Website (and does travel-oriented TV segments). He's done a number of nifty video podcast on Hawaii. I'm going to periodically post and link to them because…
After a hiatus of several months due to shifting lava flows resulting from seismic activity, Madame Pele has resumed her red hot show. Word out of the Big Island is that lava viewing from helicopters is the best seen in…
Get Al Gore off your case for taking that private jet to Hawaii and stay at the AHU POHAKU HO'OMALUHIA. This is a spa/retreat/vacation home rental on the North Kohala Coast of the Big Island. The main rental house has…
That's right, we are in the middle of the prestigious annual Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament, which runs through August 10 this year in Kaila-Kona. The tournament is one of the biggest in the world, which makes sense -- boats running…
In college, my good friend Max had a VW camper that was perfect for surf trips up and down the California Coast. So I was pleased to hear about a relatively new service operated by GB Adventures that rents out…
According to the latest update from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the temblor-caused interruption in the lava flow from Kilauea on the Big Island remains in effect as there is currently no lava visible from any place within easy striking distance…
Hilo, hole-in-the-wall, foodie Naung Mai restaurants Harrison Ford George Lucas Cate Blanchette Calista Flockhart Indiana Jones Big Island Hawaii Hawaiian
The lure of Hawaii is apparently quite strong for filmmaker Steven Spielberg. He's chosen Hawaii yet again as a primary scene location for the latest and greatest Indiana Jones flick, the forth in the series. Apparently, Spielberg and company have…
Most of the time when I read drive guide articles by mainland writers, I rarely find something original or different. It's far too easy to trod the beaten path and many editors far from Hawaii don't know the difference. When…
The country singer legend took a private tour of the Parker Ranch on the Big Island, the largest (really!) working cattle ranch in the country and one of the last bastions of the paniolo lifestyle (although this paniolo stuff is…
Update: Hulihee Palace suffered considerable damage in the 2006 Earthquake centered off the Big Island. Tours of the palace are offered on a limited basis due to this damage and reconstruction work may be underway in the near future. This…
">The southern shore of the Big Island is not known for its beaches. The landscape is rugged with the remnants of recent volcanic eruptions. The shoreline tends to be rocky in most places. Then there’s Punalu'u Beach Park, an idyllic…
After a spate of quakes shook the summit area of Kilauea a few weeks ago, Pele's lava taps turned off. Fearing geological instability, the National Park Service closed down a bunch of the hiking trails including the Napau Trail and…
In an item completely unrelated to tourism, travel or fun things to do, a wacky new critter that scientists are dubbing and "octosquid" was trapped in uptake filters at a deep-water energy plant project of Keahole Point on the Kona…
In the May 2007 edition, senior editor Steve Millburg gives a quick taste of a hike I've long wanted to take, circling the rim of Waipio Valley, a lush, massive valley on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island. I've…
After a spate of small temblors and some lava flow shifts that left vulcanologists chasing the orange stuff and generally scratching their heads as to what would happen next, the good folks at HAVO have reopened the solitary traffic artery…
Wanda Adams, the cookbook and foodie force behind the Honolulu Advertiser's weekly "Taste" section, takes the fabled 20-mile drive upcountry on the Big Island between the hamlet of Kapa'au and the highland village of Waimea. She loves what she…
Like many folks in Hawaii, I was excited when Continental and Hawaiian Airlines announced a code sharing agreement and that frequent flier miles holders would be able to book tickets on Hawaiian using Continental miles and vice versa. I was…
Hundreds of small temblors set Kilauea Volcano all aquiver and scared the National Park Service enough to shutter Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to visitors. Rangers evacuated a handful of campers and turned away dozens of carloads of tourists. What will…
The guide books like to describe Kailua-Kona, the man population center on the sunny western side of the Big Island, quaint, kitschy, cozy, whatever. Locals have another term for it. Depressed and dangerous. I have been back there a number…
Mauna Lani is simply posh city. This resort development on the Big Island is home to some of the state's most expensive vacation homes and two of its more expensive hotels, the Fairmont Orchid and the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel…
Day 2: You’re in Hawaii so get wet and take it all in. Score a kayak cruise in Kealakekua Bay, a marine preserve at the base of the green hills of Kona's coffee country, where pods of spinner dolphins are…
(Here's the first in a series of family itineraries that I'm going to run, starting with Big Island. Enjoy and let me know if anything's wrong.) So you've finally arrived. The Big Island is impressive from any viewpoint and your…
In 1901, after numerous pleas from his wife, Mary, Big Island rancher W. H. "Willie" Shipman purchased this graceful, secluded Victorian high above Hilo Bay for the grand sum of $13,000. Hospitality has ruled ever since. During a 1907 tour…
But they mean it in a nice way. Ian Lind pointed out this Chicago Tribune piece covering the rainy (well, not as much as you think), sleepy burg on the eastern side of the Big Island. The article compares…
Volcano is an amazing place place. A quiet town on the slopes of Kilauea Volcano and a soaring place of thousands of acres of lava fields and remnant forest, it's lovely, quiet, and eerily spiritual. Sandwiched between a smoking volcano…
Being a man with an uncontrollable sweet tooth, I am a sucker for butterscotch / caramel flavorings in my post-dinner noshables. I also love pies, particularly rich and sinful pies. Which leads me to the Mac Pie, a Big Island…
What with all the fuss about Puna becoming the up and coming low-key vacation locale in the islands, it's time to revisit the black sends of Kehena. This one of the only swimming beaches on the Puna Coast of the…
Here's a roundup of cool blogs / articles on the festival, which is the World Series of Hula. Wanda Adams at the Honolulu Advertiser has some great information on the topic on her blog. The Advertiser also has done a…
The New York Times runs a feature piece in its Escapes section highlighting a nascent landrush in Puna, where Mainlanders seeking affordable real estate and alternative lifestyle folks seeking a live-and-let-live ethos are clamoring to snarf up lots in the…
In the Kohala District of the Big Island, clouds of mist collide with volcanic mountain ranges. The resulting rains fill hundreds of mountain streams and create numerous waterfalls, most of which are not accessible to the public. This region is…
In my mind, this is the ultimate waterfall hike in the islands. Hi'ilawe Falls is a 2,000 foot cataract that booms into a semi-circular eroded volcanic bowl in Waipio Valley, a large, remote valley on the Hamakua Coast of the…
Anyone who's been to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, on the Big Island, understands what its like to walk on Earth so new its still smoking. Literally. Madame Pele, the volcano goddess, is everpresent and the eery quiet of this isolated…
This in from my friend Jessica Ferracane who reps the Big Island Visitors Bureau and also writes some nice books about eating around the Big Island and Maui. "Temporary buoys mark a 100-foot section along Kealakekua Bay - including the…
The Merrie Monarch Festival is the Superbowl of hula competitions and its serious business in Hawaii. Halau practice for years to prepare for a trip to Hilo and the precision and grace of the top acts is truly breathtaking.…
Turtles are a sign of good luck in the Native Hawaiian culture, a potent aumakua (or animal sign). They are also beautiful to watch in their native habitats. Most snorkel spots around the islands give you a decent chance…
Madame Pele doesn't really stick to a schedule or an itinerary. The Volcano Goddess of Hawaiian myths and legends is capricious and hard to predict. Which may explain why you really can't plan ahead for volcano watching trips. The Kilauea…
Noted restaurateur Peter Merriman was one of the original founders of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine (HRC) over a decade ago. His flagship eatery in upcountry Waimea is an island institution with intricate plates crafted from Big Island produce (he has…
During the winter months, sunseekers flock to Hawaii for the beach. A good swimming beach, however, is hardly a pre-requisite for a hotel location. On the Big Island, in particular, where swimming beaches are few and far between, many resorts…
