This morning, around 8.30 Surfer Dude came to collect us and we left for a tour around the island. Going west, we took the mountain road, between Mauna Kea on one side and Mauna Loa on the other. It was very clear and the landscape was stunning. The two mountains are immense shield volcanoes so one doesn’t immediately realise how massive they are, and in the distance they can look like just large hills or undulations in the earth. There were numerous lava cones on and around them, some raw and new, others predating the most recent eruption so that they were islands of green surrounded by lava fields; yet others had indentations in them, great bowl-like craters. We were very high up but again in the undulating landscape one did not realise it until one’s ears popped. Near the summit of Mauna Kea were the white telescopes. I would have liked to have gone to the observatory.
On the other side of the great saddle the road dipped down towards the sea and the landscape changed again, becoming less rarified and more scrubby. The ocean appeared and Maui over it. We were on the Kona side. Here were more lava fields, some black and gleaming in the sunlight like tar, others grim fields of slag. The only trees were thorny acacias and every now and then a line of coconut trees leading off from the road to a resort. Very odd to see those oases amidst devastation.
Our first stop was Puʻukoholā Heiau, the best preserved temple on the island. There was a path to the temple but one could not enter it as it’s still a sacred site. the path led down towards the sea to another heiau, an older one, and then a third. The last, the so-called shark heiau, is underwater and hasn’t been seen in decades, but around it were the fins of a dozen or so sharks, circling, circling. As we drove out we saw a whale blow out from its blowhole and dive into the water.
Next we went to a lava tube filled with water fed by an underground spring. One could lower oneself in and swim through the tube (or, in my case, an awkward salamander stroke to avoid kicking the harsh volcanic rocks). There was one other place where the tube opened up to the sky, but most of it was dark. The water was cool but not as cold as I’d feared, so it made for a very nice swim.
We went on to Kona for lunch to a fairly pleasant but unremarkable restaurant with rather slow service. Kona itself was like a smaller Waikiki, generic but in a beautiful setting, and I congratulated myself for insisting we stay on Hilo side.
Onwards through Kona, and as we went upwards along the side of the island it became wetter and more lush. This was perhaps the most beautiful part of the island, green and lush yet covered in flowers and fruit, with delicious smells wafting in. We stopped for a cup of coffee and continued.
Next came another heiau, this time at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, the place where those who broke taboo could seek refuge and absolution. Although there were no turtles on the beach this was a stunning place, with a wall of misty hills behind, palm trees, black rock and white sand, green blue sea and many palms. It certainly felt a powerful site. Apparently it is still actively used for ceremonies, though as a way of keeping traditions alive rather than to preserve the universe, though I think there is a power in that too, to maintain and honour one’s ancestors.
The next stop was an out of the way one, to the southernmost tip of the island, which in my imagination is the Hawaiki to which Maori spirits travel from Cape Reinga. This was a desolate sort of place, over wide green paddocks occasionally cut by lava flows, suddenly descending in steep cliffs to the sea. Along the cliffs were lines of fishingmen and women, though none caught anything. The light was very beautiful, slanted, warm and cold at the same time, and the sea threw up immense waves.
We watched the sunset, a disappointing one, and then came on the way back. Along the way we stopped at the black sand beach hoping to find turtles but there was none and night had fallen. The black sand was soft and lovely though.