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Hawaii ~ ~ Aloha spoken here
Some of Hawaii’s most incredible sights can only be seen on The Big Island – red-hot, flowing lava, for instance, making shiny black new land in a process as old as creation. At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, awestruck visitors can often watch from a safe perch since the eruptions of Kilauea are not explosive. Or they can drive through a steaming crater and stroll inside a huge lava tube.
The Big Island of Hawaii is an island of superlatives. It is twice the size of all the other islands together. This is the youngest island with the tallest mountains in the Pacific (Mauna Kea, nearly 14,000 feet) and the bulkiest volcanic structure on earth (Mauna Loa, Hawaii’s other active volcano).
Climate zones range from tropical to snow-capped alpine, lava desert to rain forest on this diverse island. The Big Island includes the southernmost landfall in the U.S. (Ka Lae Point), one of the largest cattle ranches in America (225,000-acre Parker Ranch) and some of the world’s best resort hotels.
These areas include the district around Kailua-Kona and the Kohala Cast on the west side, dry and sunny and Hilo on the east side, lush and green, gateway to the Volcano area.
Many signs of ancient Hawaii are still visible, in petroglyphs, heiau temple ruins and historic parks. The Big Island has a strong sense of tradition, perhaps because it has always been an island of rulers and the setting for portentous chapters in history. By Hawaiian legend, it is the home of Pele, the fire goddess. Mighty King Kamehameha the Great was born on the island and British discoverer Capt. James Cook was killed here.
The skies atop Mauna Kea are so clear and dark that eleven nations have built astronomical observatories there to probe deep into the universe. Below off the Kona Coast, fishermen regularly catch world-record Pacific blue marlin, and golf is some of the best in the world.
The Big Island is known for its orchids and anthuriums, as well as macadamia nuts and Kona coffee. The Hilo area has a number of visitor centers, nurseries and gardens to sample them.
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