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Accomodation in San Fransisco: |
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| Accomodation in Hawai'i: |
- Arnott's Lodge, Hilo. Excellent
backpackers' place just outside Hilo. It's run by a friendly Australian
who has Scottish ancestry and will pick you up/drop you off from
the airport. The ensuite rooms are the best, being away from the
bunkhouse and you can hire a bike for next to nothing. Big tent
has a TV in it and there are all nationalities buzzing around
the place. Go out the side entrance and walk up the road past
banana trees and minah birds, take the narrow path at the end,
leading left and down to the shore for an unforgettable view of
Mauna Kea and the Pacific Ocean, looking over to Hilo.
Click here
for their web site
- Patey's Place, Kona. Another
backpackers' place but not as nice as Arnott's Lodge. Bit of a
mistake staying here as we were after the luxury end of the market!
Huge spider in the room too! Fine if you're on a budget but then
again, if you get this far, you're probably selling the family
silver anyway, so go for broke and stay somewhere else!
Click
here for their web site
- Macadamia Meadows B&B, Waiohinu.
What a place. Stunning.
Superb but pricy, about 100 quid a night for two and that doesn't
include dinner. You can get dinner in Na'alehu down the road at
the Skaha restaurant. The guy who owns it is really friendly and
the food's not bad, though the steak wasn't the best. They have
a guitarist comes in now and again and does some accoustic stuff.
Nice place, recommended. The B&B is just out of this world
though. Have a look at it here. Charlene and Cortney are the most
friendly hosts and you get a tour of the Macadamia trees in the
garden with a bit of history thrown in. Superb countryside around
here though it's all Kapu since it's cattle country. Criminal
I say. You can drive to South Point from here and walk out to
the Green Sand Beach. Watch out for the woman who runs the car
park at the point. She has the most amazing Hawai'ian face and
accent!
Click
here for their web site
- Lokahi Lodge, Volcano. Very
posh indeed. It's situated about 4000 feet up so when you arrive,
you're electric blanket is already switched on! You won't need
it though. The coolness is a great contrast to the heat lower
down and it's nice to be able to breathe easy at night and not
get soaked in sweat. Toddle over to Volcano House for the sight
of your life. If you've never seen a volcano before, close your
eyes and get someone to lead you by the hand through the restaurant
and stand you against the wall. Then open your eyes. You will
fall over backwards at your first view of Kilauea!
Click
here for their web site
- Wild Ginger Inn, Hilo. It
sounds nice from the website but it's a dump! People not too friendly
either. Apparently it's part of a a chain so that might explain
it. The rooms upstairs have sloping floors and you can hear everything
that goes on in the other rooms. We met a couple from England
who said there once was so much rain in Hilo that the ground floor
of the Inn was awash with insects and sundry other man eating
bugs escaping from the flood waters. They had to move all the
guests upstairs! Not great and not cheap either considering it's
a bit of a dump. I'd go back to Arnott's but it's a bit out of
town. Or you could stay at Maureen's instead.
Click
here for their web site
- Mountain Meadow B&B, Honoka'a.
Beautifully secluded ranch
house up in the hills above Honoka'a on the old Mamalahoa Highway.
You get the run of the downstairs while the family live in the
upstairs. Very nice indeed and very friendly people. You get a
huge TV and a DVD player to while away the hours if it's wet,
which it was when we were there. Very very nice and thorughly
recommended. To get to it you have to go past Honoka'a for about
3 miles or so and turn left onto the old Mamalahoa Highway. Then
it's not far along on the right.
Click
here for their web site
- Kohala's Guest House, Kohala.
Basically a small chalet.
Very nice indeed. You walk under orange trees to get to it and
if you back the car up to the door you can't help squashing them.
They're everywhere! Reasonable priced place. That's the way of
Hawi and Kohala. Go there before they become too touristy. This
end of the island is superb. It's almost like Scotland as the
volcanic activity died out a long long time ago and the greenery
has returned. It's a self catering chalet, bright and airy and
you can eat in Hawi.
Click
here for their web site
- Kiwi Gardens B&B, Kona.
Very very nice place indeed.
We met another English couple there who were taking it over for
six months of the year while the owners travelled round the world!
High above Kona, it's not recommended for cyclists though, unless
you can find another way up other than the main road, which is
a death trap. There aren't any shoulders and it's narrow with
overgrown sides obscuring corners and traffic goes down it quite
fast. I was glad I'd given the bike back before going up to the
B&B in the car!
Click here
for their web site
- Garden Lodge, Volcano House, Volcano.
Nice old hotel annexe, part
of Volcano House. It has a huge fireplace. If you want the fire
lit, you just pop over to Volcano House and someone will cheerfully
come over and light it for you. Big comfy chairs round the fire.
Room was a bit basic for the price but you're staying in Volcano,
one of the most exclusive areas on Hawai'i. They say the fire
in Volcano House never goes out. It can get a bit chilly up here
but then again, it's chilly Hawai'ian standard. NOT chilly Scottish
standard! Just feels chilly after the heat of the lava flows on
the way up.
Click
here for their web site
- Maureen's B&B, Hilo.
What can I say? This place
is superb. Maureen is extremely friendly, drives a huge pick up
and goes horse riding. The house is large and comfy and full of
interesting things. It's a bit out of town if you've no transport
but you can get a pizza delivered no problem, which is what we
did. 5 minutes walk towards Hilo is a fantastic snorkelling area
of clear sea and exotic fish. It's great to just sit out on the
porch and watch the moon rise and hear the insects getting ready
for a munchingly good night, although they won't get past the
mesh round the porch! Thoroughly recommended and when you go,
say hello from us!
Click here
for her web site
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Cycling: |
- Kona Coast Cycling. Situated in
Kona. Very friendly
people (Kelly). They hire bikes although I didn't get one from
here as they didn't have any with a rack at the time. They produce
the excellent round the island itinery, layed out in Audax style.
It gives solid directions and some history of the places you'll
pass through as well as recommendations for places to stay along
the way, though the list above was the one we eventually used.
Click here
for their web site
- HP Bike Works, Kona. Superb
bike shop in Kona though I can't compare it with Kona Coast Cycling
as I didn't go to their shop. HP supply the bikes for the Ironman
so they know what they're talking about. I hired a Specialized
Allez for 120 quid for the week. They give you tools and spares
and you can hire it with or without a rack and rack top bag. The
bike was just superb although the carbon seatpost tended to work
loose by the end of each day but that's what carbon does I suppose!
Click here
for their web site
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| Books |
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| Tours: |
- Mauna Kea Adventures. The
best of the groups going up Mauna Kea. They pick you up from Starbucks
in Kona and drive you up Mauna Kea in a comfortable and very able
4 wheel drive van. You stop for soup and big rolls at the Onizuka
Visitor Centre and to acclimatise. Then it's on up the dirt road
to the summit. The road becomes tarred again at the summit to
stop dust from obscuring the telescopes. You stay on the summit
for sunset then they take down to the visitor centre again and
get out a large (5 or 6 inch) telescope for a star party. About
100 quid a head but it's well worth it. You're not allowed to
do it if you've been diving the previous day though as you go
up to 14000 feet! We didn't twig at first but when they drop you
off in Kona at the end of the night, it's good practice to tip
the driver, who has regaled you with local history and generally
been extremely friendly all day.
Click
here for their web site
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| Snorkelling: |
- Manta Ray dives. These
people will pick you up at Kona harbour and take you up the coast
a bit for a nighttime dive, looking for Manta Rays. It's a bit
of a free for all as 3 or 4 speed boats head out of Kona, playing
in each others' wakes and generally fooling about. They all then
anchor not far off shore, near enough to watch huge Pacific rollers
crash violently on the cliffs behind you. You're then given a
wet suit, snorkel, mask and flippers and a board if you need one.
They strap a chemical light to your snorkel and away you go. A
group of about 30 or so will congregate. On the bottom, the divers
will sit still, pointing their powerful lights upwards to attract
plankton which is meant to attract the Manta Rays. On the surface,
the snorkellers float and bob around, their chemical lights dancing
on the black sea. The Mantas are then meant to appear. They didn't.
Wonder why! You can't touch them either or they'll go away! It's
a bit touristy but worth it to watch the sun set out over the
Pacific and the sheer novelty of swimming in the ocean in the
pitch dark!
Click
here for their web site
- Pu'u Haunaunau park. Interesting
state park with lots of Hawai'ian history. You can snorkel here
with the Green Sea Turtles but don't leave anything on the shore
as it's an insult to the native culture. Just wear what you're
going to wear in the sea, i.e. shorts and T-shirt. Don't leave
anything on the beach.
- Hilo. 5
minutes towards Hilo from Maureen's B&B. Fairly sheltered
spot though it gets a bit choppy when the tide comes in.
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| Drinking: |
- Volcano winery. Excellent
winery in Volcano Village where you can get some history and some
very tasty and interesting wines
Click
here for their web site
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