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I'm scoping out the BI as a possible place to live, and to do a little site seeing. I'm there for a week and looking for suggestions for places I should definitely make time for. I like doing hikes, beaches, camping and trying new foods - pretty open to try about anything. Also looking for a recommendation on any general areas I can scope out that might give some impressions of daily BI living. Anything I should bring that might seem out of the ordinary? Thanks in advance for any answers
Staying on the Hilo side, but fully plan on at least spending a day over by Kona. I want to check out a couple different areas on the island and see if a particular one ends up appealing to me. I guess the other question I have is, are the any areas I want to specifically avoid?
I like all the same things you listed, so here are my favorites:
beaches-Makalawena, just north of Kona.
camping-Volcanoes camping is something you have to expirience. I like backpacking into Waimanu and camping, but i don't know if you'll have time for that.
trying new foods-a trip to the farmers market and buy any fruit you haven't heard of/tried before is always fun. My favorite resturaunt is Hilo is Garden Spot Cafe (thai), Kona it's Big Island Grill and Waimea it's Paniolo Inn. Not really traditional or "hawaiian" but delicious and local none the less!
Other things to see/do: kayak/boat trip to Kealakekua to snorkel. Green Sands/South point. Maybe a hot springs in Puna. Def do Boiling Pots, but swim/short hike up to Pe'e Pe'e falls upstream, Pololu Valley, Waipi'o Valley and Mauna Kea sunset/star party for free.
Thanks tons Glactastica! Sounds exactly like the type of stuff I'm looking to see, I'll let google fill in the other details. I'm by Hilo for the week and no questions will hit up the farmers market there, and a couple beaches on that side. Suggestions on places for some surf lessons? Never done it, but as an avid water sport enthusiast I can't wait to give it a go.
I'll be coming with some reserve cash when I make the move in April with my car, kinda figured on 30-60 min. in any direction from either Hilo or Kona likely, depending on how things shake down. Might do some WWOOF'ing to get a foot hold here in the spring also.
Do I need to be concerned about jelly fish? I'm completely inexperienced with the ocean, but been on lake/boats since I was a little kid.
The primary thing to remember about the ocean is to only swim at beaches that have life guards. You just wouldn't believe the number of visitors that drown every year in Hawaii. Also the majority of swimable beaches are on the Kona coast side.
Beach with a life guard? I can think of only a couple maybe in the Kohala resort area. The best beaches we've been to, including Makalawena that was previously mentioned, don't have life guards. The best advise is to swim in the more protected areas of whatever beach you are at and to go where you see other people swimming. Don't venture too far from shore.
It's going to be hard to check out everything in a week. The Big Island is bigger than all the others put together. If you think that you will be settling in the Hilo area, then you should focus on that area. Maybe stay in a vacation rental for your week in someplace like Hawaii Paradise Park or Leilani Estates and see what commuting into town would be like.
There are already some threads on WWOOFing that you should check out.
I suppose I'd feel relatively safe as long as there are people around. Living/swimming by/in the great lakes, I'm aware of the dangers from riptides; Are there common conditions at beaches that cause similar effects? What defines protected? Lower/calmer surf, lower wind I'm guessing? I have no plans on getting overly adventurous. I have seen some youtube videos of people on vacation swimming in tide pools, nooks and cranies you would never see me discovering on my own w/out being familiar with the area.
Already have a campsite lined up for the first couple days and a bed lined up for the rest about 20minutes outside Hilo, so for a base of operations it should hopefully be a good gauge. Thanks for the heads up on the WWOF'ing threads, but it's from threads here I discovered it. Should be a good fit for me, can't wait to possibly give it a go. I have 7 full days, should be able to fit in a decent little tour if each day I focus on a different area to explore.
I really want to hear coqui frogs at night in their full glory. I grew up with countless cicadas humming me to sleep, I love it and think the frogs might be a similar type of pleasing white noise. Puna area the best to experience them? San Diego tomorrow, Hilo Monday - hope I have all my gear together, still feel like I'm missing something....
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