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The Hawaii Islands
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Hawaii Islands (Big Island [East]) |
| Hilo
& the East Coast |
| Although
it’s the Big Island’s capital, and largest town, just 45,000 people
live in HILO, which remains endearing and unpressured. Mass tourism
has never taken off here, basically because it rains too much. However,
the rain falls mostly at night, and America’s wettest city blazes with
wild orchids and tropical plants, set against a backdrop of rainbows.
Hilo has always been at the mercy of the twin
natural forces of fire and water. Cataclysmic tidal waves (tsunami)
killed 96 people in April 1946, and a further 61 in May 1960. Countless
lava flows have also threatened to engulf it; in 1881 Princess Ruth
summoned up all her spiritual power (or mana), watched by
missionaries and journalists, to halt one on the edge of town, while in
1984 another flow stopped just eight miles short. |
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Downtown
Hilo |
| There
is a simple and tragic reason why downtown Hilo looks so
appealingly low-key, with its modest streets and wooden stores: all the
buildings which stood on the seaward side of Kamehameha Avenue were
destroyed by the two tsunami. After 1960, no attempt was made to
rebuild the “little Tokyo” that had housed Hilo’s predominantly
Japanese population, and the seafront is now occupied by a succession of
pleasant gardens. Besides plenty of conventional shopping, Hilo has a
seafront market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. If you want to swim,
follow Kamehameha Avenue for four miles beyond Banyan Drive to tiny Richardson’s
Beach.
The focus of the two-part Lyman Museum at
276 Haili St (Mon–Sat 9am–4.30pm; $4.50) is the original 1830s Mission
House, furnished in dark koa wood, which belonged to Calvinist
missionaries David and Sarah Lyman. Their congregation numbered merely
twenty until the charismatic Titus Coan arrived in 1835 and, aided by a
fortuitous tidal wave in 1837, started a Revival – complete with
speaking in tongues – which baptized thousands of ordinary Hawaiians but
antagonized his superiors. The museum next door starts with a fascinating
set of ancient weapons and then documents Hawaii’s various ethnic
groups, including the Portuguese shipped in 1878 from the overpopulated
but similarly volcanic Azores, who brought the braginha which
became the ukelele, and the first Japanese arriving from Hiroshima,
Hilo’s sister city.
A couple of miles up Waianuenue Avenue, at Rainbow
Falls, just to the right of the road, a spectacular wide waterfall
plummets 100ft across the mouth of a huge cavern. Continue another two
miles to reach the bubbling natural jacuzzis of the Boiling Pots.
The
Hilo Tropical Gardens at 1477
Kalanianaole Ave (daily 10am–4pm; $2) are the best of the commercial
gardens. To admire extraordinary plants in a less formal setting, take a
self-guided tour through the rainforest of the Hawaii Tropical
Botanical Gardens (daily 10am–4pm; $15), which sweep down to
the sea at Onomea Bay, seven miles north of town on the lovely Peepeekeo
Scenic Drive.
North from Hilo |
| The
Belt Road (Hwy-19) follows the Hamakua coast north of Hilo,
clinging to the hillsides and crossing ravines on slender bridges. At
first the fields are crammed into narrow rain-carved “gulches”;
further north the land spreads out.
For a glimpse into the interior, head into the
mountains after fifteen miles to the 450ft Akaka Falls.
A short loop trail through the forest, festooned with wild orchids, offers
views of Akaka and other jungle-like tropical waterfalls.
Southeast
of Hilo |
| The
southeastern corner of the Big Island is off the usual tourist trail. PAHOA
in particular has gone its own sweet way, its distinctive blend of lawless
cowboy town and hippie hangout probably due to its alleged role as the
island’s main marijuana-growing area. Businesses along the rudimentary
boardwalks include a handful of New Age bookstores and cafes. Among the
best restaurants are Sawasdee (tel 808/965-8186), serving
plenty of Thai vegetarian dishes, and the Italian Godmother (tel
808/965-5055). The central Village Inn is a small and friendly B&B.
Dining & Entertainment
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Most
of Hilo’s (eminently missable) nightlife is in the Banyan Drive
hotels, though there are a few shows at downtown’s restored Palace
Theater. As well as its restaurants, early risers will enjoy the
daily 7am Suisan Fish Auction, at Banyan and Lihiwai, where you can
buy from the night’s catch of marlin and other big fish.
- Bears
Coffee, 110 Keawe St (tel 808/935-0708). Hilo’s coolest
breakfast hangout, one block back from the ocean in the heart of
downtown.
- Cafe
Pesto, 130 Kamehameha Ave (tel 808/969-6640). Large,
Pacific-influenced Italian restaurant, facing the ocean from
downtown Hilo. Tasty calzones and pizzas.
- Pescatore,
235 Keawe St (tel 808/969-9090). Formal Italian dining opposite the
visitor center, with lunch specials and wonderful fish stews for
dinner.
- Reubens,
336 Kamehameha Ave (tel 808/961-2552). Inexpensive but tasty Mexican
food, with dinner entrees costing under $10.
Accommodation |
Hilo,
and the whole east coast, has fewer major resort hotels than usual in
Hawaii, but there are several accommodation possibilities; the less
expensive ones tend to be in town rather than around the loop of Banyan
Drive on the seafront near the airport.
- Arnott’s
Lodge and Hostel, 98 Apapane Rd. Laid-back accommodation in a
two-story lodge, tucked away in the woods two miles southeast of
downtown.
- Dolphin
Bay Hotel, 333 Iliahi St. Small and friendly 18-room hotel, just
across the river from downtown. One- and two-bedroom suites with
kitchens.
- Hilo
Hawaiian Resort
- Hawaiian Naniloa Resort
- Hilo
Seaside Hotel
- Uncle
Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel, 87 Banyan Drive. Family-run hotel, the
oldest on Banyan Drive, with pleasantly relentless Polynesian decor
and budget restaurant.
- Wild
Ginger Inn, 100 Puueo St. Near the Dolphin Bay in a quiet
residential area, this is one of the Big Island’s best bargains
– a quiet, renovated inn in tropical gardens just across the
Wailuku River from downtown.
Arrival, information and
getting around |
| Downtown
Hilo is compact and very walkable, around the junction of the seafront
Kamehameha Avenue and Waianuenue Avenue, which heads towards the Saddle
Road across the island. However, the urban area extends for several miles,
and the airport at General Lyman Field (tel 808/935-4782),
on the eastern outskirts, is well beyond walking distance. If you’re not
renting a car at the airport, a taxi into town is your only alternative,
costing around $5.
The Hawaii Visitors Bureau is at 250 Keawe
St (Mon–Fri 8am–noon & 1–4.30pm; tel 808/961-5797). Hilo’s
Hele On Bus Company (tel 808/961-8744) operates a small-scale city bus
service, plus one service each to Kailua (Mon–Sat) and down to Volcanoes
National Park (Mon–Fri) from the Mooheau Bus Terminal on Kamehameha
Avenue. |
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Hilo
& Volcano maps familiarize you
with the largest city on the island as well as the most popular
destination, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. |
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