On 8/8, we headed off on a big island adventure, all the way around the island in one day. Setting out from Kona we headed north and crossed thru Waimea and past the Parker Ranch to the Waipio Valley. This valley is still inhabited by descendents of ancient Hawaiians who tend to the taro crop. There is a long black sand beach and we saw lots of kayakers out in the surf. We could only take pictures from up above, the trail is so steep down to the valley only 4-wheel drive vehicles could make it down there. I was happy to stand above it and admire the scenery.

The natural scenery on the way to Hilo was spectacular. We stopped along the way to take pictures of the coastline and of a waterfall that could be seen from the road.

The famous waterfall on this side of the island is Akaka Falls. There is a nice trail that leads to the falls and scenic overlooks where we took pictures. We were lucky enough to capture a rainbow at the bottom of this picture. Bamboo and ginger were plentiful along the trail and the whole area made me feel like I was in a remote tropical jungle instead of a few miles off the road.

We continued on towards Hilo, admiring all the scenery along the way. We decided to check out Rainbow Falls on the outskirts of town and climbed the trail there to the overlook at the top of the falls. There we saw two streams that came together and dropped over the edge to a calm area of water below. These falls were not as secluded as Akaka but were just as interesting in their own way. The terrain at the top was rugged and the cascade ended near some caves and pretty foliage.

We had lunch in Hilo at a very good Mexican restaurant with the strangest name - Reuben's. With a name like that it sounded like they'd serve good reuben sandwiches, but it was all Mexican and it was delicious. We wandered around the waterfront for a little while then headed to Nani Mau Gardens before going to the volcano.

Nani Mau means "forever beautiful" and these gardens were! They stretch over 20 acres that were once part of a rain forest. Hilo gets about 130 inches of rain a year so these plants are happy plants. There is a museum, an orchard, a ginger garden, annual gardens, an orchid walkway and many other sections just as gorgeous. We took the tram thru the gardens since we didn't have a lot of time to wander but the driver stopped at a few places for us to take pictures. One area was the Makalapua Lookout where we got good pictures of the entire annual garden. We strolled along the orchid walkway and took pictures there before getting back on the road and heading to the Volcanoes National Park.

Next: Visit the volcano with us.

INTRO/ WEBRINGS	OAHU	HAWAII/ KONA	HILO/ VOLCANO
SNORKELING	FISHING	RESORTS	LINKS

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