Island Hopping in a Hurricane: a Big Island Mini Guide
We were traveling throughout the Hawaiian islands in late August of 2018, right in the midst of Hurricane Lane. Lane was a category 5 hurricane that lasted for six days and produced significant flooding across the islands. We had been in O’ahu celebrating my cousin’s wedding, and just as the week was closing and we were preparing to island hop to Big Island, Lane arrived. Everything was hectic; the people of O’ahu were boarding up the windows and doors to their homes and businesses, while many tourists were doing their best to get off the islands, back to the safety of their homes in the Lower 48.
I spoke with our Airbnb hosts in Kona, to see how everything was going over there and if it was still safe to come or if it was best to try and head home. Turns out, most of the storms were starting to settle down, especially in Kona since the mountains in the center of the island were breaking up the winds before they could hit the western coast of the island. We realized we had a perfect window to essentially leap frog the hurricane, so we took it! After talking to relatives who were trying to get home at the time, I think we made the right choice as the airports were chaotic with passengers on standby to get home, but free and clear for inter-island travel.
The first night we picked up our rental car, got to the Airbnb and decided to just hang out and explore the area. The remnants of the storm were apparent, darker skies, debris, and most businesses were still boarded up. We found that Kona Brewery had reopened so we headed over to grab some dinner, and then stocked up on some essentials from the local store.
We walked over to the beach in that evening to sit and watch the sunset, and found many locals surfing the bigger waves resulting from the storm. It was an interesting culture shock to go from seeing tourists in Honolulu panicking and changing flights to get back home to the locals in Kona taking advantage of the tumultuous weather to get outside and surf!
We had many plans for our time on Big Island, most of which ended up getting cancelled. However one of my favorite things to do is travel research (A lovingly named it crazy lady mapping), so I had a whole collection of alternate things to check out.
We had originally planned on going to Volcanoes National Park and taking a lava boat tour, but at this point the park was closed and the lava boat tours were cancelled because the water was too choppy to be safe. Punalu’u Beach had been a stop we were going to try and squeeze in earlier in the day on the way to the lava boat tour, but we now had a lot more time to explore the area. It was a good ‘silver lining’ to the lava tour cancellation, since that had been the entire reason we came to Big Island in the first place.
So on our second day we hopped in the car and headed out to Punalu’u Beach, a black sand beach on the southern coast of the island. Even in the near constant drizzle it was a really cool experience, if anything the rain added to the other worldly atmosphere. The black sand is made of basalt, created by lava from Volcanoes National Park flowing into the ocean and exploding as it reaches the ocean and cools.
As the rain picked up at the beach, we headed out on a driving tour around the island. We drove around the area of Volcanoes National Park to see the desolate volcanic landscapes. We even made it to the east side of the island, which was still getting hit with the back end of the hurricane. There was a ton of rain and flooding on the east side, but we did manage to stop in Hilo for a quick and delicious fish fry lunch.
We aimed to see a waterfall just north of Hilo, however the side road to get there was completely flooded and blocked off by local emergency services. We continued on our island road trip, and on our way home just north of Kona we found another great lava rock beach were we stopped to watch the sunset.
The next day, things were starting to open up again as most of the rain had subsided in Kona. We were excited to be able to take a morning tour of the famous Kona Joe Coffee Farm! The farm is a 20 acre estate with amazing views of the Kona coast and Pacific Ocean. The tours are only $20 per person, and you not only get to see the coffee making process from start to finish, you also get a fresh cup of joe and a souvenir mug to take home.
On the tour you learn about the unique cultivation process on the farm, using trellises like a vineyard, to train the coffee plants to grow with more sun exposure and a more even ripening of the coffee cherry. The trellises also allow harvesting by hand as all the coffee cherries are within easy reach.
It was a really interesting morning learning about the entire coffee process, and we really enjoyed ourselves! The coffee was delicious, and there is nothing like starting your day enveloped in the scent of fresh coffee around you!
After our coffee tour, we were driving around to see what else might be starting to open now that the rain had subsided. Along the side of the road near the airport, I happened to look out the window and notice a giant hole in the landscape. We pulled over to check out what it was, and it turns out it was an inactive lava tube that had collapsed! I grabbed my camera and we started exploring. We were able to walk into the tube, which felt similar to going into a cave but somehow a bit more ominous. We climbed around the different caved in areas, and eventually a few more curious people started to come by to investigate.
Because the islands are created by volcanoes, there are countless lava tubes just below the surface. An inactive lava tube is left behind when the lava flow has either emptied during an eruption or if it gets diverted elsewhere, leaving behind an empty cave. When the tube is active, the lava within can reach temperatures that exceed 2000º F, and it can take up to a year for the inactive cave to cool down. Check out this Volcanoes National Park page to learn more about how the lava flows form.
For Native Hawaiians, the lava caves have great cultural importance, which should be considered during your visit. They were used as shelters, were a valuable source of drinking water, and are also part of ceremonies and burials. The National park protects the sacred burial caves and no entry is permitted.
I later did a bit of research, and found out that the lava tube we had found was formed in 1801 and is called the Huehue lava tube. It has actually now been closed to visitors as of 2019, because it’s rising popularity started to cause serious traffic dangers according to an article from West Hawaii Today. While I feel lucky that we were able to visit the tube before it got out of hand, I would not recommend stopping now that it has been closed. However, there are plenty of other lava tubes that can be visited during your time on the island! Check out this post from Love Big Island, which details several of the more popular lava tubes that can safely be explored!
While Hurricane Lane gave us less than ideal weather and a taste of the dangerous side of island life, we ultimately had an amazing time on Big Island. We were talking later about how we actually enjoyed Big Island more than O’ahu simply because of the lack of catering to tourism compared to Waikiki. Even though I’m still jonesing to see an active lava flow there will be plenty of time for more travel that can include that later. The landscapes of Big Island are a strange mix of desolate and lush, and we were very lucky to be able to travel and experience the island safely.
