Days 10-15, Kona, Hawaii

Accommodation: Polynesian Style Guesthouse 

Travel companion: Helen

We left the Hippy Junkyard and drove across the island on the ‘Saddle Road’, between the two volcanoes making a stop in Hilo on the way. We are loving driving Sally with the top down, speeding along the highway and stopping at the best road services ever – no Welcome Break here but a space themed adult (we think) playground where we spent half hour spinning around and screaming our heads off.

Car honk  tally: lost count.

Car damage tally: 2-1 to Helen (she likes driving into the curb whereas I’m more dangerous in a parking lot)

We’ve got into the American way and now drive everywhere even when we could walk. “Hawaiians don’t honk!” everyone says – even the car honked at us when we attempted to leave the key inside the boot. We had the realisation that between us it took 7 or 8 attempts to pass our tests so maybe it’s us…

Kona has a totally different feel to Maui’s Kihei – the strip malls have been replaced with beachfront restaurants. We found our next Air BnB without getting lost and couldn’t believe our luck. We have a granny annix to ourselves next to Toni and Dave’s house, complete with swimming pool and framed by palm trees. Fresh flowers, coffee machine, Nutribullet and a bottle of wine are waiting for us and we wake up in awe that we are not in a Junkyard and we don’t need to go outside to the toilet.

Best of all, there are three other residents – the gorgeous doggies! Pua (the big one), Little Baby (the white fluffy one) and Tito (the tiny one with attitude). I fell in love with Tito immediately. Toni and Dave are lovely and Dave must have heard our attempts to reverse out of the driveway as he soon moves his car out of the way.

We only had one planned activity on this side of the island as we wanted a few days of relaxing after a busy time Volcanoing – a sunset and stargazing tour up Mauna Kea which just happened to be on Valentines Day.

The chatty Daisy picked up us and some po faced Middle Aged Americans (the first mean ones we’ve met) and drove us in a 4×4 up to the snow capped summit. We put on all our layers and provided huge fleeces and it was still freezing! The view is spectacular- there are several huge telescopes up here and it’s where they simulated the Mars rover. Literally above the clouds, we could feel the 11,000 feet altitude (obviously we should be dead by now according to the health warnings). After sunset there was a stargazing talk and telescopes ready to view Venus, Mars, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebulae. Amazing!

The mornings have been spent playing with the dogs, drinking coffee and making smoothies and the afternoons at the beaches or the Mall.

We spent a lot of time at The Mall, fascinated by the ‘Drug Store’ that sells booze and the book shop with resident cat. Once a week there is a free craft workshop, which had our name all over it. Run by some lovely old ladies, we learned to make traditional flower Leis and Leaf necklaces which we wore non stop.

Also  free was a Hula show – we finally got to experience some Hawaiian culture and learn a little about traditions.

We came across the rocks of the End of the World by accident with their giant waves – a bonus since this place  was on my List.

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We have a tiny bay directly opposite the house and can take our backpack beach chairs and a beer down there – these have to be one of the best inventions ever!

We are also close to one of the best snorkelling beaches although the sea is uncharacteristicly rough. Helen went for a swim and, unlike on Maui, avoided being named and shamed over the tannoy by the lifeguards for swimming into a riptide. Luckily the sea calmed down and the Green Sea Turtles made an appearance – loads of them hanging out in the shallow waters. It’s a federal offence to get within a few feet of these protected creatures – surprisingly hard to adhere to as they look like rocks. 

We also got the chance to see Hawaii’s country rock star, Henry Kapono who was in town, and could take advantage of the Trolley Bus – no driving means happy hour cocktails!! It also means getting shouted at by the Police once again although this time it was a jovial ‘don’t spill your beer!’ as we ran for the bus.We finally had time for our holiday tradition of Bananagrams. This time it’s Hawaiian Rules – focus on making words relevant to the trip, like ‘Tito’, ‘Junkyard’ and ‘Volcano’. Happy times especially when the dogs joined in.

And that marks the end of the first two weeks and Hawaii. We’ve ticked off most things that made it on to the Lists and geeked out to our hearts content. Helen presented me with an I ❤️ Geography pencil which I will try not to lose (two weeks in I’ve lost pyjamas, a tshirt and sunglasses).

It was a tense journey to the airport and the longest 7 miles of our lives as we ran out of gas (we are supposed to return it empty but perhaps we took that too literally). Driving down the highway the reading dropped to 5 miles and we were preparing to get out and push.

Helen is sadly going home after a night in LA whilst I’m heading to Mexico to visit some of my oldest friends and attend a wedding celebration… Hawaii you have been beautiful! Aloha! 🌺