Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [260]
The road to the beach ends at a turnaround with a grassy parking area; don’t leave valuables in your car. Though a 4WD road continues to the beach (and locals with 4WDs sometimes wait here to sell rides), don’t drive there. Braided tracks are tearing up the land, and you’ll miss one of the best parts, the hike.
From here, walk toward the water, past the Kaulana boat ramp, and follow the rutted dirt road left through the metal gate. Then just keep going, enjoying the gorgeous undulating coastline and aiming for the uplifted, striated cliff-face in the distance. Once there, a slight scramble down the cliff is required to reach the beach.
Sleeping
Kalaekilohana B&B (939-8052, 888-584-7071; www.kau-hawaii.com; 94-2152 South Point Rd; r incl breakfast $219; ) It’S a rare place that’S so welcoming you feel at once like a special guest and a member of the family. But the ho′okipa (hospitality) extended by hosts Kilohana Domingo and Kenny Joyce does just that. Upstairs, four airy rooms feature gleaming hardwood floors, carved bed frames, open ‘rainfall’ shower and French doors opening onto large lanai. Amenities include guest laundry and locally made bath products. Downstairs, the gracious library/music room and the wide porch invite lingering long after the breakfast plates have been swept away. They are also the setting for occasional musical kanikapila (jam) nights, hula lessons and master lei-maker Domingo’S workshops. Ask about multinight deals and packages.
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OCEAN VIEW
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Ocean View is largely comprised of two huge subdivisions that were bulldozed into the desolate black lava in the 1950s: Hawaiian Ocean View Estates (HOVE) and Hawaiian Ranchos. The lots were never fully settled, and they remain undersettled today, mainly because there’S no water. Though the area is economically depressed and has suffered from drug problems in the past, residents are tight-knit and proud – far preferring the rough simplicity of their independent life to the ‘rat race’ in Kona and Hilo, where many work.
Across the highway from each other, two shopping centers – Pohue Plaza and Ocean View Town Center – make up the commercial center of Ocean View. They contain gas stations, grocery stores, simple restaurants, ATMs and a laundromat.
Activities
Explore a portion of the world’S second-longest lava tube (with over 25 mapped miles) at Kula Kai Caverns (929-7539, 929-9725; www.kulakaicaverns.com; adult/child 6-12 tours from $15/10). Evidence of ancient Hawaiians extends throughout the thousand-year-old Kanohina cave system, and tours emphasize respectful stewardship of these ‘living museums.’ On the 40-minute tour, you enter a short, lighted section of the cave, as expert guides present both cultural and ecological history. There’S also a longer ‘crawling’ tour (per person $30) and a two-hour extended tour (adult/child $95/65). Group sizes are quite small (with two- or four-person minimums); reservations required.
Sleeping & Eating
Lova Lava Land (352-9097; www.lovalavaland.com; Hawaiian Ranchos; yurt $55, VW buses $35; ) This off-the-grid ‘eco-resort’ (solar power, catchment water, composting toilet) is a hippie’S dream: sleep in tricked-out VW buses in the middle of a lava flow and share a central compound with fully equipped kitchen, wi-fi and a (sometimes hot) lava rock shower. A single yurt is a cozy love nest, with a double bed, hardwood floors and moon roof. It’S fun, well-planned DIY living.
Bougainvillea Bed & Breakfast (929-7089, 800-688-1763; www.bougainvilleabedandbreakfast.com; Hawaiian Ranchos; s/d incl breakfast $80/90; ) The four rooms in this family home are comfortably furnished, with floral spreads, good mattresses and private entrances. It’S an unpretentious place, with a small pool and Jacuzzi and a home-cooked breakfast.
Desert