“USA 🇺🇸 ~ Road Trip’n to the Southern Most Region of Hawaii”

• August 16, 2021
• By Pen
• 2 Comments

As with just about every new place we go to, we love to just hop in the car and drive; to see what we can see.

On these couple of adventurous days, our direction took us around the area of Kailua-Kona, and then further away to the southern parts of the Big Island.

The drive was great! 

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Unlike the other two islands I have visited (Oahu and Maui) Hawaii is very different. While it is still beautiful, lush and green, a great portion of the island is covered with lava, from previously erupted volcanos; one eruption as recent as 2018.
Some may find these parts less attractive, but for me, I’m fascinated by the terrain for how the lava fields came to be!

I had it in my mind to go wherever we could, to find the sea turtles. Our first outing, near the Kona Harbor, we walked over the age-old black lava, where we found a pretty little cove, but no visible turtles. ⬇️

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Next, we stopped at another beach, right off the roadway in Kona, where there are roped-off areas on the rocks, with a See andy beach, where the turtles get to relax, sunbathe, feed and not be disturbed by humans.
While we did see many turtles in the water; popping their heads and bottoms up, getting photos of that activity was challenging. While no turtles were sunbathing or resting on shore, we did, in fact, see some!

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On our bigger adventure, out,  we headed to the far reaches of South Point, very aptly named. This took a little planning to go the distance, and we got up early enough and underway, to be able to put in the miles to see enough sites to easily make a full day of it.

We made it to the parking and gathering point for Green Sand Beach. We were greeted by a nice young gal who lined us up with a 4×4 for the drive to the Beach.
For $20 pp, we loaded up in the back of an old best up 4×4, with other guests. Children sat in the cab. This is a service provided by the locals and really adds to the experience of getting to the Green Beach. The old trucks have a rack attached to the bed of the truck, so we would hold on for dear life, for 20-minutes each way, while we traveled over lava and sand-rutted trails.
The driver went slow, but being pitched back and forth can not be avoided.
Though the two-mile hike to the beach is doable, personally, since it was very hot, dry, and in our case extremely windy; the many 4×4’s traveling back and forth kicked up so much red dust, we would surely find that to be uncomfortable for hiking.

HERE WE GO!
We stood in the back of the truck and hung on to the bars What a kick. We were tossed around like crazy!

…..Almost there 

⬆️ Papakolea Green Sand Beach
One of only four green sand beaches in the world, Papakolea, or Green Sand Beach, is named for the presence of a greenish, semi-precious stones called olivine. These stones have been extracted out of the base of the Pu’u o Mahana cinder cone and deposited on the sand by the ocean’s waves.

This very secluded sand beach is located near Ka Lae (South Point) in the Kau district of Hawaii. The hike is a rugged two-mile dusty labyrinth of ruts that eventually lead to the beach.
Getting down to the beach is an entirely different issue. Shaped like a giant bowl, you have to climb down the side of the “bowl” with the side of a ticket ladder, to reach the beach. Braving the rugged road down, you might be tempted to ask yourself if it’s really worth the trip. The answer is a resounding “yes.”
This beach is a really beautiful sight, and though I read swimming is not recommended here, due to the rough surf, there were plenty of people doing so and having fun.
Daryl and I hiked above the beach to look out over the bowl shape. I got some great photos, but for some unknown reason, I could not process the photos I took for the rest of that day. I have a new camera, so maybe I accidentally changed a setting. (I’m still trying to figure out what happened). But thankfully, I did take a few Iphone photos, plus Daryl will post his photos, too.

Oh No! ⬇️

⬆️ As it would end up, on our return trip, back to the parking lot and our car, the truck tire broke away from the undercarriage of the truck. “Coming to a grinding halt,” never held so much meaning! We would wait 20 minutes before help arrived. It was still windy, and very hot. In this case, we ended up eating the red dusty dirt, while waiting, as other trucks went around us.

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Punalu’u Black Sand Beach

Because of constant volcanic activity, you’ll find white sands and black sands on the island of Hawaii. Located on the southeastern Kau coast, Punaluu Black Sand Beach is one of the most famous black sand beaches in Hawaii.

Located between the towns of Pahala and Naalehu in Kau, Punaluu Black Sand Beach’s jet black shores are an unforgettable sight. Coconut palms fringe the upper edge of sand and you may also discover large honu, (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles), basking on the beach.

⬆️ Not my photo, but obviously taken in the same beach.
Note: Although it may be tempting, do not touch these protected turtles and do not remove any black sand from the beach. Did you know, the removal of any black rock lava stone from the island is also illegal. In addition, doing so will will bring anybody many years of bad luck. One may ask, what about all the souvenir lava stone jewelry for sale? Well, those are made in China.

On our biggest day, road-trip outing, we did not see one single turtle. Although I have had many encounters over the years with wild turtles, one can never see too many!

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While still in Southern Hawaii, we had to visit these two places, given their very unique locations!

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We returned to Kona just in time to take in the sunset back at home base, also, to enjoy some hot tub time, great conversation and laughs with our friends.

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